What to expect if you go to rehab
What to expect if you go to rehab? Every rehab clinic is different though all will have the same objective: to get you to stop permanently drinking alcohol, taking drugs or doing other addictive behaviours such as gambling, eating disorders etc.
The methods most clinics use
Many will use the 12 Step Programme as the foundation for their treatment programme. This is the programme that was first devised by Bill Wilson and Dr Bob Smith when they founded Alcoholics Anonymous. The programme covers how alcohol and drugs / addictions make our lives chaotic and unmanageable. And how we will never be in control of our lives if we use them. It also covers our past wrongs. Looking at what sort of person we are and where we might need to improve. And how to live our lives honestly, and free of guilt and shame in the future. People go into rehab low in spirit, depressed and without hope. The 12 Step Programme and treatment should give the individual hope for the future. And a new chance of happiness and fulfilment.
Rehab centres will vary in their set up. Some may be set up in a clinical way, with accommodation on the same site as the therapy rooms. Other centres have more home from home living accommodation with individual houses accommodating the clients who share living arrangements together, usually with staff also present. Some will have chefs. Others will get the clients to do some cooking in order to complete the rehab experience (as some need to learn how to cook and manage for themselves). Some rehabs will also expect the clients to clean up after themselves. Again as part of learning to take care of themselves as many will not have been living particularly hygienically prior to going into rehab or may have had someone who always cleared up after them).
What to expect if you go to rehab?The Medical support
What else can you expect in rehab? You can expect to see a doctor and get any medication you need. Especially for detox purposes. You may be put on a course of vitamins if you are nutritionally depleted. Which can accompany heavy alcohol and drug use. You may get a short course of sleeping tablets to get your sleeping pattern on a better basis.
You can expect to have certain freedoms curtailed and choice taken away from you. Many rehab clinics will not allow you unrestricted access to your mobile phone. They may ask you to hand it in for a week while you settle into the treatment programme and fully engage with it. You will probably also have to hand your valuables in (best not to take any!) and your cash / credit cards for safekeeping (at least in part to prevent you being tempted to purchase anything you should not while in treatment).
And finally, you can expect to work hard! A good treatment centre will keep you busy working on yourself, learning about yourself and what needs to change and why. If all you needed was a spa experience and a holiday in order to get well, then you would find this a lot more cheaply and the experience might be a whole lot more pleasant. Rehab is about change. It should be a life changing experience. Parts will be very hard and, if you sail through, it is unlikely that you will stay well. You are buying a whole new way of life – a better one. It comes at a price and not just in pounds but in ‘blood, sweat and tears’. Be prepared!
