Asking for help
A alcohol rehab and drug rehab are usually the last port of call for people with dependence issues. Most of us will do everything but admit that we need such serious help. We will tell you we can stop on our own and, when that does not work, we might submit to going to Alcoholics Anonymous or to our doctor, finally admitting that we are ‘drinking too much’. However we will not usually agree to go away for residential treatment until really in a corner. This may be because our families put us in that corner and say they will not tolerate our behaviour any longer. Or we may decide ourselves that we finally need help.
So what happens in an alcohol and drug rehab that makes it the last place people want to go – while being probably their best chance of getting well?
Last port of call?
One of the reasons it is the last place we want to go is because it means we have to stop drinking or using with a view to staying stopped permanently. For most of us that is a daunting or even frightening prospect. We cannot see a way of living life without it – even though we also cannot see how we can continue as we are.
However, it is not until we have stopped that we can see a way through and that life without can be good. So this is one of the greatest benefits of going to a alcohol and drug rehab – we can stop drinking or using (usually be means of a medically supervised detox) and clear our heads and bodies so we can start to make sensible decisions. We find it impossible to stop while living our everyday life at home because all the temptations and reasons to drink and use are still there. These are removed in rehab.
Safe environment
So once off the drink or drugs and in a safe environment we can start to look at why we have been drinking or using to such an extent. We are usually trying to escape from something – ourselves, the way we feel, something in our past etc. We do not have to have experienced a bad childhood to become dependent (though some of us have). It is usually that when we first started drinking or using alcohol and drugs they gave us something that helped us. Then we used them as props too much and too often until we could not get away from them.
Tools to set you up for life and it’s obstacles
So alcohol and drug rehab will provide therapy and counselling for us to look at our past and accept that it is part of us but does not have to define our future. We will usually receive CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) to help us change the way we see things and the way we behave so that we do not feel the same need to use drink or drugs again. We will usually be given the tools to use to help us stay clean and sober once we leave.
Many alcohol and drug rehabs follow the 12 Step Programme of Recovery originally devised by AA in the 1930s. Many will take you to fellowship meetings like AA, NA (Narcotics Anonymous) and CA (Cocaine Anonymous) so you can get used to them and continue to go when you return home.
It can be hard work – not just working on yourself mentally but you may be required to help cook and clean – as has been traditional in rehabs in the past. Some people need to learn to do this again having not been taking care of themselves or their environment very well prior to coming into rehab.
What is included in our alcohol and drug rehab programme?
- A medically supervised detox
- Therapy in the form of counselling (one to one and groups)
- Workshops and learning sessions
- The 12 Step Programme of Recovery
- Completing assignments and personal goals
- Carrying out so called ‘Therapeutic Duties’ which might include cooking and cleaning
Some will also offer physical activities in the form of access to a gymnasium, swimming, yoga, meditation etc and other activities.
There is hope!
Some people really enjoy their time in rehab – others do not. However, if we attend with an open mind and a willingness to learn, there will be no reason for us to drink or use drugs ever again if we complete the tried and tested programme.
To talk to someone who is highly experience with addiction treatment please see our contact page.
