10 Ways Rehab Centers Help Your Drug Addiction Recovery

Rehab centers lay the foundation upon which you will build your life in recovery.

1. According to the NIH, “Substance abuse and addiction are serious, but treatable, medical problems.” Without proper treatment, however, it can be very difficult to overcome addiction. Rehab centers provide successful and beneficial treatment methods to patients, many of whom have struggled for years with addictions beforehand.
2. Detoxification, which is usually the first step at a rehab center, will help a patient end their dependence on an addictive substance. While it does not cure addiction, it absolutely makes it easier for a patient to focus on their further addiction treatment.
3. Patients are taught in rehab to recognize their triggers and try to try and avoid them if possible. They are also taught ways of dealing with them if they are caught unawares. This can be especially beneficial to outpatients during treatment and inpatients after treatment.
4. In the early stage of treatment, medications are used to lessen withdrawal symptoms and make the experience of rehab much less painful, uncomfortable, and frightening. This is especially important in those withdrawal syndromes, like alcohol’s, which can sometimes be a “serious, life-threatening condition” (NLM). Afterward, other medications are used to curb cravings and sometimes maintain a patient’s abuse-free position, like methadone for opioid addicts.
5. Rehab centers have a caring medical staff of doctors, nurses, CNAs, and therapists who want to help patients get better. In this kind of environment, patients are often able to thrive where they otherwise might have succumbed to relapse.
6. When you arrive at a rehab center, you are evaluated for other medical conditions (both physical and psychological) and treated for these as well. These issues can range from physical health issues caused by drug abuse to mental disorders that may have helped lead to your abuse in the first place. This can make your recovery more successful by allowing you to have all of your medical issues treated.
7. Rehab provides many individuals with a place to go and after care options once they leave treatment, especially if they do not have a strong support system at home.
8. According to the NIDA, “Treatment approaches that are tailored to each patient’s drug abuse patterns” as well as other issues lay the foundation for a stronger recovery. Choosing a rehab center and a treatment plan that fits as many of your needs as possible (even those that don’t directly relate to your abuse) can go a long way toward helping you recover.
9. At a rehab center, patients receive the amount of supervision and care that they need, whether they choose to stay at an inpatient facility with round-the-clock care or an outpatient facility that allows them the freedom to come and go from treatment and still live their lives.
10. Behavioral therapy, which is the most commonly used treatment for drug addiction in rehab centers today, allows patients to change the way they think about their drug abuse, giving them new ways to cope with stress, teaching them self-monitoring techniques, and even providing group sessions where patients can meet others who are dealing with the same issues they are. This kind of treatment can change a person’s perspective on abuse, opening them up for solid changes in their behavior.