The first steps in any addict’s recovery involve admitting that they have a problem. If an addict refuses to admit they are dependent on a substance, they cannot seek the necessary assistance. When addicts are ready to ask for help, they need the support and advice that steers them towards a drug rehab program.
It may seem excessive to enter a rehab program just to stop taking a substance, but it is actually the most important part of the recovery process. Drug rehab is painful, embarrassing, lonely and emotionally charged. It is the kind of environment where someone can fight through the problems they are facing and emerge free of their physical dependence on a dangerous substance.
Emotional Aspect of Rehab:
There is a lot more to attending rehab than getting physically clear of the substance you have been taking. The emotional side of drug abuse is often ignored. There is a reason people eventually become addicts. While some have the personality for addiction, most get there because they cannot deal with the emotional and mental issues dogging their life.
Maybe someone is struggling to make their marriage work, or has a hard time keeping up with their job. Whatever the reasons, it is important for drug addicts to look within themselves and find the reasons behind their desire to take drugs every day. If they can work through those issues, they stand a great chance of a full and lasting recovery.
Physical Reasons for Attending Rehab:
When you abuse any substance for a sustained period of time, your body develops a dependence. Just like smokers need nicotine to feel right, drug addicts need their drug of choice otherwise their body feels sick. When quitting a substance completely, or detoxing, addicts are likely to suffer physically for the first few days. This suffering often includes vomiting, nausea, fever and headaches. Being at a rehab facility, with trained doctors on hand, is the best way to go through this process.
Sometimes detoxing from a dangerous substance is also risky for your long term health. If you detox too quickly your body can go into shock, with cardiac arrest or other fatal conditions a possibility. Doctors can monitor detox with their experience and judgment, ensuring nothing like that happens.
After Rehab:
Attending drug rehab is not the end of the story. In fact, most addicts’ journeys only begin when they leave rehab. It is the moment where you are completely sober and no longer dependent on taking a substance to survive the day. However, the reasons you took the substance in the first place probably still exist. Your family life is still challenging, while your job is not going to become tolerable overnight. It is crucial for addicts to make substantive changes in their daily routine if they want to stay clear of dangerous substances.
Attending rehab is the first step towards getting better, but it is just one part of the process. People who stay clear of drug addiction after rehab are the ones who never stop fighting for their sobriety.
