Drug Rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is an involved process. It calls upon the skills of many professionals including drug rehabilitation counselors, addiction specialists, holistic practitioners, and cognitive behavioral therapists.
Many fighting addiction eventually come to understand that sobriety can only be achieved for them through the help of a professional, residential drug rehabilitation program. Understanding what drug rehab involves helps with the decision to seek the professional help available there.
Following are the basics of a standard drug rehabilitation program.
Drug Rehabilitation: The Beginning of a Life Process
The first thing to understand about drug rehabilitation is that it is an ongoing process. It's not as simple as completing a program and you're cured. There is no cure for drug addiction. Like some diseases though, it can be successfully managed or put into remission. Following is the initial process that will help many suffering from addiction begin on the road to recovery.
Intervention: This usually is the impetus for getting an addict into some type of drug rehabilitation program. It is usually attended by friends and family who care for the addict, but can no longer sit idly by and support them in their lifestyle..
Detoxification: This is the first step once a person has enrolled in a drug rehabilitation program. In many cases, the individual is able to taper off their drink or drug of choice prior to attending rehab. However, for some, detox can be painful or potentially dangerous. In such cases, the person is advised to participate in a medically supervised detox program.
Some symptoms experienced during drug rehabilitation detox are vomiting, headaches, nausea, shaking, chills, perspiring, and constipation. During detox, the body is going through withdrawal and reacting to not getting the drugs it has become dependent upon.
In the most severe cases of detox from large amounts of alcohol, delirium can set in and/or patients can have seizures. Qualified medical supervision is imperative in such cases to monitor a patient during this first phase drug rehabilitation.
Counseling: After detox comes the real work of drug rehabilitation - counseling and various modalities of therapy. Counseling involves delving into the root causes of a patient's drug use.
Patients react differently to counseling. Some embrace the process of probing and self-discovery it affords. Others shy away from it, perhaps afraid of confronting hurts and ills from the past.
For long-term success as a recovering addict, experts advise that patients undergo prolonged therapy. This will reduce the chance of using again. The longer an individual is in primary drug rehab, the greater the chance for long term sobriety.
Crafting a New Life: On the Road to Recovery after Drug Rehabilitation
After patients successfully complete their program, many find that the dynamics of how they relate to people in their lives change. In some senses, a new person has been born. Many expect to "get clean" then be able to resume life as it was before. All aspects of the person's life get better and this means change; change in self respect, health, relationships, and work, just to name a few.
For many, they realize that they must cut ties with some people in their lives, forge new relationships and repair some. This can be a frightening prospect and is addressed in counseling sessions. In essence, life changes for the better in many wonderful ways that not only affect the addict but also those who are important to him her.
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