Rehabilitation is critical for the long-term recovery of an individual with drug addiction. Without proper rehabilitation, individuals addicted to drugs or alcohol have a very high risk of relapse. This is why leaving rehab early can, and most likely will be detrimental to the recovery process. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, research has shown us that good outcomes from rehabilitation for addiction are reliant on adequate treatment length: “Generally, for residential or outpatient treatment, participation for less than 90 days is of limited effectiveness, and treatment lasting significantly longer is recommended for maintaining positive outcomes.”
Yes, recovery is a long, difficult journey. But with the right medical and emotional support in the early stages, those who successfully complete treatment at an addiction rehabilitation facility stand a much better chance of a successful recovery.
First off, what is drug rehabilitation?
The rehabilitation stage comes after your body has undergone detoxification and is perfectly clean of drugs and/or alcohol. The detox stage is important because it breaks the physical dependency that your brain has on drugs. This is one of the most difficult stages to endure in the short-term because of what is known as the withdrawal period. Because most addictive substances suppress your body’s production of neurotransmitters like noradrenaline when you stop taking the drug your brain is no longer capable of naturally creating the necessary chemicals for normal mental functioning. The withdrawal period is meant to retrain your brain to once again begin producing an adequate amount of these chemicals again so that you are no longer physically dependent on the drug.While the detoxification stage caters to the physical aspects of your substance addiction, rehabilitation takes care of the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects. After detoxification gives your body a blank slate, it is time to focus on your mind to ensure lifelong recovery. Since the roots of most addictions lie in an emotional or a psychological need, addressing only the physical dependency and skipping rehab will only further mask the heart of the matter.
An effective rehab treatment revolves around a tailor-made program to suit your personal, mental, and emotional wellbeing. While there are a number of rehab solutions, your journey to sobriety is bound to be unique. It is only at this stage that you will discover the tools and techniques needed to address your physical, emotional, and spiritual health in a positive way.
Rehab and relapse
Relapse is not uncommon for individuals when they are going through recovery. Experts stress that drug addiction is not just a disease, rather a state of mind. This is exactly why individuals in recovery need time to heal their minds in addition to their bodies. The recovery period following a substance addiction is not an easy time, but rehab can help make the pain easier to bear.
Proper rehabilitation treatment is the only way to win the lifelong battle of addiction against yourself. Leaving rehab early or mid-way is never recommended, as it sabotages your efforts for recovery and takes you back to square one where your addiction started. The difference between that time and now is that your body had developed a tolerance for the substance you were abusing. The reason why relapse can be so dangerous and even fatal is that your body will not be able to tolerate the high dosages of the substance that you were used to taking when your addiction was at its peak. In fact, many overdoses are the result of a person’s first use of the drug after a period of sobriety. Rehabilitation programs aim to address the underlying issues that triggered the substance abuse in the first place, hence reducing the rates of relapse. Leaving a rehab program early can not only be dangerous for your mental health: it has also been proven deadly.
Top six reasons you should not leave rehab early
Counseling is the key to recovery
Many individuals prefer going to detox-only clinics to wean themselves of their physical substance dependencies, and they insist that they do not need additional help or support after detoxification. This is the worst attitude to adopt because rehab entails several counseling sessions to help the drug addicts make true progress towards lifelong recovery. Hence, skipping or leaving the rehab program early leaves you ill-equipped to handle the cravings you will undoubtedly experience eventually.
Job loss
Studies suggest that most individuals who decide to go into full rehab treatment end up keeping their jobs successfully. It is crucial for drug addicts to complete their treatment and show progress towards sobriety. Leaving rehab early can obliterate your agreements with your employer and result in your termination. Moreover, even if you manage to save your job at first you will not be able to perform well enough to secure it any further, given the failure to control your long-term cravings.
A toll on willpower and self-confidence
For addicts who have a variety of other past mistakes under their belt, quitting rehab early will only reinforce their pattern of failure. Even if they plan on staying clean after detoxification, leaving the rehab program mid-way will have a negative impact on their willpower and self-confidence. In contrast, going through proper rehabilitation can strengthen your willpower to fight cravings. And even if you relapse, chances are you will recover quickly and get on with a healthy, drug-free life.
Disturbed relationships and family concerns
Acquiring the ability to manage and fight long-term cravings can greatly improve your relationship with your spouse, children, and other family members. For divorced addicts with children, successfully completing a rehab program can serve as the golden ticket to get visitation rights. If you look at the bigger picture, not only does the user benefit from the rehab treatment: the happiness of the entire family also depends on it.
The fee you have paid
Do not squander your money by leaving rehab early. These treatment programs can be costly and quitting without availing the benefits after you have paid the amount is nothing but financial negligence. If your insurance has covered your treatment program and you decide to leave it early, you can lose coverage for rehab in the future. Although finances should not be the main worry of an addict, the prospect of throwing money down the drain can be enough for some to continue the program.
Thinking ahead in the future
Individuals with drug addiction need to think about their future and the way their lives will turn out. More often than not, leaving rehab early results in a hopeless return to substance abuse. If you quit rehab, your parents may stop talking to you or your spouse may divorce you. Accepting and understanding the fact that you have an addiction is one thing, but you can’t expect your loved ones to support your decision to end treatment.
While rehab may seem unbearable at times, it saves you from a lot of long-term consequences. Scottsdale Recovery Center provides you with the tools you need to physically and mentally fight your drug cravings and helps you take control of your temptation and move forward in life with confidence. Our programs are individually designed to help each of our patients fight their battles and prevent relapse. If you’re already enrolled in a treatment program, keep persevering. Stopping treatment is never the answer. For additional assistance or more information on our own treatment processes, call us today.
