Realizing that you are ready to get help to overcome drug addiction is often the first step to recovery. Many people have a hard time determining that they actually have a problem and wait to get help until they hit rock bottom. In-patient treatment is often the best option to choose because you are away from the temptation to do drugs and are able to focus fully on your recovery.
It’s best to take the time to ensure you properly prepare for your recovery before you check into the treatment center. You want to be able to give your recovery your full focus and not stress about everything that is going on in the outside world. The following guide walks you through a few things that you can do to help you ensure you are properly prepared.
Talk to Friends and Family
The first thing you should do is to talk to your friends and family about what your plan is. It can be hard to admit that you have a problem and that you want to get help for it. If you were to go into treatment without talking to anyone about it, there is always the chance that they could become very worried about you and think that something bad has happened to you such as incarceration or even an overdose.
If they were to call the treatment center, the staff wouldn’t be able to tell them who is in and is not in the facility. You don’t have to give them intimate details about the treatment that you are receiving, but simply letting them know what is going on is important.
Clean Out Your Home
When you get out of treatment, the temptation to use drugs will still be present. You want to be sure that you take the time to clean everything out of your home or car. Remove drugs, paraphernalia and anything that could trigger you to want to use drugs again in the future. When you find drugs in your home, you should take them to your local police station.
Let them know that you are a recovering addict and are turning in the drugs so that you aren’t tempted to use them when you get out of recovery. They will be able to dispose of them safely so that there are no environmental risks that take place. Flushing the drugs down the toilet isn’t a good idea because it could pollute the water and cause major issues for the environment.
Make Arrangements with Your Boss
It can be embarrassing and scary to let your boss know that you have an addiction to drugs and that you need to get help for it. Many people are fearful that their boss will fire them or look at them differently if they admit they have a problem. It’s important to know that the FMLA protects you from being fired for getting the help that you need. You will be able to return to the same job that you did before you went to get treatment and will not have your pay docked at all.
It’s important to know that when you go in for treatment the company doesn’t have to pay you while you are away. There are some insurance companies that will cover the treatment, though so you can have some of your costs covered, you need to be sure that you have enough money available to pay for the rest of your bills before you go into treatment. If you don’t, you need to make arrangements with your debtors to let them know that you have to go to recovery treatment to get help for your addiction and they may defer your payments for a month or more. You may have to provide them with proof that you are going to treatment, though, so be sure to get proof of your treatment in writing when you sign up for it.
Schedule Your Inpatient Treatment
Believe it or not, many people assume that they can walk in off the street and get the help that they need for addiction on the spot. This isn’t the case, though. If you want to go to inpatient treatment, you need to make plans ahead of time so that you can be sure to get a slot at the treatment facility that you want to go to. If you are going to a public treatment facility, the availability will be limited, and you may have to wait for weeks or even months to go into treatment. The upside to the public facilities is that they are often very affordable so that you don’t have to pay a ton of money to get the help that you need. Private centers often have less wait time because they do cost money to attend. If you have the money to pay for treatment at a private facility, you may be able to start your treatment within the next few weeks or even the next few days.
Inpatient treatment has been shown to be very helpful in the road to recovery for many addicts. They are able to get clean from the physical addiction to drugs in a comfortable way through medications that can minimize the symptoms they experience as they detox from the drugs. There is also counseling available to help them learn what their triggers are and develop strategies to help them avoid the temptations that are sure to come when they get back into the real world. Being surrounded by other people who are going through the same struggle can make it seem more manageable to you so that you can have the best results possible.
Having everything prepared before you go into treatment ensures that you don’t have to be distracted by the what if’s of the outside world. You can focus on yourself, your growth and your recovery fully without having to feel guilty that there are things you need to take care of at home or at work.
