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Drug rehabilitation program - Detox to Aftercare outlined.
Drug addiction left unchecked is very dangerous. It leads to all sorts of problems and complications that lead to utter ruin. People die from this terrible illness. So few people manage to stay clean on their own that drug rehab seems to be an essential part of developing a strategy to get sober. If your whole life is at stake is a drug treatment center a luxury or is it an essential investment in your future? There are drug treatment programs that can help you find meaningful recovery - free of the obsession to use drugs or alcohol.
Responsibility and success
Although you are not responsible for being an addict you are responsible for your recovery. Today's treatment methods require that the patient be actively involved in the healing process. There is no pill you can swallow to make yourself better - you have to work through the treatment program.
This requires that the addict wants to get better and is willing to make the effort to achieve sobriety. Where patients have the will to succeed a treatment program will help them to do so. If they wish to continue using drugs they will not be helped. This is sometimes said as "You can spend 4 weeks in a garage but you won't turn into a car". Similarly you can spend 4 weeks in rehab and not find recovery.
Early recovery is difficult and there are all sorts of stressors that the addict needs to find a way to cope with. Previously drug use would be the only coping mechanism an addict would turn to, but now they must find new ways of dealing with life's problems.
If you check into an addiction recovery centre you must be prepared to take responsibility to take the most out of it you possibly can. The staff at the addiction treatment facility won't be around you when you leave and it is up to you to learn how to deal with life on life's terms.
Taking Responsibility
Addiction has a negative impact on many areas of life and so recovery must also occur in many areas of life. Your self-knowledge and skills will aid your addiction recovery in these multiple spheres of life. A chief goal of addiction treatment is to empower the client to be able to make decisions that support and promote addiction recovery. The drug rehab will aim to help you help yourself. But first you need to understand the nature of this illness so that you can make informed decisions and beat drug abuse. By understanding the wide field of addiction recovery you will be able to focus on the core elements that will aid your healing.
An effective drug rehab program will help you understand the nature of addiction and give you the skills you need to understand yourself. At last you will have that sense of serenity that comes when you truly know yourself and accept yourself for who you are.
Drug addiction is commonly understood to be a disease that can be described in terms of symptoms, prognosis, and treatment. It is not a moral failing or a weakness of character. Addicts do not lack will-power nor are they "bad" people - they are sick people with a disease.
Often an addict is the last person to admit that she has a problem. Most often it is the people around the addict who notice the problem and try to bring it to the attention of the addict. Even though the addict may be suffering tremendously negative consequences he will endure the misery of using until she feels the need to stop is greater than the need to continue.
The need to continue using drugs occurs on two levels: physiological and psychological. Drug dependency develops on both of these levels. Dependency arises from prolonged use and if the drug is taken away from the addict then he will suffer withdrawal symptoms. Addiction recovery should address both of these levels and help the addict to find a new way of life that is free of the need to use drugs.
Dealing with the physical aspect of dependency is dealt with in a detox clinic where the addict is safely weaned off the drugs she has been taking. Once his body is clear of toxins the addict can join the drug treatment program and start to work on the psychological aspects of this illness.
Denial - not just a river in Egypt
I mentioned earlier that addicts are often the last to admit that they have a problem. They do so quite actively in a process known as Denial. Some people say that "denial" is an acronym for "Don't Even kNow I Am Lying" because it is common for an addict to sincerely believe that she 
has no problem with using drugs. A drug intervention may be arranged by his loved ones to point out the probems and suggest admission to rehab. Deconstructing denial is an essential part of a treatment process. An addict will not be motivated to put the effort into staying clean if he still believes he has no problem. Nor will she be able to understand the nature of the illness and so won't be able to take effective action.
Some theories of addiction suggest that drug addicts are overwhelmed by the fear of physical and psychological withdrawal and so will do anything to protect their drug use. The drugs become an intrinsic part of how that person understands himself - so much so that the addict is afraid of losing his identity if the drugs are removed. Whatever the reason - addicts are often unable to see the scope of the problem until it is too late.
Drug Detox: First steps towards rehab
Drug detox is the first essential step in helping the addict find lasting sobriety. This stage of the process allows the body the opportunity to rid itself of the chemicals. It should be medically supervised in case of dangerous withdrawal side-effects. Medication is commonly prescribed to help the addict deal with her uncomfortable feelings. A drug detoxification facility is the first stop on the road to getting better and helps the addict enter the drug treatment center with a clear head and a relatively healthy body.
Chronic drug use results in chemical changes occuring in the brain. The brain learns to compensate for the presence of the drug and eventually requires the drug to be present in order to feel normal. Additionally the addict develops a psychological dependency on the drug and feels unable to cope without it. A drug detox facility will try to make this process as comfortable as possible and ensure that medical dangers are minimized.
Contemporary medical science is able to provide smooth and comfortable detoxification. This provides the foundation for the drug recovery program.
Counseling: Addressing Psychological dependency
Once detox is completed and the physical aspect of dependency is successfully dealt with the addict will join a treatment program at a drug rehab. As part of this program the addict will receive counseling designed to help them address the psychological aspect of this illness. Remember we said that addiction impacts on many areas of life? A holistic treatment program will address each of these areas - with the goal of enabling the addict to make a full recovery.
If we expect the addict to live independently then we must equip the addict with the tools and knowledge to enable her to stay clean. We must support her as she starts this difficult journey and we must encourage her in taking the difficult decision to take responsibility for her own well-being.
Recovery starts with putting down the drugs and then becomes an endless journey of personal growth and adventurous self-discovery. A drug recovery program will place its graduates on this path and allow them to feel human again, to feel worthwhile, and to understand their makeup. There is nothing so freeing as the freedom of choice that follows careful self-examination.
Addiction recovery must undo the damages that the illness has wreaked on so many areas of life. Self-worth must be restored, and an eagerness for life must be reinstilled. Self-pity must be replaced by joyous celebration of lifes opportunities. Morbid preoccupation with the past must be replaced by acceptance and optimism. Self-seeking must be replaced with care and compassion for ones fellows. The meaning of recovery must be determined by the patient himself.
They say in the 12 step fellowships: "It works if you work it, so work it - you're worth it!". Helping an addict reach the point where they are able to feel worth it and be motivated to work recovery is the goal of drug treatment.
Maintaining Recovery
Can a person ever reach perfection? No! But that should not stop us from trying to constantly improve ourselves. If we have an idea of who we are and where we came from we will be motivated to maintain our vigilence in maintaining personal growth
. Many people say that because addiction is a progressive disease unless you're moving forwards and away from it you're actually just waiting for it to catch up to you!
A succesful drug treatment program will provide its clients with an ongoing recovery program which will help them to stay clean and promote personal growth. Recovery should imply that you stay stopped forever. Relapse is not compulsory! Participating in follow-up sessions at the drug treatment center as well as actively participating in a 12-step fellowship are excellent ways to expand recovery. Recovery is about more than putting down drugs, it is about being restored to a functional and productive member of society.
Daily adherence to a recovery program is required to achieve lasting recovery from drug abuse. One might baulk at this and say it is too much. You do not hear diabetics refusing to take insulin every day - so why should an addict refuse to work her program everyday? This illness is no less fatal than diabetes but can be treated effectively. If you choose every day to work a program then are by implication choosing not to use drugs.
Eventually the personal rewards of working a program of recovery become their own motivation. Psychological freedom, self-acceptance, serenity, lasting joy, and taking a place in society replace the addicts initial motivation (which is usually related to avoiding the negative consequences of addiction).
Working this program is never easy which is why addiction recovery resources exist to help clients in the long-term. Aftercare groups are offered by drug treatment centers and 12 step fellowship groups exist to support the addict. They provide social support to the addict and a means of sharing problems with caring peers.
