In America today, more than 23 million men and women report being addicted to drugs or alcohol. Of these 23 million, only a handful choose to take the next step and commit to a specialized treatment program.
For those who feel their addiction may be taking charge of their life, it’s certainly in your best interest to consider entering a drug rehab facility. While it takes courage and motivation to commit to such a decision, it has the power to save and transform your entire life.
While the main priority of a drug rehab facility is to overcome addiction, there is an abundance of other benefits that stem from the program. Alongside conquering one’s addiction, those in drug rehab facilities also learn the tools necessary for building a productive, healthy, and happy lifestyle.
If you’ve been considering attending a drug rehab facility, you’re going to want to read this. We’re outlining the top ten most life-changing benefits of attending a drug rehab facility.
While overcoming addiction is never easy, the long-term benefits are always worth the fight.
1. Establishing Healthy Routines
First and foremost, a drug rehab facility is the best way for an addict to establish a new, healthy routine.
Because drugs are so damaging to both the body and the mind, it’s crucial to make efforts to correct as much of this damage as possible.
Unfortunately, some of the effects caused by even casual drug use are long-term and have proven to be irreversible.
However, with a healthy new routine fixated on balanced meals and exercise, certain components of the mind and body are capable of healing. For example, some studies have noted that certain areas of the brain can return to their original state. For some, this may be in terms of both volume as well as functionality.
In a rehab facility, meals as well as exercise are pre-determined and balanced. Those participating in such a program can rest assured that their meals are following a strict guideline and their body will be properly exercised.
This helps former addicts navigate a positive relationship with healthy eating and exercise routines. Once established, they can practice these routines when returning to their usual environment.
2. Erasing Temptation
It won’t come as a surprise that all rehab facilities are drug and alcohol-free.
In order to free the mind of temptation, it’s vital to be in an environment in which drugs and alcohol are simply not an option.
When attempting to eliminate drugs or alcohol outside of a rehab facility, this is not the case. In the outside world, an addict is still engulfed in an environment where it is possible to get ahold of their substance.
Without an environment that is entirely drug and alcohol-free, it can be difficult for the addict to find long-term success.
3. Learning How to Set Goals
Rehab introduces individuals to set goals that are realistic while also providing the best tools possible for achieving them.
While addicts may have set goals throughout their addiction, many of these goals fail to be met. This is often because the mind is so often altered and controlled by their substance of choice. Even with sincere intentions, these goals fail to be taken seriously and are eventually abandoned.
A drug rehab facility helps to break the cycle of abandoned goals. Once an individual enters rehab, their mind will be more capable of setting goals. From here, that individual is taught the tools necessary for the best way to achieve these goals in the near future.
Not only are these goals the pathway to creating a healthy and happy life, but they are also beneficial to recovery.
4. Learning About Addiction
Understanding addiction is never a simple nor straightforward task.
After all, addiction can be different for each and every person as well as the different factors leading to one’s addiction. In order to overcome one’s addiction long-term, it’s essential to understand what may have sparked the addiction in the first place.
In learning about addiction, the individual becomes better able to identify things, people, places, or events that trigger the mind into craving drugs.
This can also help addicts to shift some of the blame they hold against themselves for their addiction. This creates a healthier mind for that addict and allows them to feel less anger and resentment toward themselves.
Individuals will also learn about the realities of addiction and the damaging effects that it has on one’s health. This comes in terms of both short-term effects and long-term effects such as the potential for certain diseases. For example, those who use methamphetamine have a higher risk of developing HIV and hepatitis.
5. Understanding Underlying Issues
Each and every rehab program provides addicts the opportunity to delve deeply into the psychology of their addiction.
In doing so, individuals are able to understand the factors that may have led to their addiction. This could be anything from genetics and family history to their mental state and current living conditions.
Through understanding the underlying issues of one’s addiction, it’s easier to shift the entirety of the blame from one’s self and begin to forgive. This is important as it reminds former addicts that their addiction did not stem from a lack of morality or an innermost desire to act wrongly.
Addicts also learn about the personality traits or characteristics that are common amongst addicts. In fact, a recent study found that 53 percent of the patients in one rehab facility were diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder.
Once an addict understands the factors that may have contributed to their addiction, it’s easier to prevents these factors from emerging once again. This is especially made possible with the help of a psychologist that can help provide tools for fighting these factors and overcoming them.
6. Establishing Lifelong Relationships
One of the most important factors in remaining sober long-term comes in terms of support and relationships.
One reality in getting clean is that former addicts tend to withdraw themselves from past friendships. This is often because those relationships were centered on substance abuse and a mutual addiction. Without the drug, the friendship slowly deteriorates and ceases to exist.
Fortunately, a drug rehab facility presents the perfect opportunity to discover like-minded friendships. These friends all share a common goal and can provide eternal support and friendship to one another. These are the types of friendships that have the ability to be long-term relationships.
Let’s face it, humans are naturally social beings. The desire to engage with others and establish a connection is a natural human tendency. The more healthy and fulfilling an addict’s relationships are, the more likely that person will have the power to resist their addiction.
Without these human relationships, it is only natural for humans to experience feelings of loneliness or depression. As we know, these emotions can be triggers and are always best avoided.
7. Building New Habits and Practices
For those battling drug addiction, self-care and healthy habits typically fall to the back burner.
Instead of focusing on one’s health, the mind of a drug addict narrows their focus to their substance of choice. As a result, abiding by a positive and healthy lifestyle is not prioritized nor practiced.
Throughout one’s stay at a drug rehab facility, addicts will learn new habits and practices that are centered upon a healthy lifestyle. This may be anything from proper nutrition and exercise to proper self-care and discipline.
Learning these habits and practices in rehab give individuals the tools necessary to transition these practices into their new life. Because that individual is now capable of seeing the positive effects these practices have on the body and mind, they are more likely to continue these habits.
These healthy habits are also more likely to keep the individual on the road to sobriety and focus on their health and well-being.
8. Determining Your Triggers
One of the most important factors in overcoming an addiction is to gain a solid understanding of one’s personal triggers.
While each addict has different triggers that speak to them, a list of common triggers are as follows:
- People
- Places
- Dates
- Holidays
- Emotional States
- Medication
- Events
Throughout one’s program, the individual will continue to learn about the triggers of their addiction. To minimize these triggers, it’s vital to understand what exactly these triggers are and where they stem from.
Many addicts will find that one of their most prominent triggers comes in the form of negative emotions or mental states. For example, stress or depression has proven to be a major trigger for many addicts.
At a rehab facility, the individual will be able to learn how to handle the triggers that result in an unwell mental state. Doctors and psychologists will be able to provide that individual with the tools necessary for resisting these triggers in the future.
These are lifelong lessons that former addicts will use and practice throughout their entire life.
9. Overcoming Obstacles
Throughout an addict’s journey, there are bound to be numerous moments of uncertainty and doubt.
During these times, it’s only natural to feel that one’s addiction will always come out on top. However, as the program continues and the individual learns more about their addiction, these feelings typically begin to lessen.
In eventually completing the journey and fighting against their addiction, that individual is overcome with an incredible sense of pride and confidence.
Successfully completing rehab is something that likely felt impossible at one point in time. To imagine living freely against their drug of choice may have seemed a distant dream for the majority of addicts.
Completing a rehab program gives them all the confidence necessary for overcoming obstacles in the future. After all, the battle against drugs or alcohol is surely one of the most challenging occasions in life for many addicts.
10. Establishing a Life-Long Mentor
One of the most important aspects of a drug rehab is finding a sponsor or mentor for the addict. Having an established mentor in combination with attending addiction meetings is the best way to resist temptation when the program comes to an end.
A mentor is someone who has battled with addiction themselves and has worked hard to overcome this addiction. With their strength and experience, they are able to provide valuable information as well as support to those in the recovery process.
They also help addicts in the beginning stage of their recovery to share that a life without addiction is possible. This person is acting as proof that an addict can change and that addiction does not have to be forever. Seeing this firsthand helps to provide a strong sense of hope that recovery is realistic.
In doing so, the hope is to create a successful mentor and mentee relationship that continues outside of the program. For many addicts, this becomes a long-term relationship that continues to persist for many years to come.
The Long-Term Benefits of Drug Rehab Facilities
While 22 million Americans report feeling the need for rehab, only 2.5 million Americans attend a rehab center.
For those battling drug addiction, a rehab facility just might be the difference between life and death.
Here, addicts are in a controlled environment where they learn how to cope with cravings and how to manage their desires. It is here that addicts are in the best environment possible to break their cycle of addiction.
Not only does a rehab facility help to fight this addiction, it also provides addicts with the tools necessary to get their life back on track. These lifelong skills developed in drug rehab facilities are designed to provide a number of lifelong benefits for the sake of the future.
These benefits will help recovering addicts formulate a future that is free from substance abuse so that they can be healthy and happy.
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