If you’re reading about getting drug rehab information, then you must be wondering if you need help with a drug or alcohol abuse problem or maybe you know someone who does. The first thing you should do is relax, because you are not the worst person in the world, and there is help available.
Drug abuse or addiction is not in itself a crime. People commit crimes related to their drug use-theft or robbery, assault, and other misdemeanors or felonies. Those crimes are the result of the medical diagnosis of addiction.
Here’s the thing: The person who needs help has to be ready to accept it. Unfortunately, most people aren’t ready until their addiction really messes up their lives. Maybe the spouse gets fed up. Maybe a job is lost. Maybe there are DUI tickets and even some time in the county jail. People who are in recovery from addiction refer to their past mess-ups as “wreckage.”
Perhaps you’ve already backed up into the legal system. If you’ve stolen something to pay for your habit, or assaulted someone while you were under the influence, you are on your way to some real jail time if you don’t get help.
The road to getting good drug rehab information begins with your family doctor. Some substances cause physical problems if they’re stopped suddenly. Even stopping alcohol will cause seizures or other symptoms if you’ve consumed large amounts regularly over time. So begin by visiting your doctor and telling him you want to stop using.
This is one of the hardest things-to admit it to someone else! If you can’t say it to your doctor, write it down on a piece of paper. Make your initial appointment for a “check-up.” When the doctor comes into the examining room, hand him the piece of paper. He will help you find drug rehab clinics in your neighborhood.
If you don’t have a regular doctor, visit a local health clinic. Tell the nurse you have an earache or whatever, and then tell the doctor the real reason when he comes in. You can also call your local hospital and ask for the social services department. The easiest way is to look on the internet-type in “drug rehab information,” and add your city and state.
The first level of drug rehab is outpatient treatment. That means you visit a counselor who has received special education and certification in drug counseling. Appointments take place once or twice a week. Sometimes you meet with a counselor one-on-one. Some outpatient treatment comes in the form of group therapy, where several people meet together with the counselor.
If you don’t improve through outpatient treatment, the counselor recommends you for the next step, which is either intensive outpatient or partial hospitalization. Intensive outpatient-also called IOP-takes place three or four times per week. With partial hospitalization, you attend a day program at a hospital and then go home at night.
If you need additional help, your counselor will refer you to residential treatment. The length of treatment depends on your own circumstances. The purpose of residential treatment is to totally interrupt your life so you can change it, and it’s never less than 30 to 45 days. The best treatment programs are a minimum of 90 days, and some are as long as six months or a year. You can’t just begin with residential; state alcohol addiction service boards require people to begin at outpatient and work their way up.
You can also get drug rehab information through organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. They are places where men and women who share common problems get together, talk about their lives, and try to give each other strength. Look them up in your phone book or search for them online. Just remember that you can do this, if you take it one day at a time.
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