The choice to enter detox and rehab can be life-changing. Depending on what you’ve been using and for how long, your detox time may take more than the standard 7 day minimum. Additionally, if you have access to an outpatient rehab clinic, you can participate in some aspects of rehab indefinitely, such as group meetings. However, most inpatient rehab programs are completed within a month of starting. If you’ve been in a drug detox or rehabilitation program before, how long did you stay? Whether you’re attending rehab for the first time or returning after a relapse, the first step is a monitored detox.
During detox, your care team needs to protect your body and brain from the symptoms of detox while your body sheds the drugs or alcohol from your system. Detox is one of the factors that determines the length of time you will spend in rehab. For example, a detox from alcohol lasts approximately 7 days. Opiates can take 10 days. Before you can begin an effective rehab, you will need to get all the drugs out of your system so you can begin to heal.
Inpatient vs. Outpatient Rehab
As noted above, most inpatient rehab programs last one month. During this time, you can receive
- individual, group and family therapies
- nutritional support to repair your physical health
- wellness training to live a healthier life
Your therapies will depend greatly on the community you have waiting for you. If you have family who is willing to help you out and welcome you back into a healthy setting, then family therapies may be a good idea. If your family is not supportive or if they will not provide you with a healthy environment outside of rehab, you may do better to skip family therapy. Every family is different. You will also need to address your own mental health issues. There are many people who turn to drugs and alcohol to manage their own mental health symptoms. If you struggle with anxiety or depression, you may have turned to alcohol to calm the chatter in your mind or provide a sense of a good time on the darkest days.
Until these underlying mental health issues can come to the surface and be diagnosed, your alcohol cravings will stay strong. When you come out of detox, your body may be quite fragile. Detox can be hard on your heart, your stomach and especially your gut. Depending on what drugs were in your system, you may have been eating a poor diet for years. Those facing opiate withdrawal are particularly drawn to unhealthy foods containing a lot of sugar. If your physical health is in rocky shape, it’s a good idea to attend inpatient rehab where your food choices can be monitored and you can be guided toward nutritious choices.
If you live in a region that provides access to outpatient rehab, you may be able to transition either from detox right to outpatient or from inpatient to a supportive outpatient facility. Your home environment should be considered, especially when going right from detox to outpatient. Again, detox will leave you feeling quite fragile. It’s detox that gets the drugs out of your system and reduces physical cravings, but it’s rehab that helps you learn to manage the mental cravings. Should your home environment include drug use or offer you few options in terms of emotional support, you may well be safer at an inpatient rehab facility. Here, you can learn to build healthier community connections.
These connections may come in the form of group therapies which you can use to transition to meetings outside the rehab facility. You may also be introduced to an online community that can help you make healthier choices with support from people all over the world. The changes that detox and rehab will bring to your life are hard to quantify. You may be able to return to a healthier family. You may find a supportive community and people you can connect with right down the street or via the internet. Positive change takes planning. Ready to get started, Call us today at 833-846-5669.