Going to rehab puts you in touch with the resources that you need to learn how to deal with an addiction. Once you enter rehab, you’ll spend large parts of your day talking with counselors and other people who have dealt with addiction in their life. Rehab programs that offer the option of inpatient treatment also allow you to step away from your daily stresses while you work on becoming stronger in sobriety. You may be looking forward to the opportunity to improve your life, but it is also normal to be curious about all of the details. An addiction treatment program can last anywhere from a few days to many months. Figuring out if it is harder to leave rehab if you stay longer helps you plan for the right amount of time for your treatment arrangements.
There is no right or wrong length of time to spend in a treatment facility. However, it is best to use the severity of your addiction as a good rule of thumb to follow when planning for a stay. Someone who has recently fallen into addictive patterns may need a shorter stay compared to someone who has misused street drugs for years and experienced relapses and health problems. While you might get used to staying in your treatment program, the truth is that most people find it fairly easy to transition back to normal life. The ideal treatment program for you will spend time preparing you for staying sober once you return home.
Find the Time You Need to Get Sober
There are some advantages to longer rehab stays. In addition to giving you more time to reflect upon your addiction, a longer stay may offer you these benefits.
- get more help with withdrawal symptoms
- gain a deeper understanding of why you use drugs or alcohol
- put more distance between your new life and former lifestyle
- get more opportunities to cultivate healthier lifestyle habits
- feel confident about your ability to maintain sobriety at home
A quality rehab program would never send you home without making sure that you are fully prepared to maintain your sobriety. Sure, it might be hard at first to get used to not having someone around to remind you to go to therapy or prepare you a nutritious meal, but there are benefits to being back at home. Once you are sober, you’ll be better prepared to enjoy a successful career or raise your children without the clouds of addiction hanging over your head.
With long-term rehab stays, you’ll find that your counseling team begins preparing you to go home from the beginning of your enrollment in the program. At first, you’ll mostly be working on getting through your first days of sobriety. You might learn how to deal with your anxiety without using drugs or alcohol, and you will be attending therapy sessions that get to the root of your addiction. You’ll also find yourself surrounded by caring people who understand what getting sober is like when you’ve dealt with addiction for so long.
Once you’ve made it through the first phase of your treatment, your counselors will begin helping you to continue building the skills that you need to survive sobriety in the real world. Depending upon your status, this might include bringing in your family or living partner for counseling that helps you address issues that occur at home. Or, you might spend time in intensive individual counseling that allows you to build stronger coping skills that get you through any new challenge.
As you progress towards returning home, you’ll also begin to focus more on what that might look like. Your counselors might recommend that you move into a sober living home temporarily if you are nervous about transitioning out of a long-term treatment program, or they may suggest outpatient counseling to make it easier to manage the transition. Many people continue with group counseling for years to help them stay sober once they leave rehab, and your counselors will make sure that you have support systems in place to turn to when you feel stressed out by events that happen in your life.
Are you unsure of whether or not a short-term or long-term rehab program is best for you? Give us a call at 833-846-5669. We’ll help you find a rehab that helps you get sober and transition back to your normal life when its time.