When you seek treatment in a West Palm Beach rehab center, the first step will be to go through the intake process. This is the most important part of your recovery because it will help the facility’s staff determine your needs for addiction treatment. It’s necessary to customize your treatment program to address mental health issues that may have contributed to your substance abuse problems. This is called a dual diagnosis, but it simply means that you require mental health therapy in conjunction with your addiction treatment. When you have suffered from a severe trauma, this intake process is especially important. The staff wants to help you learn how to cope with your trauma in healthier ways, so you won’t turn to drugs or alcohol as a means of dealing with flashbacks, depression, anxiety, and other symptoms of your trauma. People who experience a traumatic event, such as military combat, sexual abuse, or surviving a natural disaster, often have trouble coping with the memories. They use alcohol or drugs to ease the emotional pain those memories cause instead of dealing with the memories directly. When a counselor can identify that trauma, they can ensure you get the proper help you need.
Once you begin your addiction treatment program in a West Palm Beach rehab facility, you’ll be introduced to your mental health therapist. While it will be difficult to trust your therapist at first, you will come to know them and realize they will keep your personal details confidential. It’s important to cultivate this trust because your therapist will be primarily responsible for helping you deal with your trauma in healthy ways. In dealing with trauma of any kind, it’s important to open up about the incident that caused the trauma as this will help your therapist create a way forward. Often, treatment involves cognitive behavioral therapy as a means of helping you get through a flashback or other traumatic episode. You’ll learn how to avoid stressful situations and how to react when something suddenly causes you to experience that trauma. One-on-one therapy is intended to help you grow mentally stronger, so you won’t feel incapacitated by a traumatic memory.
What Other Therapies Are Available in a West Palm Beach Rehab Center?
In addiction treatment, group therapy is used to provide a system of support for recovering addicts. In addition to support groups that serve to address substance abuse issues, there will likely be other support groups that help address mental health issues. While you’re not compelled to discuss anything you talk about with your therapist, getting together with others who are dealing with trauma can help. This is an opportunity to support each other and to find out you’re not as alone as you may feel. You’ll learn more coping mechanisms from the other recovering addicts in your support group, and you’ll have the opportunity to help others by sharing what your own experiences have taught you. As you get more comfortable with your support group, you can talk more openly about your progress if you so choose. You may even develop friendships with recovering addicts who are dealing with similar types of trauma.
Aside from formal therapy, you’ll have other resources available to you to help you cope with how a past trauma affects your present life. While traditional therapy is intended to desensitize you to the trauma, other activities give you a new focus and encourage relaxation. When you’re happy or content, you’re less likely to experience an adverse symptom of the trauma. This is why many recovering addicts take up yoga and meditation as parts of their recovery process. Moderate to high-intensity physical exercise can also be helpful in alleviating the conditions in which a trauma-related episode is more likely to be induced. This is because the brain releases endorphins during physical activity that promote good feelings. A mood boost can be enough of a distraction to keep you from focusing on traumatic memories. You’ll find that thinking less about the trauma will reduce the frequency and severity of related symptoms, such as flashbacks and anxiety. When you do experience one of these symptoms, you’ll have the tools to deal with them in healthier ways.
When you’re ready to get the help you need to live a happier and healthier life, call us at 833-846-5669. Our counselors are available seven days a week, 24 hours a day to answer your questions about the available treatment programs we offer. Once you know more about your options for a sustained recovery, you can start on the path to living a better life.