Rehab is a treatment process that addresses the factors surrounding addiction and how to cope with cravings. For example, someone abusing heroin would benefit from rehab after their heroin detox to learn how to replace the drug with healthy coping mechanisms so they can positively turn their life around.
One common trait that everyone who has successfully completed rehab shares is they have a grounded attitude to life, which propels them forward in recovery. This is because there is more to rehab than simply resisting cravings. The rehabilitation process allows people to take a step back from routine and reflect on themselves to make clearer decisions.
This article discusses why rehab is so successful and why everyone, not just those with addiction, would benefit from what it offers.
Therapy
All rehab treatments differ, but some offer a range of different therapy techniques, which can be extremely useful for organizing your thoughts. With busy lives and people distracted by multiple things, it can be challenging to find yourself listened to. And if that opportunity does arise, it can feel difficult to fully open up, as it can feel we are burdening others with our problems.
In rehab, however, group therapy is made up of people that genuinely want to listen and support you when you feel ready to share. Jason Shiers Certified Psychotherapist says “Opening up to others with addiction helps clients acknowledge that they are not the only ones going through that situation and that others have felt exactly the way they have.” This unity creates strong bonds which help everyone support one another through the recovery process.
These sessions would benefit everyone, as so many of us feel as if we go through things alone and would benefit from hearing others’ experiences.
Space away
One of the most beneficial parts of residential rehab (also known as inpatient rehab) is that you reside within the treatment center and live with others on the same journey. This offers space away from the usual routine. For someone with addiction, this takes them away from anything at home that triggers trauma or influences their drug intake. Having space away from these stimuli allows people to come to terms with their actions and make decisions in a safe space, without clouded judgment.
As much as this helps people recover from the clutch of addictive substances, space away to reflect is a huge advantage that would improve decision-making for most of us. Unfortunately, routinely makes this something the majority cannot afford the luxury of.
Change of expectations
As we get older, people’s expectations increase. Whether it’s keeping up with a demanding job, looking for a relationship, trying to get on the property ladder, or just being a good friend, we are constantly criticized by general society and those around us. Knowing that people are judging us can make us put immense pressure on us to get things right. This can cause extreme stress and anxiety and often exacerbate drug abuse, as people find it a way to deal with expected criticism. However, this changes in rehab.
In rehab, nobody judges you or expects you to work at a particular pace. You start to realize that we are our harshest critics. Accepting this leads to a healthy and realistic mindset, which stops you from stressing over minor issues and helps you focus more on other’s needs without judgment. You also learn to reflect on the past without obsessing over it. This is essential for recovery. But it is also an important skill to make progress from mistakes without dwelling on the past.
Off-screen time
Screens eat up a vast majority of our lives. Whether we work a laptop screen, scroll through social media or pay our bills online, the internet absorbs many hours of our lives. In rehab, mobile phones and laptops are often kept secure and only permitted for a couple of hours each day or at the weekend. This is to encourage clients to switch off from home life and concentrate fully on their program without distraction.
Taking the time to look away from the screen forces you to return to your head and observe what is around you. Although this can be difficult at the beginning of rehab, especially when adapting to detox and facing buried thoughts, limited screen time works wonders for concentration and time management. Learning to concentrate on people rather than stare at a phone makes building connections easier when people reach out and helps you focus on what people are saying and making eye contact, rather than half-listening.
Rehab is a key component in the recovery phase. It doesn’t just sort out the addiction; it offers you the tools that so many of us crave so that you can start your journey with a clear head and a focus on your goals that many people have lost along the way.