You might know that you need treatment for a substance use disorder. But you might also feel some anxiety about the process—especially if you don’t really have a sense of what to expect. Those feelings of trepidation might be keeping you out of treatment. That leaves you struggling with drugs or alcohol on your own, and you may very well find yourself stuck between the strong desire to get sober and the rigors of withdrawal.
That is a bad spot—too anxious to get treatment, too battered by withdrawal symptoms to get sober on your own, and too miserable due to the ongoing negative impacts of substance use.
We would like to help address the first problem. Your worries about treatment are understandable—but might lessen if you have a better understanding of the process. So let’s walk through the process. But let’s take that walk in the opposite direction from the one you might be expecting. Doing so might help you focus on the benefits of the treatment process.
Starting with the Continuum of Care
When your time in treatment comes to an end, you may find yourself concerned that you won’t be able to maintain your hard-won sobriety. After all, you are leaving the treatment facility and returning to your day-to-day life—a life that not that long ago was infused with drugs or alcohol.
To address those concerns, French Creek Recovery Center provides a continuum of care. Put simply, that means we will continue to provide resources and support as your recovery journey gets underway. The early days of recovery offer plenty of challenges, so we work hard to make sure you are equipped to handle anything that comes your way.
Knowing that you have that support can make a big difference—and it can also make it easier to know what to do in the event that you experience a relapse. Getting back into treatment is your best move in those circumstances, and your ongoing relationship with French Creek can make the decision easier.
The Work in Rehab Sets You Up for Sobriety Success
Rehabilitation offers you the opportunity to dig deep into the strategies, resources, and ideas that can help you maintain your sobriety over time. Rehab includes personalized individual therapy, which includes addressing any co-occurring mental health disorders that may be in play.
Whether your substance use disorder was fueled by a mental health disorder or your mental health struggles have been worsened by your drug or alcohol use (or some combination of the both), individual therapy offers an opportunity to work through all kinds of things that might be contributing to your difficulties.
Rehab also includes group therapy, which provides an opportunity to get and give mutual support from others who understand what you have gone through. With guidance from a trained therapist, these group gatherings can be powerful. Additionally, group therapy provides a model for 12-Step and other recovery programs that can play a key role in your recovery journey.
Detoxification Makes the Rest of Recovery Possible
At the beginning of this blog entry, we noted that a person who tries to give up drugs or alcohol on their own often finds themselves in the grips of such intense withdrawal symptoms that they find themselves turning back to substances just to make those symptoms stop.
The detox process at the top of treatment makes it possible to get through these difficult moments so that you can actually get sober. Part of that is due to a simple fact: Drugs and alcohol are not available once you enter treatment. A lack of availability is a key part of the benefits of entering a recovery center.
But what about the problems associated with withdrawal? At French Creek Recovery Center, the detox process occurs under medical supervision, using the best evidence-based practices for managing withdrawal symptoms. Going through detox is the best way to set yourself up for lasting sobriety.
A Reminder: We Started at the End to Encourage You to Start at the Beginning
We started at the end of treatment rather than the beginning because we wanted to focus on the reality that your life can be truly transformed in treatment. Keeping your eye on that goal might make it easier to take the scary first step. The result—reclaimed sobriety and the opportunity to maintain it over time—is worth the challenges along the way.
At French Creek Recovery Center in Meadville, PA, we rely on evidence, expertise, experience, and empathy to help those we serve restart their lives in sobriety. Be brave and take that first step on your journey to a life free from the destructive power of drugs and alcohol.