What happens in a rehab?

A rehab facility might seem like a scary place but in reality, the drug rehab staff wants to see you succeed and is there to help.  After you decide that you want to enter treatment at a rehab, you might want to talk to a friend or family member and get their support. Having support outside of the drug rehab facility will be very important in your recovery. In fact, treatment centres like Hope Trust offer intensive support for the affected family members which leads to a wholesome recovery for the entire family.

While choosing a rehab, care should be taken that it has a good track record, offers more than mere treatment (like Yoga, meditation, competent medical and psychiatric support…)

Detoxing at a drug rehab facility

The very first step after you make a commitment to wanting to live a sober life is to go through detoxification. This means that a doctor will start your body’s healing process by getting rid of all the drugs that are currently in your body. Since your body was used to having a steady dose of a drug, your body will crave it and you will feel uncomfortable from both the craving and the withdrawals. Common withdrawal symptoms are headaches, body pain, nausea, and sweating. In some cases the doctor supervising your detox will give you medicine to help with the cravings and withdrawal symptoms.

The rehab you choose should have the experience and competency to deal with the symptoms of withdrawal.

Counselling at a Drug Rehab Facility

After you detox you will enter drug or alcohol addiction counselling. Each drug rehab facility operates a little differently but most places will have both individual and group drug addiction counselling. In individual counselling at a rehabilitation centre, you will have a counsellor that you see regularly, one-on-one. Individual counselling is more private and your counselling session will be dedicated to you. In group counselling, you will be in meetings/ sessions with other people going through the recovery program at the same rehab facility as you. Group counselling sessions can help you and others come to terms with how drugs have affected your life and the lives of others as well as realize that you are ultimately responsible for remaining sober. Group sessions can be very effective in many ways.

Once you complete all the other steps in the treatment centre, you can move on to after care. During after care you will have more freedom than before. Some centres offer a ‘Transit’ program. This helps in smoothening your transition from the protected environs in the rehab to the ‘real’ world outside. Hope Trust has such an option.

Make sure you keep attending meetings and stay in touch with your counsellor to maintain sobriety and all the hard work you put in. You should also pick up a ‘sponsor’ in the 12 step support group, for guidance.