Shockingly, those patients compelled by courts, by employers and even by concerned family or parents to enter into drug treatment do just about as well as those people who check into rehab of their own accord.
We as a society cling to the myth that people can only truly get help once they have reached rock bottom, and once they have made a determined and personal decision for change; and it seems to be completely false.
It's unfortunate too, because how many families let a loved one continue with abuse in the mistaken belief that they are powerless to effect change.
It's hard to accept a need for change while your mind is clouded by drugs or alcohol
Addictions professionals explain that a true desire to change cannot really occur while intoxicated and lacking the clarity of sobriety, and for a great many participants in drug and alcohol rehabs, its not until a few days into the program, after the end of detox and with the reemergence of the clarity of sobriety, can recovering addicts even begin to make truly rational and considered decisions.
Many participants in drug and alcohol rehabs have been almost continually intoxicated or recovering from intoxication for literally years, and they have not had a real significant period of considered self refection for that entire period.
If you can ever convince someone needing treatment to get help, they have a great chance at sobriety
If you can convince someone obviously abusing drugs or alcohol to accept needed drug or alcohol treatment, even if they do not agree that they need it, then they should go. Statistically, they have just as much of a chance of bettering their addiction as someone who checks in on their own.
Family interventions
Families concerned about a loved one's drinking or drugging and wanting a change should consider a family intervention. Interventions have an incredible success rate when success is defined as the acceptance of treatment help. Interventions do not always convince the using addict of the existence of a problem, but they almost always result in an acceptance of treatment, if only so "the addict can show that he or she doesn’t have a problem!"
Only the addict can change their behaviors, and all family can do is try to get them to seek help; but since so many addicts only realize the true magnitude of their problem with a few days of sobriety or through participation in group or individual therapies, the odds are good that by getting them into treatment they will concede to a need for help, to the level of the problem, and begin to strive towards sobriety as the only acceptable goal.
Families can have a powerful impact, and although they can never make the decision to stop for the using addict, they can influence an entry into treatment, and from there everyone has a legitimate chance at a better life of sobriety.
No Relapse! 3 ways to stay sober after drug or alcohol rehab
Drug or alcohol rehab is unfortunately no guarantee of long term sobriety, and a great many people fail to see sobriety through the end of the first very risky year after rehab. Here are three things you can do to maximize the odds of staying sober and staying healthy after the end of drug or alcohol rehab.
Insomnia can lead to relapse. 8 ways to get to sleep at night; even while going through withdrawal!
We don’t often think of sleep as a risk factor to relapse and abuse, but insomnia during long term withdrawal is a significant predictor of further abuse. This is very problematic as one of the symptoms of long term withdrawal off of a great many drugs is a prolonged period of sleep disturbances. Here are 8 ways to get to sleep at night, even while going through withdrawal.
Alcoholism; 3 ways family can help a recovering alcoholic stay sober
You can never fight the battles of alcoholism recovery for someone you love, but that doesn’t mean that family can't help a lot on the road to sobriety. Although the recovering alcoholic must walk the lonely road to sobriety alone, there are three concrete actions that a loving and supportive family can take to help out along the way.
