People who use drugs and alcohol for extended periods and in hazardous ways put themselves at significant risk of developing an addiction and co-occurring mental health disorders. Around half of the people living with alcohol and substance use disorders also meet the criteria for a dual diagnosis. Note: co-occurring disorders and dual diagnosis are used interchangeably in the field of addiction medicine.
If you have been struggling with drugs and alcohol for months, years, or decades, then you probably require professional assistance. However, making the courageous decision to seek treatment is anything but easy. The hooks of the disease are deep, and the addictive mind will do anything to convince its host that the problem is not that severe.
Addicts and alcoholics live in denial, sometimes for decades, before they finally decide to seek assistance. They seek help in one of two ways, typically; either checking into an addiction treatment center or looking up a 12 Step meeting in their area. While both options are beneficial, severe cases usually require more than AA or NA can offer, at first.
The cycle of addiction is notoriously difficult to break. What’s more, those who are dependent on drugs and alcohol experience withdrawal symptoms when attempting to abstain. Such symptoms can be so uncomfortable that relapse is almost inevitable without professional supervision. Moreover, withdrawing from certain substances can cause severe health complications; without medical supervision, detox can have deadly outcomes.
Seeking Addiction Treatment with a Full Continuum of Care
If you feel that it’s time to turn your life around and break the disease cycle, then it’s imperative you speak to addiction medicine specialists first. Doing so will help you determine the severity of your condition and what course you should take for achieving the desired result of long-term recovery.
We would be remiss if we failed to share that not everyone in long-term recovery went to treatment. However, given the public health crisis regarding opioids, benzodiazepines, and methamphetamine, seeking professional assistance is strongly advisable. This is especially true when regarding the detoxification process.
Benzodiazepine and heavy alcohol use withdrawal can cause seizures that can prove deadly. The symptoms of opioid withdrawal are often so painful and uncomfortable that relapse occurs before a program of recovery even begins. Medications and environment closed off from the outside world are invaluable; they protect against health complications, ease discomfort, and mitigate the risk of being exposed to recovery-derailing influences.
Each person has a pretty good understanding of how long they have struggled with drug, alcohol, or co-occurring mental illness. Still, it’s always beneficial to reach out to treatment professionals before taking the first step toward recovery.
If it’s suggested that residential treatment will give you the best shot at achieving long-term recovering, then please heed the advice. Inpatient treatment separates people from their usual environs and all the stressors that contribute to addiction. In rehab, clients can safely withdraw from their substance of choice and then go on to learn valuable tools for sustained recovery; a full continuum of care also includes aftercare and alumni services.
Relapse most often occurs in the first one to three months of recovery. So, spending 30, 60, or 90 days in treatment will shield you from triggers that lead to cravings to use. What’s more, counselors teach effective relapse prevention techniques that clients can utilize after discharge. Such individuals can then pass on the information they learned in treatment with their support group peers at meetings.
California Chemical Dependency Rehabilitation Hospital
Please contact Hemet Valley Recovery Center & Sage Retreat to speak with our Admissions and Assessment department. You can talk with nurses and chemical dependency counselors who can answer questions and address any concerns that you may have about residential treatment. Please call for a confidential assessment today to learn if HVRC is right for you or a loved one: 866-273-0868.