Over 21 million Americans struggle with substance abuse, which means if you have your issues with substances, you’re not alone. Thankfully, there are many resources out there for you to recover and lead a healthy life afterward.
The two main types of treatment programs are in-patient and out-patient rehabilitation. While outpatient rehab has its benefits (such as lower costs and fewer disruptions to daily life), we’ll be focusing on the former in this article. Below, we’ll discuss 15 benefits of choosing an inpatient rehab program.
1. You’ll Get Help, 24/7
When you decide to go to inpatient rehab, this requires a considerable commitment on your part. This is because you don’t go in and out of rehab as you please. Instead, you have to stay for some time while you’re receiving treatment.
This may seem daunting at first, but it’s actually quite beneficial for you. You’ll be in a treatment center for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No matter what part of addiction or withdrawal you’re in, there are plenty of professionals to help you through it all.
2. It Provides Structure
While some people are good at imposing structure in their lives on their own, others struggle with it. The structure is the main component in recovery, and if you can’t achieve it on your own, inpatient rehabilitation can help with that.
Rehab is meant to be a place where you clear your head and focus on beating your addiction. But this doesn’t mean it’s like a vacation.
You’ll have to focus on addressing your issues actively. The rehab center will have a schedule for you that you’ll need to follow, such as appointments for group therapy and checkups with the doctor.
3. You Can Get Prescription Medications for Detox
Many people try to kick their habits on their own. But going through withdrawal and detox on your own can be very detrimental. Not only would it be very uncomfortable and even painful, but you may relapse while in the process of detoxing.
When you enroll yourself into a drug detox program, you’ll be under the care of licensed physicians. They know how to make the withdrawal process as painless as possible, so you don’t have to suffer much. Plus, they can prescribe drugs for you, such as Suboxone.
If you’ve struggled with drug addiction in the past and weren’t successful in detoxing on your own, you can benefit hugely from prescription medications.
4. You’re Under Constant Medical Supervision
The truth is, addiction is a lifelong issue. This is why so many people relapse. They think they’ve cured themselves of addiction, and the next thing they know, they’re submitting to their inner cravings once again.
While you’re in inpatient rehab, you’ll have round-the-clock medical supervision. Not only will they help you withdraw from drugs, but they’ll also be there to detect if anything goes wrong with your health afterward.
The best way to recover and become sober is by being as healthy as you can be. The medical staff at your rehab center will help you along in this journey.
5. It Can Help Serious Addictions
You may think withdrawing and detoxing from substances is something that can be done on your own, but there are instances where this would be fatal. For example, withdrawing from mild alcoholism can be doable on your own.
However, if you’re a heavy alcoholic, detoxing by yourself can cause an array of health issues, such as seizures or even death. This can be from a stroke or heart attack due to changes in your blood pressure and heart rate when you’re detoxing.
6. You Can Attend Therapy
For the majority of people with substance abuse problems, they also have mental health issues as well. This is because whatever they’re dealing with, may be too great to face, so they turn to drugs and alcohol to self-medicate.
While self-medication is soothing in the short term, it’s damaging in the long term. When you self-medicate, you’re avoiding the issues at hand. This can cause you to bury those problems deep within yourself, where they continually hinder your growth.
While at inpatient rehab, you’ll have the chance to attend therapy in both a group and individual setting. Together, with a professional therapist, you can work through the problems causing you to turn to drugs. They can give you useful tools to work through these mental health issues and address them in healthier ways.
7. You’re Living with Other People Like You
Withdrawing from substances and staying sober is a very difficult thing to go through. At an inpatient rehabilitation facility, you’ll be living with other people who are going through the same exact situations.
When you have each other to talk to and rely on for support, it can make the fight against addiction a little easier. Whether it’s in a group therapy setting or a casual conversation in the rec room, discussing your state of mind with someone who’s going through something similar can have amazing benefits.
If you tried to get sober outside on your own, you might not get the same experience. Even if you have friends who used to have substance abuse problems, it’s a different scenario to living in an inpatient rehab center.
8. There Are Fewer Distractions
When you’re leading your regular life, there may be some distractions causing you to lose complete focus on getting sober. For example, you may be stressed out at work and tempted to drink some alcohol to relax and unwind.
When you’re in inpatient rehab, all outside distractions and stressors are removed. You’ll have no excuse for not entirely focusing on your recovery anymore. Plus, you won’t have any access to the substances you were addicted to before.
9. Your Family Will Be Protected
Going through withdrawal, detox, and recovery isn’t a pretty process. If you try to do it at home, you may cause irreparable damage to the relationships with your loved ones.
Checking into inpatient rehab gives you a chance to start your journey to sobriety without exposing your family members to the uglier parts of it. Once you feel you’re ready to go home, you’ll be more like the person they remember from before, not the person you were in the throes of your addiction.
10. You’ll Get a Break from Real Life
Many people live an ideal life of work or school, then time with their loving family members once they’re home. But unfortunately, not everyone has a perfect life like that.
For instance, you may be a single parent who struggles with an abusive ex or other family members. This can drive you to want to escape with illicit drugs.
When you check into inpatient rehab, you’ll get a chance to get away from it all and focus on yourself. Of course, you’ll still have to make arrangements for everything in your daily life (such as time off work/school and childcare), but once that’s done, it’s all about you.
Many inpatient rehab facilities have semi-private rooms that are designed to relax you as much as possible. Not only that, but you’ll also be given nutritious meals to help you get healthier quicker.
11. You’ll Be Away from Bad Influences
Not everyone has the luxury of a wonderful support system back at home. For some, all they’re surrounded by is their old life of drugs and other addicts.
If you try to recover while in that sort of environment, the chance for relapse is sky-high. Inpatient rehab removes all bad influences surrounding you and places you in the best environment possible.
If you’re worried about relapsing once you’re home, they’ve got you covered there too. As we mentioned before, you’ll go to therapy, in which you’ll be taught some useful tools for dealing with temptation.
12. You’ll Gain New Support
Since you’re living with other people who are pursuing sobriety, you may be making some new friends for life. Not only can they be your support system while you’re in inpatient rehab, but they can also be it afterward too.
Your time together in the rehab center is invaluable and you probably won’t have the same type of bond with anyone else, whether if it’s family or friends. Get all the help you can and expand your support system with the people you meet in rehab.
13. You’ll Learn to Manage Your Addiction
It’s true that it’s easier to manage your addiction while you’re in inpatient rehabilitation. You’re in a closed-off world where you have zero access to your drug of choice, after all. So you may be nervous about how you’ll handle being out in the “real world” again.
In your time at the rehab center, you’ll receive a significant amount of therapy. But this isn’t just to work through your mental health issues. It’s also to teach you healthy ways of coping with your addiction.
For instance, licensed therapists can give you cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) where you learn to deal with your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors constructively. You can also attend yoga, meditation, and Tai Chi sessions to learn some ways of centering yourself.
14. Get Guidance for Afterward
Detoxing and withdrawing from your substances of choice is only the beginning. To beat your addiction, you have to have a clear plan for what comes afterward. Recovery management programs can be helpful in setting your goals for the future to prevent relapse from happening.
Many rehab facilities will set you up with a local recovery community so when you detect signs of possible relapse, you can reach out to these people and get support and guidance. This can be essential in helping you maintain your sobriety.
15. It Can Be a Good Stepping Stone for Out-Patient Rehab
For some people with substance abuse problems, one type of rehab isn’t enough. Or they may not have enough time or money to complete a more extended session of inpatient rehabilitation.
Whatever the reason is, you may need to go to out-patient rehab as well. Inpatient rehab is a good stepping stone for out-patient rehab since you learn invaluable tools for dealing with your addiction.
Out-patient rehab gives you a chance to try those tools out in the real world, while still receiving some help from professionals. Once you feel confident enough, and the out-patient rehab supervisors feel like you’re ready, you can cease all rehab treatment.
If you don’t feel comfortable going straight from inpatient rehab back to your regular life, you should consider checking into out-patient rehab as the next step.
Consider Getting into Inpatient Rehab Today
Addiction can be a challenging thing to struggle with, and you shouldn’t have to do it alone. Thankfully, there are rehab programs you can enroll yourself in.
If you have the time and money for inpatient rehabilitation, you should consider this option. As it has a better success rate than outpatient rehab, it can be more efficient and effective for you to set aside some time to go to inpatient rehab.
You’ll have a lower chance of relapsing and you’ll get all the help you need to recover, such as therapy, medical supervision, and emergency treatment if needed.
If you want to get on the road to recovery, get yourself into in-patient. With the amazing support you’ll get, you stand the best chances of regaining control over your life.
If you or a loved one needs help with addiction, you may be interested in inpatient rehab. To speak with someone and book an appointment, please get in touch with us.