Detox Isn't Enough: Why Rehab Has To Follow Detox

When you are ready to start a substance-free life, drug detox is the first step in a drug or alcohol treatment program. However, ridding your body of substances in detox is not enough. After finishing detox, you should move on to treatment at an addiction center or drug rehab.

This path helps you achieve long-term recovery.

Detox is important in recovery, but it's only the first step of recovery.

What Is Drug Detox?

Detox facilities allow you to take the first step toward overcoming substance use disorder (SUD) in a safe, controlled environment. Detox rids the body of all traces of harmful substances.

During this time, you will likely experience mental and physical withdrawal symptoms. For some, these symptoms are uncomfortable. For others, alcohol withdrawal can be excruciatingly painful.

Do not be scared though; the facility will support you. Withdrawal is much easier – and much more likely to be successful – when done at a professional detox center.

Doctors can help decrease these symptoms with medication. Mental health professionals can help you cope through therapy. You are also surrounded by other patients who understand what you are experiencing. The restricted environment helps prevent you from relapsing. 

You will stay in detox for as long as you need to clear out your system. The exact length will depend on the substance you used, your duration of use, your frequency of use, the substance potency, whether you combined multiple substances, and if there are other mental or physical health issues. Once you have completed detox, a rehab program is the next step.

Why People Need Rehab

If you attend a drug detox center and then go back to your normal life, you can easily relapse. Your life might present triggers, stressors, and peer pressures. You do not yet have the skills to resist cravings or cope without turning back to substances. You need structure to support your recovery goals.

Though detox is an important first step, it does not provide the mental health tools necessary for change. These come from rehab programs.

Rehab gives you the time and space to learn sobriety-promoting skills. You spend time focusing entirely on your mental health and recovery from SUD and receiving education on drugs and alcohol. Treatment programs encourage accountability while promoting self-compassion. During treatment, you will work through the messy emotions of getting sober. With rehab, you are more likely to achieve and maintain recovery.

Inpatient Rehab

Inpatient rehabilitation is most effective if you have a severe SUD or co-occurring mental illness. Many inpatient rehab programs last 30 to 90 days. The National Institute on Drug Abuse advises that patients attend longer treatment programs. They state, “…Participation for less than 90 days is of limited effectiveness, and treatment lasting significantly longer is recommended for maintaining positive outcomes.” 

An inpatient program gives you time to focus entirely on your healing. Your days follow a structure, including different forms of therapy, meetings with psychologists in groups and alone, and training on healthy coping skills to deal with your problems.

If your rehab center treats other mental health disorders too, you may receive treatment for any co-occurring disorders you may have. You may receive medication or therapy for trauma. In this structured environment, you will learn how your mental illnesses present and how to manage your struggles. 

Additionally, many inpatient rehab centers include holistic treatments. Outside volunteers often facilitate these events. This allows for some normalcy. You will get human-to-human interactions with people outside the treatment center. You might find new hobbies that can continue outside of treatment.

Perhaps you will learn to love gardening or music, rock climbing or painting, or anything in between. Either way, it gets substances off your mind for a bit and can provide you with a post-treatment, recovery-supportive hobby.

Outpatient Rehab

Outpatient rehabilitation is most effective if you experience mild SUD and/or cannot take a long leave of absence from work. The programs vary in intensity. You will attend a facility three to five days a week for three to eight hours a day.

During this time, you will experience many of the same interventions as someone in an inpatient program, just at a much less intense level. Since the hours per day are fewer, outpatient programs typically last longer than inpatient programs.

On top of attending the program, psychologists will encourage you to attend support groups or 12-Step programs on days when you do not have hours to complete at the facility. The most readily available support groups include Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and SMART Recovery. If none of these work for you, there are usually other local support groups available for people with SUD.

Due to the nature of outpatient rehab, many programs offer evening or night schedules to accommodate you if you are a working patient. This allows you to support yourself and/or your family. When you can afford to take time off work, a daytime schedule might work better. This allows you to attend an outpatient while your kids go to school or daycare. Either way, you can find a program that fits your needs.

DetoxNearMe.com Will Help You Start Your Recovery the Right Way

Patients finishing a detox program for SUD should seek out a rehabilitation program. You are more likely to succeed in starting a substance-free life if you continue getting care and gaining tools for recovery after detox. Whether inpatient or outpatient, rehab programs provide a foundation for long-term recovery.

Finding a drug detox program can be difficult, however. It’s why we created DetoxNearMe.com, the largest directory of drug detox resources on the internet. With thousands of reputable, professional detox centers at your fingertips, finding a drug detox for your needs, location, and budget has never been easier.

Start searching today with DetoxNearMe.com!