Finding an Addiction Rehabilitation Center
If looking over this list makes you realize something in your life needs to be changed, you should consider rehab. But where do you start?
It might seem like finding rehab is a confusing and overwhelming process, but this is rarely the case. The good thing about entering rehabs is that once you are connected, the treatment professionals will guide you through the rest of the process.
Begin the search for rehab through various options like:
- Your family doctor/primary care physician (PCP).
- A community mental health/ addiction center.
- A national hotline.
- An internet search.
- Recommendations from a trusted friend.
If you have insurance coverage, your provider might be the best way to access services. Call the hotline on the back of your card, explain your situation, and listen to their advice for the best path to treatment.
Sometimes rehab will be close by, which allows you to visit and tour the facilities before committing your time to the program. Other options will be located out of town or out of state, which requires some faith in your decision or the reputation of the program.
The Rehab Intake
Every rehab will complete an intake evaluation to fully assess your current situation and status. By doing this, the program can ensure you are placed in an appropriate level of services to best meet your needs.
During your intake, you will be interviewed by a professional regarding:
- Your current drug use including:
- Your drug or drugs of choice.
- The frequency, dose, and duration of use.
- The primary reasons or goals of your use.
- The presence of co-occurring mental health conditions.
- The presence of co-occurring physical health conditions.
- Current stressors and struggles in your life.
- Current supports and coping skills available.
Your assessment may also involve a drug test to identify all of the substances you have consumed, and an interview of your friends or family members to gather more information about the level of your abuse and addiction.
The Risk of Withdrawal
When someone habitually uses or abuses alcohol and other drugs, the body and brain begin adjusting to the presence of these substances. With time, the body requires more and more of the drug to achieve the wanted results due to a condition called tolerance, and tolerance often leads to dependence.
Dependence is the product of the brain adapting to the drugs in the system. Rather than being overwhelmed by the substances, the body and the brain now require the presence of alcohol and drugs just to feel well and function normally, so when the drugs are not available at the desired level, the brain is out of balance, which triggers withdrawal symptoms.
Some withdrawal symptoms are quite dangerous and include:
- Seizures.
- Cardiac complications.
- Dehydration from excessive sweating, vomiting, and diarrhea.
- Risk of choking on own vomit.
- Severe depression with suicidal attempts or completed suicides.
- Violence and aggression towards others, especially close loved ones.
A challenging aspect of withdrawal is that it is impossible to predict with certainty exactly who will encounter withdrawal symptoms, which symptoms they will experience, and how severe the symptoms will be. Because of this, safety and prevention should always be a primary goal of anyone ending their substance use.
