Does Alcohol Rehab Really Work

Can Alcohol Rehab Save Your Life: Does Recovery Work

Alcohol rehab is use disorder (alcoholism) is a complex condition affecting your physical, mental, and emotional health. It takes a range of treatments and approaches, and most of all your own willingness to change and recover. Healing from alcohol misuse is possible. In fact, it’s the only chronic disease for which the patient alone has the power manage. It’s been reported that after “5 years of sobriety… chance of relapse is less than 15 percent”.

The idea of five years sober might sound impossible if you are in the grip of addiction. Millions are now in longterm recovery, though and recovery is clearly possible. What makes recovery and sobriety stick? A stay at an alcohol rehab provides such as Rehab Recovery or Adfam provides the necessary building blocks for people to fully immerse in a new mind set and to understand what it is they need to do to achieve sobriety and lead an abstinent life. Recovery is a challenge for anyone, but a stay at rehab offers the tools to return to a healthy and productive life.

What Does Recovery Success Look Like

Success in recovery includes any reduction in substance use or period of abstinence. It takes huge dedication, commitment, and coping tools to stay sober. In the addiction recovery field, it’s really important to be careful around language use. As we’ve said, millions of people are already in long term recovery and have restored their relationships and jobs, but it’s crucial to add that relapse isn’t failure. In fact, many people with alcohol and substance addictions do relapse. It’s dangerous to try drugs after being sober, but having a relapse can be an opportunity for learning and implementing new strategies that facilitate ongoing healthy behaviors.

Other ways to assess recovery success include being engaged with hobbies, interests, and employment. There’s also the fact that improved, healthy relationships with family and friends are a huge signifier of having strong recovery. Indeed, healthy relationships can be key in relapse prevention as well providing a base for healing after a relapse.

Another way to measure success is your physical health. With ongoing abstinence or reduction in substance use health will improve as bodily toxins are excreted, chemicals and hormones rebalance and organs are given the time to heal. Ultimately, the strongest indicator of success in recovery is achieving long-term sobriety.

Why Private Alcohol Rehab Works

There are many benefits of a private rehab. As mentioned earlier, it’s shown that if you make it to five years sober, there’s around a 15% chance of relapse. The longer a person stays in treatment, the less likely they are to relapse.

Staying at a private clinic offers one effective approach addiction treatment. The programs offered are tailored to your needs. If a patient is addicted to ketamine, for example, their treatment will include medical checks investigating the physical healing of their bladder. As well as providing medical support, there are evidence-based therapies (i.e. cognitive behavioral therapy), and there are holistic therapies.

Those who have physical dependencies which occur with heavy alcohol use are provided with a medical detox. This is so that they’re safely weaned off alcohol without extreme withdrawal symptoms. Being at a private clinic also means that there are staff available 24 hours a day. For a person with severe withdrawal and cravings, this is essential.

Alcohol withdrawal causes insomnia for many and having expert staff to support patients through this makes a huge difference in preventing early relapse. Inpatient facilities offer a welcoming and understanding environment. There’s space from the usual lifestyle.

All activities are aimed at keeping residents engaged, supporting people to have autonomy and take ownership of their recovery, and in enabling a solid post-rehab experience. At an alcohol rehab, aftercare provision is discussed to help keep the individual focused.

Why Recovery Programs Need To Be Tailored For You

Private care is especially effective in the treatment of alcohol addiction because it’s tailored to the individual. During a person’s stay, the medical team will take care of physical symptoms, withdrawal, and effects using medication and through regular monitoring.

The psychological and supporting teams will work collaboratively to support the individual. They’ll consider the patient’s alcohol use, what their history of alcohol abuse entails and the factors that caused it. As well as this the familial and social implications will be considered. There are often many environmental factors and triggers that exacerbate ongoing use.

All of this is discussed with the rehab resident. The expert team of staff adapt therapies to suit the person and to also address mental health symptoms, history of trauma, and current lifestyles to empower and facilitate ongoing change.

Why Does Alcohol Rehab Work for Some, but Not Others

Perhaps you’ve heard of someone who has been to alcohol rehab but you’re aware that they’re drinking again. While rehab is effective for many, it’s true that some people return home and relapse long-term.

The risk of relapse is higher for some. This is usually linked to a lack of protective factors such as not having a positive support network who encourage ongoing change. In some cases, people become so confident that they can handle the addiction that they’ll decide to have a drink and sadly, the problem returns with a vengeance.

The shorter a person’s stay, the more likely they are to relapse. For example, a person might stay at a clinic for a three or seven day detox. While this is essential to safely wean a physical dependence and prevent seizures (which can be fatal), it doesn’t provide much time to immerse within the psychological treatments. It takes 28 days to form a new habit, which is why many programs are recommended to be around this length of time. It takes much longer to imprint new habits and improve brain function.

Learning and practicing new healthy habits is critical in the neural re-wiring necessary to alter thoughts that change behaviors. So what happens after rehab. Below, we outline three personal factors that are predictors of longterm success after rehab.

1. Perspective of the Patient

How you think and feel makes a huge difference in how you approach healing and recovery. In order for healing and change to be lasting, you have to aware of yourself and honest about who you are. You have to be willing to work on yourself to achieve your goal.

Successful alcohol treatment is largely dependent on the patient being engaged. You have to be open and willing to get involved. Participation is essential. Having an open mind and being willing to learn about yourself in a deeper way helps to develop the skills and new mind set that facilitates sobriety. You also have to stay motivated and committed to change.

Addiction is challenging. Without treatment it’s a terminal illness. To get healthy again, you have to be ready to wake up every day with renewed determination to stick with the program. This can be especially challenging because those addictions often don’t fully understand the damage that’s been done until they’re ready for recovery. Realizing how difficult it is to stop and experiencing withdrawal symptoms is often a reason not to relapse. Support from compassionate addiction professionals help people to develop self-compassion which is key in facilitating change as well.

2. Protective Factors Around the Risk of Relapse

Certain protective factors (i.e. having a job, a positive support network, and higher level of education) make ongoing success after alcohol rehab more likely. It’s reported that “short-term remission rates vary between 20 and 50%, depending on the severity of the disorder and the criteria for remission”.

At rehab, a relapse prevention plan is developed as part of an aftercare program. This, for many, is instrumental in reinforcing sobriety. An aftercare plan provides ongoing coping mechanisms developed during the inpatient treatment, a plan that offers self-development for the future, and resources for ongoing support around abstinence.

3. Support Network

Even with the best treatment in the world, alcohol addiction will be more difficult to manage long-term if a person doesn’t have a social support network. Having people who encourage healthy behaviors makes all the difference on the path of recovery. Social connection also helps to bring meaning and value to life. It’s often with friends and family members that people begin to explore new, healthy activities that will become key in nurturing a sober mind set:

Family and friends who support a healthy lifestyle help to keep people focused on sobriety.
Alcoholics Anonymous is helpful for people who want to stay connected to others facing similar issues. Al-Anon and AdFam offer support to those who love someone with problematic alcohol use.
Ongoing therapy is used by some, especially if there’s a co-morbid mental health condition, a history of trauma, or the addiction has been especially severe.

Final thoughts

Alcohol is a psychoactive substance which has severe long-term repercussions for those who develop unhealthy use. The best way to heal is through entering an inpatient treatment program at an alcohol rehab. Private care offers the most effective approaches for treating the individual, providing space from usual triggers, a safe environment and facilitating deep psychological change as well as medical assistance to address alcohol dependence. While a person can access top-quality treatment at alcohol clinics, it also takes commitment and dedication for deep change and healing to occur. Recovery is possible with a new mind set and through undergoing physical, psychological, and holistic treatments.