Entering an inpatient detox may appear as an unnecessary hardship. If you have previously given up alcohol without this type of treatment than you may be tempted to automatically dismiss it. The reality is that there are some very good reasons why one should consider an inpatient detox programme. We have listed ten of these reasons in the below paragraphs.
1. It Increases the Likelihood of Achieving Long-Term Sobriety
The majority of attempts to break free of alcohol or drugs never make it beyond the initial withdrawal stage. It is not because these symptoms are particularly severe (they are rarely worse than the symptoms of the flu), but the thing that makes them much harder to deal with is the knowledge of how easy it would be to escape them by relapsing. If you are going through detox alone then it means that you are completely dependent on your own willpower; the result of this is that you will be at high risk of drinking or drug using. Entering an inpatient detox programme would mean you were supported every step of the way, meaning there would be far less chance of you giving in to withdrawals.
2. It Helps to Keep You Safe
Most people only have relatively mild symptoms, but there is always the risk of things being much worse. If you have been addicted to alcohol or drugs, you may experience a particularly severe form of withdrawals known as delirium tremens (DTs), which could trigger convulsions and dangerous changes to your blood pressure and pulse rate. Many people have died due to the DTs, so it is vital that you are medically supervised if there were any chance you could experience them. The problem is that it can be very hard to tell whom it is going to have this type of withdrawal and, just because you have never had the DTs before, does not mean you would not have them this time.
3. It Means You Have Enough Support during this First Stage of Recovery
Another aspect of being in an inpatient detox is that you will be surrounded by addiction specialists and other clients who are on the same journey as you. This level of support can make a huge difference to your approach to recovery, making things easier to deal with as it means you are not facing these challenges alone.
4. You Can Begin a Rehab Programme While Still in Detox
It is now common for rehabs to also offer detox as part of the same package, which means that you can begin the rehab programme from day one. This should entail you spending less time overall in treatment, leaving time to do other things each day so you are not spending all of your time focused on your withdrawal symptoms.
5. There will be Treatments to Ease Your Symptoms
There are effective treatments available to help you with most of the symptoms of withdrawal, and these will be available to you in an inpatient detox. This means that the process will be far more comfortable than it would have been if you did it alone. You are likely to find that you feel okay right from day one of recovery; you may even feel good enough to be able to enjoy this part of your journey into a new life.
6. Your Motivation is Likely to Be Increased
An inpatient detox programme is designed in such a way that it provides a therapeutic environment. This means that just by being there it is likely to magnify your motivation for sobriety. While you are in this facility, you will be protected from the usual temptations and stresses you would normally face. The facility will also be designed in such a way that you are surrounded by all the resources you need to begin building a new life. It is the ideal environment for recovery and it greatly increases your chances of being successful.
7. There Will Be Things to Keep You Distracted
Staying at home and just trying to sit through your withdrawal symptoms can be terribly hard. The problem is that the more you think about your discomfort, the worse you are likely to feel. When you enter an inpatient detox facility, you will be surrounded by new and interesting things, meaning that you are less likely to dwell on any unpleasant symptoms. These programmes are also created so that there are many distractions, such as activities and entertainment. You will also be able to spend time around others in the same boat, which can be a marvellous type of distraction; it is common for clients in this situation to use humour, and there can be a great deal of laughter in detox.
8. Entering a Detox Means You Will Be Making a Real Commitment to a Better Future
If you are serious about breaking free of addiction, you will want to give yourself the best possible chance of making this a reality. By entering a detox programme, you would be doing just that. You are taking a definite step to changing your life, which will increase your sense of commitment to sobriety; this makes the process a lot easier. A common reason why individuals feel resistant about going to detox is that they are ambivalent towards recovery. This means that a part of them does not want to consider detox because it would involve too much commitment.
9. You Will Have an Opportunity to Think About What You Want From Your Future
The pain of addiction can give you the motivation to stop initially, but it is not usually enough to keep you sober long-term. The problem is that the memory of the pain is likely to lesson over time, which means that within a few weeks or months you may start questioning if things were indeed that bad. During your time in an inpatient detox, you will have the opportunity to think about what you want from your future – all the exciting things you want to do with your new life – and this is far more likely to give you the motivation to commit to sobriety for the rest of your life.
10. You Will Be Better Prepared for Rehab
An inpatient detox can be part of a rehab programme or it can be a separate form of treatment (for example, you could go through detox in a hospital). The rehabs that do not provide detox facilities will usually expect you to have gone through this stage somewhere else before your arrival. This is because you cannot really make progress in a rehab programme until you have adequately detoxed from the substance you have been abusing. Even if you plan to detox at home, some rehabs may feel reluctant to take you unless you have gone through a proper detox programme. The reason is that there is more involved with this process than simply stopping using alcohol or drugs.
