Have you ever heard somebody in detox say, “I know what I have to do when I leave here.”
Whenever I hear that, it is always a red flag to me because it means that they know what they have to do, but don’t know how to do it. This leads me to my topic.
People need to understand that detox is just the first step in recovery process, a place where your body heals. But, the reason I feel so strongly about treatment afterward is because people need time to learn how to live in a different way. Treatment provides a minimum of 30 days where people can work on themselves. It is not only the education that they need, but I believe it is the time, time away from all of the stressors of life, stressors such as relationships, business or family. The problem with people coming straight out of detox and not going to treatment is that they are not ready to get back into reality. Going to treatment gives them that time to just heal themselves without having to deal with those outside stressors. It also allows them the time to learn how to deal with the stress.
During the treatment period, you can map out what changes need to be made in your life, such as ending an unhealthy relationship, or maybe leaving a job that is a major trigger.
The point I want to make is that treatment gives you the time to get healthy before you are out there dealing with the real world. Can people stay clean and sober straight out of detox? Sure. But, in all my years of experience, the folks who went from detox into treatment had a much higher success rate.
