Once you’ve committed to addiction rehab, you’ll need to take a few steps to get ready for the treatment process. In addition to making special work and financial arrangements, you may need to speak with your family about your decision. While putting responsibilities and relationships on hold can seem daunting, doing so for the sake of recovery will give you a far greater ability to manage these things in the future. Thus, although it might be time to make a few hard choices, the actions that you take now are guaranteed to have a substantial payoff in the end. Prioritizing your sobriety and your overall health will make you a far more reliable, trustworthy, and focused parent, breadwinner, friend, spouse, and employee.
Feeling stressed while planning and preparing for drug or alcohol treatment is completely normal. By diligently planning for your time spent in treatment, however, you can minimize your anxiety. You can also make sure that nothing is overlooked or ignored. Checking to ensure that everything in your life is prepared for this necessary pause will also make it infinitely easier to pick things back up once your treatment has ended. Whether you intend to be gone for one month, three months, or more, advance-planning will help keep your finances, personal relationships, and professional obligations on track.
Make A List Of Everything That You’ll Need To Address Before Going To Rehab
Don’t let home or work responsibilities keep you from making what may be the most important decision of your life. Instead, take the time to list out all of the different things that make you feel anxious about leaving. Odds are, there’s something that you can do to address everything on this list. If you are married or have young children in the home, talking with your family could be a great place to start. Once you have everyone in the household on your team, you should be able to get a considerable amount of help in preparing for your stay.
Learning how to identify and leverage trustworthy support teams can be a very key part of the recovery process. Your list should include different work and home responsibilities, as well as strategies for keeping these obligations covered while you’re away. If you have one or more pets, you’ll need to make special arrangements for them too. If you’re feeling a significant amount of anxiety about leaving anyone or anything behind, the very act of making this list can give you increased peace of mind. Ultimately, the more prepared for rehab you are; the more that you’ll be able to place the entirety of your focus on getting well while in treatment.
Talking About Your Planned Stay In Rehab With Your Employer
Fear of becoming stigmatized and fear of experiencing job loss are among the top reasons why some employees delay in speaking openly with their employers. While you might feel as though you’ve done a good job in keeping your addiction a secret, you may be surprised to discover that many people in your inner circle are actually aware of your troubles. Your employer may have noticed dips in your performance, changes in your personality, or physical changes that hinted at addiction. If you are a valued team member, your manager or other company leader will likely be delighted to know that you’re getting help. Successful completion of drug rehab invariably makes workers more valuable to the businesses that they serve. There are also a number of provisions and protections for employees seeking rehab services.
With the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), those seeking drug or alcohol treatment can get up to 12 weeks of leave without risk of losing their jobs. You may even find that your employer offers significant contributions to treatment costs when necessary. Despite any fears or reservations about speaking with an employer, being forthright and opening up the lines of communication can prove very beneficial.
Taking Care Of Legal And Financial Responsibilities Before You Go
To make sure that recurring bills are covered during your stay, consider signing up for automatic payments. You also have the option of letting a trusted family member or friend take care of these things for you. Make arrangements for unpaid tickets and be sure to keep up with any required court appearances ahead of your departure.
If you have any pending legal cases, letting your legal team know that you’ll be entering rehab could help your case. More importantly, it might additionally ensure that your planned time away doesn’t have unexpected repercussions. Going to rehab will have a positive and powerful impact on your life. Dealing with the anxiety and stress of preparing for drug or alcohol treatment is always worthwhile. If you’re ready to reclaim your life and get on the path to recovery, we can help. Call us now at 772-266-5320.
