The decision to enter or return to rehab is not an easy one. Detox takes time and will require a great deal of healing once the drugs are out of your system. You then need to learn new ways to manage cravings and to build healthy new habits. Current research indicates that habits can take up to 254 days to build. A change to a healthy habit takes an average of 66 days to build. For example, if you want to be more mindful of your eating choices, tracking your food for 66 days with specific daily nutrient targets may be all you need to change your health around
Detox, Then Rehab
Both detox and rehab are hard work, but they are very different processes. Detox is all about managing the symptoms and discomfort of shedding the drugs and the accompanying toxicity. Rehab is about finding new ways to cope, choosing new methods of stress management and realigning your life to fit your goals. After detox, you will need specific care. Detox will likely leave you feeling both exhausted and fragile. You may need treatment for chronic infections, dietary upgrades and hydration. Getting rested up may be a challenge; your nervous system has been through a great storm and may take time to come back online.
Give Yourself Time
Most 28 day programs include a full detox, intensive therapy, meetings to get support from others on the recovery path, and careful dietary care. However, a lot of the therapy for those in the 28 day program will be outpatient. If you have suffered a relapse and are headed back into detox and rehab, a 90 day program may give you the time you need. During a 90 day rehab, the recovering addict is given the time to completely shift their worldview.
Detailed mental health assessments, help with past trauma, and community are all addressed. One of the greatest challenges for many in rehab is that they fight through the pain of detox, do the work of rehab and go back to the same community, family or societal system that pressured them (and sometimes supported them) into active addiction. This is not to say that a 90 day rehab will not push you. However, the actions that you start on day one of rehab because it’s the program you have to work will become the habit you use on day 70 to stay focused on wellness. For many in recovery, 28 days are simply not enough to break away from a community that may have contributed to drug or alcohol abuse.
Consider It A Curing
When you pour a foundation for a house, you first have to dig a hole. That’s detox; it’s hard work and can give you a trapped feeling. Next, you need to set up forms. That’s the first stage of rehab. You will be given limited but healthy choices in terms of behavior, food, and hydration. Once the forms are set, you need to fill them with concrete. Concrete is a mish-mash of cement, gravel, and water. As you improve what you take in, you can become stronger and create a better mix of who you were and what you wanted.
Concrete needs particles of different sizes to become strong. Finally, you need time to cure. A 90 day rehab will allow those early changes, imposed when you arrived, into habits that you rely on because they support a healthy life. Building a house on a slab that has not cured will eventually lead to failure; those cracks can be shored up, but may need to be re-anchored and may always cause structural problems.
If you don’t have a supportive community that can see you as more than the addict you were, a 28 day program will not give you the strength to reject old teachings and trainings. Not everyone grew up with a supportive family or has healthy friends that can be relied upon. You may have to start from scratch after rehab and build new community. Making smart choices requires a strength that you may not be able to gain after only 28 days. Our counselors are available 24 hours a day. Call 772-266-5320.
