When you’re addicted to drugs or alcohol and looking to get clean, rehab gives you the best opportunity at long-term sobriety and reclaiming your life. However, if you enter rehab when you don’t really want to or don’t approach it with the right attitude, there’s a good chance that you won’t get anything out of it, and this means there’s a high chance of relapse. But if you’re serious about alcohol rehab and want to enter it in the right frame of mind, here are a few tips to remember before you check in.
Entering rehab in the right state of mind:
Go to Rehab Only When You’re Ready
Because they want what’s best for you, your loved ones may try to guilt, trick, or otherwise convince you to go to rehab when you aren’t ready, and this is not a recipe for successful and long-term recovery. If you aren’t ready to get clean, then rehab is a waste of both time and money.
However, when you become committed to getting clean and decide for yourself that it’s time to turn your life around, then that’s the time to enter rehab. Your success in rehab is entirely determined by your readiness to take responsibility for your own addiction, and nobody else’s desire for your sobriety will provide you with the motivation you need to get clean.
Don’t Focus on What You’re Giving Up
A lot of addicts choose not to enter rehab because they spend too much time focused on all the things they’ll have to give up if they get clean. So when you’re ready to enter rehab, it’s important that you stop this self-sabotage by refusing to focus on everything you’ll be giving up, such as:
- All the good times you have when you’re using
- The escape from reality that you get by using
- The friends you get high or drunk with
- The bars, clubs, houses, and other fun places you frequent
Focus on What You’re Gaining
As you let go of concentrating on the things you’ll lose by going to rehab, try to shift your attention instead to everything that you’ll gain by getting clean. These things far outweigh what you’re giving up because when you enter recovery, you’ll start experiencing better health, you’ll meet new friends and develop new hobbies, you’ll strengthen your old relationships and build new ones. Your life will be more stable, your friends and family will start to trust you again, you’ll have more clarity, and you’ll function better in the work, personal, and social aspects of your life.
Be Positive and Hopeful
One of the major keys to rehab is maintaining a positive attitude. What does this mean? It means letting go of the past and focusing on the future. It means understanding that you deserve to get help. It means focusing your attention on the skills and resources you’ll gain that will help you maintain your sobriety for the rest of your life. And finally, it means committing yourself completely to the program because you deserve happiness, health, and sobriety.
Don’t Focus on the Withdrawal
Similar to focusing on what has to be given up to get clean, a lot of addicts avoid rehab because they concentrate too much on how painful and unpleasant withdrawal will be. And while withdrawal can be uncomfortable, it’s nothing compared to the lifetime of ill-health, instability, and life-threatening choices that come with drug and alcohol abuse.
In fact, most people describe withdrawal as nothing more serious than the flu. Moreover, with the right rehab center, you’ll get a medically supervised detox that will ensure you the most comfort possible during your short withdrawal period.
When you’re struggling with addiction, you can come up with hundreds of reasons not to enter rehab. But there is one reason for going to rehab that will always trump those—your life. Getting clean and getting into recovery means you’ll be able to reclaim your life; you’ll get your health back, and you’ll be able to start enjoying everything about life that your addiction took away.
Recovery starts with adopting the right attitude toward rehab, your recovery, and your future. Call admissions counselors today at 866-349-1770 if you or a loved one needs help with alcohol addiction.