What Should I Do When Drug Rehab Center Treatment Doesn't Work?
Suffering a relapse episode after so many months of detox and drug rehab center treatment can leave a drug addict feeling truly helpless in the face of addiction. Relapse not only sets you back in the recovery process, but also takes away from any motivation you may have to get well.
The truth of matter is addiction operates as a chronic, long-term condition that carries a high risk for relapse regardless of how far along a person gets in the recovery process. For these reasons, it's especially important to re-engage in the treatment process and ensure you're receiving the level of care that best addresses your treatment needs.
Addiction & the Potential for Relapse
According to the Journal of Current Psychiatry Reports, an estimated two-thirds of people who receive drug rehab center treatment suffer a relapse episode after completing a treatment program. These numbers reflect the degree to which addiction's aftereffects can impair a person's thinking and behavior.
In effect, addiction continues to exert its effects long after a person completes formal drug treatment. Once addiction develops, the brain has been "rewired" in a sense, to the point where compulsive drug-using behavior has become a fundamental part of a person's psychological makeup.
These changes account for the high relapse rates associated with addiction.
Treatment Considerations
Even after drug rehab center treatment ends, most recovering junkie require some level of ongoing treatment support in order to maintain continued abstinence. Much like the screenings and assessments you underwent at the start of drug treatment, recovering from relapse entails identifying your needs and seeking out the type of treatment supports that best equip you to abstain from further drug use, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Needed treatment supports may take the form of:
Medication therapies, such as Suboxone, methadone or Antabuse
Ongoing psychotherapy
Regular 12 Step support group attendance
Group therapy
Sober living program
Resuming drug rehab center treatment
Determining your current treatment needs means undergoing an assessment, which can be performed by your physician or even a drug rehab center facility. Since your success in recovery depends on having needed treatment supports in place, its important to follow through on getting an assessment done rather than picking and choosing between available treatment services on your own.