What do I do after detox from drugs and alcohol?

The detox process from drugs or alcohol is usually rather torturous, and getting through it means dealing with withdrawal symptoms which are very unpleasant and dangerous in some cases. This is why it is usually advised that the detoxification process is carried out in an inpatient facility where there are health professionals ready to take care of the individual, should issues occur.

Addiction treatment in Pompano Beach, FL requires more than just the detox process, even though it is a major one. When the detox from drugs and alcohol is done, it is suggested to enroll in a drug and alcohol addiction treatment program immediately. It can either be a Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) or an Intensive Outpatient Program with sober living.

It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you can handle the rest of your addiction treatment alone.  The withdrawal symptoms stage might be over, however it is a mistake thinking that help is still not needed. The detox process does more of physical(in this case internal) treatments, teaching your body how to survive without drugs and alcohol. It usually requires more than this to completely give up on drugs and alcohol. If you make the mistake of leaving your addiction treatment halfway and just sticking with the substance abuse detoxification, you only need one whiff of brandy to send you right back to the hole you fought your way out of. It is suggested to spend at least 90 days in addiction treatment programs such as PHP or IOP  to help you completely conquer your addiction to drugs and alcohol. These substance abuse treatment programs require a strong support system, therapy, meetings, and in some cases, medications.

Partial Hospitalization Program

This is something close to the residential inpatient program you got your detox, but it is more flexible. You will be given therapy, treatments, and all the support you need at the addiction treatment facility, but you will be coming from your preferred location such as a sober living facility.

This way, you are held accountable, the way you would have if you were living in the addiction treatment facility. You need this structure and accountability system if you intend to get better. You are offered treatment at a PHP for at least 6 hours a day for up to 5 days a week. It could be more, depending on the severity of the individual’s substance abuse case. In some cases, individuals spend the entire day in the addiction treatment facility to go home at night just to sleep and return the next day.

Now, it cannot exactly be guaranteed that you will be able to stay clean for the periods you are not at the addiction treatment facility receiving care, but knowing that you have to show up there the next day should give you some form of accountability in your thought process. You should be restrained a bit, long enough to get you through the hours until you arrive there the next time. Sometimes, when most of the intensive treatment is done, Individuals are sent to outpatient treatment centers with fewer restrictions.

Intensive Outpatient program with sober living

Intensive Outpatient programs are recommended in some cases when you have gotten through the partial hospitalization programs which are a little more intensive. It is like setting you free to go make your own right choices but with the option of being accountable.

Getting through addiction to drugs and alcohol in a place where you can readily find your poison can be difficult.

With drug and alcohol addictions, unless you cut off all contact with the people who aided it, you may not be able to get through it at home. With alcohol, it is a little hard when two blocks from your apartment is a liquor store, flophouse, or a bar. You need to be in an environment where you have no access to whatever it was that turned you into an individual addicted to drugs and alcohol in the first place. This is why sober living houses were created.

Sober living houses are completely free from alcohol and drugs

What is present are treatment programs and a strong support system. Reputable sober living homes typically have accreditations from the state, unless they are facilities provided by a religious organization. Sober living houses keep you away from your triggers which you could most likely find at home. Here, you get your intensive outpatient treatments,  then you return to the sober living residence. You are required to stay there until your treatment is over and you are completely sure that you no longer have a desire to seek out harmful substances.

At the sober living facilities, you have access to meetings, these meetings are required to create some kind of support system for you. This is while you attend your treatment at an outpatient facility. You can go to work from there, school, or wherever it is that you need to be daily, for as long as your treatment continues after detox, you will live there. Now, it sounds like a lot, but when you think of the benefits you are getting, especially, the strong support system, this is something you should consider.

You have already made the first important choice when you decided it was time you needed help. Along with detox which must have not been easy,  now, it is important to complete your treatment. You need group and individual therapies, you need conversations to steer your mind away from drugs and alcohol, you need to completely come to terms with the fact that “From here on out, we are clean and sober.”

If there is not enough motivation to go through with any of the treatment methods listed above, remember the discomfort you went through during your detox. That should be all the motivation you need to complete your treatment and continue on a healthier lifestyle. The treatment methods aforementioned are very effective. Anyone you choose, with consistency and the right support system, you should completely deal with your addiction.

Ana is a licensed psychotherapist and qualified clinical supervisor with extensive experience in substance abuse treatment, families in crisis, and individuals in a dual diagnosis setting. As the former Clinical/Executive director of Fort Lauderdale Addiction Treatment Center and a former Chief Operations Officer of a drug and alcohol treatment facility in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, she has been responsible for directing and overseeing all aspects of treatment. Her widespread knowledge has included facilitating nationwide drug and alcohol interventions, drug court, substance abuse, and psychotherapy groups, providing individual, family, and crisis counseling, and supervising clinical programs.