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For many years a 28 day alcohol and/or drug addiction rehab
program was considered the golden standard in treating alcohol
or drug dependency. Even today that is all that some insurance
plans will cover. Many studies and practical experience have
shown, however, that long term drug or alcohol rehab is far
more effective in properly treating the addiction problem.
A 28 day drug or alcohol addiction program may give a person
enough time to “get clean” or “sober up”,
but they will have little time to accomplish much beyond that
basic level.
Many drugs can take up to two weeks, some longer, to fully
exit the person’s body. Once the body is free from the
physical part of the addiction the person needs time to deal
with the emotional aspects of being in rehab before they can
fully commit their energies to the task of learning how to
be addiction free. Dealing with just these two factors can
take up to 28 days and in the traditional program would mean
that just as the addict was ready to learn how to live without
the drugs and alcohol, they are released. If they did not
have time to learn and practice new habits, they are likely
to return to their old habits as soon as any familiar stress
enters their life.
A long term drug treatment program will help the addict move
past their initial issues and still have time to do the work
of learning and practicing the new habits that will sustain
them in their new drug-free lifestyle. It takes 28 days to
form a new habit and a long term drug addiction program will
allow 28 days of practicing the new habits after the detox
and learning stages of the program are complete.
A long term drug addiction treatment program will also allow
the friends and family of the addict time to learn the new
habits that they need in order to form new and more healthy
relationships with the addict and to help support them in
their new drug free life. The friends and family can also
use the extended time to heal and rest from the stress involved
with dealing with the addict during their usage. This break
often allows the loved ones enough time to move past blame
and anger and into acceptance, forgiveness and even gratitude
that the addict is finally getting help. Having a more positive
and loving attitude toward the addict when they arrive home
will help everyone involved to move forward on the right track.
Addiction is a difficult problem to overcome and one should
not expect it to be “cured” overnight. A person
that needs to lose a large amount of weight has to learn new
ways of eating and exercising while they lose the weight.
This process can take months or even years depending on the
amount of weight to be lost and how committed the person is.
Drug addiction is much the same and nobody should expect the
problem to be completely solved in such a short amount of
time.
A long term drug rehab program is the best choice for a variety
of reasons. It is also just the first step in a process of
changing the life of the addict and those around them forever.
Call us now and we will help
you.
1-800-391-4893
Online Consultation
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