Outpatient Alcohol Rehab – The Basics Explained
Nearly 15 million people suffer from alcohol use disorder, and some of these individuals will never break their addictions. Many will even die from it.
Suffering from an alcohol addiction can leave you in a place of hopelessness and despair, but you don’t have to stay feeling this way. Instead, you can seek help from an alcohol rehab.
Alcohol treatment programs come in many forms and styles, including outpatient treatment. If you’re eager to learn more about outpatient treatment, keep reading to learn some of the basic principles and features of outpatient rehab.
Outpatient Alcohol Rehab Is a Day Program
The first thing to know is that outpatient alcohol rehab is a day program. It doesn’t require moving into a facility for weeks or months. Instead, you show up to the facility each morning and go home each evening.
The program might last for two weeks at a minimum or several months. It depends on your situation and the severity of your addiction. If you need help for an addiction but don’t want to have to leave your family, this is it.
A day program is highly beneficial for people struggling with alcohol or drug addiction. Day programs provide all the help that addicts need to get clean and break their addictions.
After completing the intensive day program through outpatient treatment, you might need to continue seeking help. The help will be less frequent, though.
It Involves Various Treatment Options
Learning how to get sober is never easy when you have an alcohol addiction, but it’s possible. When you seek help through an outpatient center, they provide all the services you need to get clean and stay clean.
First, they offer individual therapy. Working one-on-one with a counselor provides a way for you to learn more about yourself, including the following things:
- The things or events that led you to alcohol
- Reasons it’s difficult to stop using alcohol
- Traumatic events that you have not properly dealt with
Additionally, you’ll take part in group therapy sessions. Group therapy helps you hear from other addicts. You can understand that you’re not alone, and you’ll find out that others struggle just like you.
Having a group support system provides the encouragement and assistance you need. You’ll have people to talk to that can help you get through this difficult time.
During your treatment, you’ll also take classes. The classes teach various topics, including relapse-prevention. You’ll also learn the triggers that cause you to go back to alcohol and how to avoid them.
You Can Use Medication-Assisted Treatment
Many rehab centers offer medication-assisted treatment for breaking an alcohol dependency. Medication is not always necessary, but it can be helpful for many people.
One way it helps is by reducing the cravings you feel for alcohol. After you stop consuming alcohol, your brain will continue to want it. You will crave it, and these cravings can be extremely strong.
Medication also helps by reducing the effects of withdrawals. When you stop using alcohol, your body responds with withdrawal symptoms.
You might feel shaky, nervous, and agitated. You might feel sick to your stomach, dizzy, or feverish. Chances are, you’ll feel quite miserable when you stop drinking alcohol.
As a result, many addicts go right back to alcohol when they feel these things. If they consume more alcohol, the bad feelings go away.
If you’re concerned with this issue, talk to a rehab about using medication to help you through it. The medication available can greatly decrease the negative withdrawal symptoms people commonly experience when detoxing.
Outpatient Services Offer Many Benefits
Choosing outpatient alcohol rehab offers many benefits. First, you can stay with your family. You might not be able to work or do a lot of other things, but at least you can go home each night.
Secondly, outpatient alcohol treatment is more affordable. Because you do not live there, choosing outpatient services is more affordable than inpatient services.
Next, you’ll have access to all the same programs and education as you would through an inpatient program. You will learn the exact same things without spending the night at the facility.
It’s the First Step Towards a New Life
Outpatient alcohol rehab centers help people achieve new lives. If you continue using alcohol, you could greatly suffer from it. Alcohol affects the body in many negative ways. It also affects the mind and emotions.
When you drink day after day, you place a lot of stress on your internal organs. Slowly, these organs can stop functioning properly. As a result, you can end up with major health issues or even death.
Alcohol addictions are also detrimental for families. If you’re married and do not seek help, it could destroy your marriage. If you have children and do not seek help, you might lose them.
When you complete an outpatient program, you can move on to the next step in your recovery. The next step might be attending group therapy three times a week for the next year. It might also involve seeking counseling.
In any case, signing into an outpatient rehab is your first step towards a new life. Are you ready to break your addiction? Are you ready to get expert help?
If you want a new life, you can have it, but you’ll need to take the first step. Help is available (see Medicaid alcohol rehab in Greenfield). Remember, too, that recovery is a lifelong process, but it’s a process that is worthwhile for so many reasons.
Change Your Life by Seeking Help
Outpatient alcohol treatment is one of several options you can choose when you are ready to seek help for your addiction. While it might take several tries to break your addiction for good, starting now helps you reach that goal faster.
If you’re ready to reach out for help, contact us. We’d love to talk to you and provide you with more information.
