10 Ways Substance Abuse Treatment Benefits Your Life

Going to substance abuse treatment benefits addicts and makes your life so much better. I know that it did for me. It was a life-changing experience that improved nearly every aspect of life I can think of. Addiction controls how one thinks, feels, and behaves. That makes it nearly impossible to stop using without professional help. It is often recommended that people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol attend an inpatient addiction treatment facility. Making the leap from addiction to recovery isn’t easy, but it brings with it many significant benefits that are hard to overlook. Consider these 10 ways that substance abuse treatment benefits your life.

Benefits of Substance Abuse Treatment

Increased Stability

Addiction takes a toll on lives in many ways. It typically creates a chaotic and unstable environment for users and the people around them. Learning how to become stable in life again is difficult, even when you stop using or drinking. An inpatient treatment facility for substance abuse treatment benefits include a structured, productive environment, which in turn provides you with a strong foundation for a stable life when you complete treatment.

Encouragement and Support

If you feel anxious or apprehensive about entering drug rehab, you are not alone. Most addicted people are extremely nervous about attempting to navigate treatment without the use of drugs or alcohol. The good news is that the benefits of substance abuse treatment include encouragement and support for patients around the clock. Many of the staff members that work in treatment facilities are in recovery themselves and can be very helpful to patients who are brand new in addiction recovery.

Psychiatric Care

It’s not unusual for people who have problems with drugs or alcohol to also have underlying, or co-occurring, mental health disorders or illnesses. In fact, many people who become addicted to drugs or alcohol do so as a way of self-medicating mental illness. Residential rehab will provide you with psychiatric care to treat any co-occurring disorders you may have. This is a significant benefit of substance abuse treatment as many mental health problems will go undiagnosed and untreated, perpetuating further drug or alcohol abuse.

Medical Care

There is no doubt about it, addiction takes a toll on the body. Additionally, people with addictions are far less likely than non-addicted people to seek medical care. When you go to inpatient treatment, you will see a medical doctor and have diagnostic tests done to see how your addiction has affected your health. This is often the first step for addicts to become physically healthy after a long period of drug or alcohol use.

Peer Support

Fellowship and community are huge benefits of substance abuse treatment and recovery. When you attend inpatient treatment, friendships and bonds are formed quickly because you all share the same struggles and feelings. Having the support of your peers in recovery can make the difference between success and failure. In rehab, you have the opportunity to begin creating the peer support network that you need to be successful in recovery when you leave treatment. Many friendships that are initiated in treatment last long into a person’s recovery.

Personal Development

Addiction treatment is the primary focus of drug or alcohol rehab, but part of the process also includes helping patients develop the personal habits, behaviors, and routines that make up a healthy and productive lifestyle. This process includes learning increased self-awareness and building upon your strengths and aspirations about your future. It often involves planning and goal-setting so that you have continued development after treatment.

Relapse Prevention Skills

Relapse is a real and unfortunate part of recovery. There are people who enter treatment and never relapse, but they are the exception, not the rule. That is why relapse prevention education is highly prioritized in drug and alcohol rehab. Once you have completed treatment and must re-enter your real life, you need to have the skills necessary to deal with triggers and situations that can easily lead you down the path to relapse. Because residential treatment places so much importance on relapse prevention, you will develop the tools you need to stay clean and sober, and to be one of the exceptions to the rule.

Relationship-Strengthening

Active addiction causes many relationships to deteriorate or die. You likely have experienced that if you have been abusing drugs or alcohol for any significant time. Your ability to communicate with others and strengthen relationships is taken away when you are actively using or drinking. Another big part of rehab is learning how to reestablish and strengthen relationships that addiction has damaged. The communication skills you learn in treatment will also help you in being able to express your feelings if you experience overwhelming urges to drink or use again, another substance abuse treatment benefit.

Healthy Mindset

Your mindset becomes supportive of the life you are leading. When you are in addiction and actively using or drinking, your mindset will support your use. That’s just one of the reasons that it is so hard for people who are addicted to stop on their own for any length of time. When you are in treatment, you will find that your mindset changes and your focus shifts to developing healthy ways of dealing with the world around you.

Recovery Groups

Recovery support groups are a huge benefit of substance abuse treatment. They provide the peer support, encouragement, and relationships that will help you for years to come. When you attend rehab, you will gain the experience of working with others that will provide you with a firm foundation of the support group process.