Most professionals agree: thirty days just isn’t enough. The old saying goes that it takes 90 days to break a habit. Addiction and alcoholism, among their many manifestations in the brain, are habits. The many compulsive and obsessive behaviors which accompany the process of addiction is someone become part of the habit. Unlike neglecting to do the dishes or having a chronically untidy room, the habits of addiction are not inconsequential. They can in fact be life threatening.
Every component of an addiction treatment program is evidence-based, designed on scientifically proven facts regarding how to change and heal the brain. Forms of therapy, mindfulness practices, and even utilizing principles of spirituality, like gratitude, all have tangible results in changing the brain. Recovery is about more than quitting drugs and alcohol. If an addict was capable of doing so themselves, these vessels, the treatment industry, and the global recovery community wouldn’t have a reason for existing. However, addicts and alcoholics aren’t capable of doing that quite yet. Residential inpatient, the typical thirty day treatment program, can teach a loved one a lot of valuable information. That information can only go so far in thirty days. Extended care or multi phase programs are finding the greatest success so that there is more time, more learning, and more security for staying sober.
In the first thirty to ninety days, everything is a blur. Symptoms of withdrawal feel overbearing. Simultaneously, symptoms of feeling, in general, is overwhelming. Drugs and alcohol help people to numb out difficult emotions helping them to avoid dealing with feelings. After getting sober, all of those feelings start to show up. Feeling those feelings and understanding those feelings is foreign in the first 30-90 days. Cognitive confusion and a resetting brain can interfere with one’s ability to comprehend everything they are being taught in treatment. Longer time in care means that there will be more information absorbed.
Care doesn’t have to continue at the same facility as inpatient. Many people have to return home and find alternative ways to create long term care for themselves. Hired Power is available to help you make those plans. Our recovery services include sober monitoring, drug testing, accountability, and more. We work with our case managers to help you bring recovery home. For more information, call 800-910-9299.