There are two kinds of professional treatment for addictions: inpatient and outpatient rehab. For outpatient rehab, patients don’t have to stay inside a rehab center. Instead, they only have to go to treatment a few times in a week. This method is effective, and it has helped a lot of people formerly suffering from addictions to make full recoveries.
But outpatient rehab has its disadvantages. For one, patients are not fully monitored by recovery professionals. It’s much harder to make sure that patients are compliant with treatments. In turn, recovery might not be as successful and long lasting.
Inpatient rehab, in contrast, requires patients to stay in a facility for the entire duration of the rehab. Because they are confined to the facility, recovery can be better facilitated and more closely monitored. In turn, the process is usually more effective and patients see more success.
Curious why inpatient rehab is better? Here are some of its advantages.
1. Inpatient rehab isolates patients from the sources of their addictions.
Patients have to stay in the rehab center for between one month to six months, depending on the length of their treatment program. It’s like being confined to a hospital for a number of days, until the patient feels well.
This way, patients will not have access to the things they are addicted to. This is very important, as any temptation to use again will sabotage the recovery process.
Rehab centers are tightly controlled environments. They keep tabs on all of their residents. That means no one can bring drugs, alcohol, tobacco, or anything else that has addictive potential.
2. Patients have 24/7 medical and psychological help.
Inside the rehab center are doctors, counselors, psychologists, and other mental health professionals. They are always at the ready to give help to patients whenever they need to. That way, patients are well-taken care of all the time. If any emergencies arise, they can get the attention they need promptly.
This is most useful in patients who are still in the stage of dealing with withdrawal symptoms. Some of those symptoms can be quite painful, and they might need medical help along the way. With medical personnel on standby and available at any time, managing these withdrawal symptoms would be much less unpleasant.
3. Patients are exposed to people who are also seeking recovery.
Patients are not alone when in a rehab center. They are in the company of others who have similar struggles with addictions. All of them have one goal, which is to gain control of their lives once again.
With this kind of company, patients can identify with each other and help one another in the recovery process. They would have a sense of belongingness, which also aids in restoring proper mental health.
4. Patients learn to adopt new lifestyles.
To successfully live addiction-free, patients have to develop new habits. The rehab center is an ideal environment for this lifestyle change. There, patients are exposed to new daily routines. For instance, they are trained to wake up and sleep at consistent times each day. Aside from that, meals and other activities are also put on a schedule. This would help patients develop new habits, overriding the unhealthy lifestyles fueled by addiction.
5. Rehab centers have recreation facilities
A lot of rehab centers offer spas, swimming pools, table tennis tables, basketball courts, libraries, and other such amenities. These serve to aid patients in developing new hobbies that are non-addictive. Also, activities like swimming and sports promote good physical as well as mental health, which also contributes in curbing patients’ addictions.
In some rehab centers, recreation is a regular part of patients’ daily routines. In other words, rehab is not boring at all. Patients are encouraged to have fun, too.
6. Patients can still talk to their families while inside the rehab center
For a lot of patients, keeping in touch with their families is a huge deal. Being able to communicate with the people they trust the most with their lives is crucial to successful recoveries. It helps them avoid feeling isolated, which is often an addiction trigger. While they may be in the company of other patients and their therapists, family is quite a different thing. In the rehab center, everyone is a stranger. But when patients get to talk to family members, they would not feel lonely.
For this reason, inpatient rehab centers allow their patients to maintain lines of communication with their families.
The families of patients would also benefit a lot. Being able to know how their recovering loved ones are doing is certainly a big thing for them.
Some rehab centers even hold counseling sessions for family members. This way, the families can more easily process what’s going on with their loved ones in rehab. Also, they would be taught ways to help their loved ones make full recoveries.
7. Patients can focus on recovery
During inpatient rehab, all of the patients’ activities are geared towards helping them recover from addiction. The regular therapies would let them gain many insights, such as:
- Identifying their addiction triggers
- Avoiding situations that drive them to use addictive substances or participate in addictive behaviors
- Emotions that make them vulnerable to addictive behavior
- Root causes of their addictions
- Techniques that let them avoid risky situations
- Healthier ways to cope with stress and negative emotions
The recovery process tends to be long. But when patients are confined to a rehab center, the process is easier to manage. Patients are also a lot more focused than if they only go to therapy a few times a week. With that, recovery is often more successful for people going through inpatient rehab.
While a lot of people may not be comfortable with the idea of staying in a rehab center for months, one thing is certain: It works very well. Also, come to think of it, one to six months in an inpatient rehab is well worth a lifetime of being sober and mentally healthy.
