FozzyBear

I've just done daytox and group. Ready to line up local supports and get back to work and on with my life. Is residential treatment really necessary? Family wants me to go - they are causing me so much stress... I keep relapsing, but drink so much less than a year ago and I have new skills that seem to be working. I'm ready to quit for good. Maybe the only good thing about rehab is getting away from them?

Dee74

I've never been but it seems like some people need it, others don't.
If not rehab, what else do you figure you'll do?

are you satisfied with where you are right now in recovery terms?

D

wehav2day

Fozzy, love your name! Welcome to SR. there is a lot of great support here.

only you can figure out for sure if you need to go to rehab. I was on the fence with that, too. got to a point where it was quit for good OR residential rehab. Sounds like you believe you need to quit drinking. but you also seem to feel that you drink less and that's okay. it's either or, not both...

so if you feel like you have to quit for good, but it's not working out on your own... rehab might be for you. I have hear a lot of people say they were hesitant to go to rehab but were REALLY glad they did. I have yet to hear someone say they went to rehab and it didn't help them. your call.

MeSoSober

Are you really asking if "people" need to go to rehab to quit drinking, some do and some don't. I don't think anyone here is going to be able to tell you what YOU need to do since we don't know you or your history or other means you've tried to quit.

Does your family have reason to believe that this time you'll actually stay stopped, because I would expect that to be behind their insisting you go to rehab? They are concerned that you'll go back to the bottle since that's you've always done before.

If they simply don't understand that many people do get sober without rehab and this is a knee-jerk response to your latest drinking episode, that might be a different story.

FozzyBear

I think there should be a thread on this v important topic. Your responses were helpful. I have been doing well since July, and a year since heavy addiction. My family tries to be supportive, but were a big part of the problem all along. I feel ready to practice what I learned in counselling. Carry money, walk by liquor stores, no urges. Have new non-drinking friends I want to stay in touch with. Problem: family drinks seriously, won't stop, won't remove bottles, won't admit problem. They do dump all over me because I admit to a problem. They say it's incurable - I know better. Very short term alcoholic.

MemphisBlues

Well, I guess that's a dilemma -- family drinks but want you to go to rehab?

Regardless, if you've struggled with stopping before and are still being harangued, and you do want to recover, I would seek whatever help I could.

I do think, however, that rehab will help only if it's what you want. I'm not saying you have to want rehab -- I can't think of anyone who does -- but want permanent recovery.

Perhaps you could remove your family from the equation and just follow the advice of your doctor or those in your outpatient program?

What is a short term alcoholic?

jeeves

No it is not necessary. I have been to residential rehab 8 times, personally I found rehab to be the least helpful tool in my recovery. This is my personal perspective though and it differs from person to person. If you utilize the other resources available to you;group therapy, meetings, individual therapy, etc, then IMO rehab is not a crucial step in recovery. For some reason going to rehab tends to give the addicts family peace of mind. A lot of people unfamiliar with addiction seem to think rehab is some magic bullet, which it most certainly is not.

FozzyBear

Went to being a non-drinker (nearly) to an alcoholic for two years late in life, then now a year and a half in recovery! I am amazed by the power of addiction. I accept that completely stopping is the only solution, but I am OK with that, if a little sad since the ritual of shared drinks did have a place in my social life before.

IOAA2

Hi.

"I keep relapsing, but drink so much less than a year ago and I have new skills that seem to be working. I'm ready to quit for good. Maybe the only good thing about rehab is getting away from them? "

The bottom line I needed for skills was not drinking. Period. When I got ready to quit for good I had to get honest with myself about MY drinking and get rid of the self centered "I WANNA." about many things. I needed to accept that all the BS alcoholic hazy thinking wasn't working and in order to live a decent life I needed to not pick up the first drink again. No I didn't like this verdict but it works if we want it to.

BE WELL

tomsteve

im really confused. ya say a year and a half in recovery but ya just got out of detox and ya say ya drink so much less.

FozzyBear

I'm not in AA, we don't count days in my group therapy. I have 1 1/2 years since addressing my new problem. Since July, only what we call "slips". (Stop immediately, no DT's). Fewer urges, increasing commitment. Only yesterday, read that AA can be detrimental because of the guilt associated with "slips" (& potential for dishonesty? I wonder). Only 8 days since last slip, but I at least study and learn from each slip and know that abstinence really is the goal but don't beat myself up for not being instantly cured. P.s. My family tried to force me to take high dose benzo's when I first came out to them - I resisted and they maligned me. Family can be a real problem, and many doctors. I've found addiction specialists are the best.

tomsteve

only slip I ever had was on ice.
when it came to drinkin, I didn't slip. I drank again. period.

Leana

Inpatient was critical to my daughter's success, she could never get past day 2 with other measures. She is now on Day 71.

Will your insurance pay for it? If it does, why not give it a try?

jbsoriginality

Yes if you can afford it, and your family wants you to go, you probably should. I have no idea what you are recovering from but I do know that I wish I would have listened to my family and gotten help the first time it came up.

MIRecovery

If I could have done residential I would have done it in a heartbeat. It would have given me enough time to get my feet on the ground again, get sober, and not have to deal with the world for 30 or 60 days.

Judging by the fact that you think that everything will be fine and dandy after 8 days of sobriety tells me that you have a whole lot more to learn about recovery. A residential treatment program will teach you about addiction and give you tools to deal with it.

IMO do the residential program if you're serious about quitting. It has no downsides but countless up sides

EndGameNYC

I recommend reading this again and then deciding whether or not you're being honest about your drinking.

Renarde

I wish I could have gone to rehab but I never had the opportunity. Instead I spent ten years fighting one addiction hell and once I was done with that, swapped it out and promptly jumped into another. Maybe it would be a good thing to get space from your life at present and learn how to deal with your family and everything else. You won't know until you go.

foolsgold66

I honestly don't even need to think about this anymore. No one really 'wants' to go to rehab. If you keep relapsing and you have the means and opportunity to go to rehab and you want a better life then you SHOULD give yourself the opportunity for the 'boost' that rehab can give you. That is my opinion.

ETA: Yeah I've been. I quit without going again after relapse, but I don't discount what I learned there in helping me to do so again.