Anyone done a 12 week rehab before?
 

Hi there im new to the boards. Im still currently drinking daily, but im on the waiting list for a detox and rehab. I have also just started attending 5 aa meetings a week. Would appreciate some advise regarding rehab im scared and being the last year of my drinking has taken me to a lonely place, im not sure how i will cope living with other people on a daily basis. Im worried i wont be able to hack it but its becoming a matter of i need to do it to get my life back on track.

Hi NewHorizon25

I've never done rehab myself, but many of my friends here have....and they not only survived but thrived as well.

I'm sure they'll share their stories :)

Welcome to SR :)
D

It's okay. Being around people is good. It helps break through the tendency to isolate. So, concentrate on being supportive of the people you are with. You seem really sensitive, and that's a great gift when other people feel "out there." You'll be okay. Just breathe. It'll be fine. You'll be fine. I'd bet money on it. :)

Welcome to SR NewHorizon25 :ghug2 good luck with your recovery. I look forward to getting to know more about you.

NB

Rehab was like heaven for me.

Every need was taken care of so I could concentrate on my recovery. ;)

People who can go to rehab are truly fortunate, truly, it is a gift. ;)

I don`t have any experience with rehab, but I want to wish you well and I hope that you will continue to post.

http://www.mazeguy.net/happy/wave.gif Welcome to Sober Recovery NewHorizon25

I went through rehab once. It was a good experience even in the face of my fears. The staff was great and I learned a lot about drug addiction and how to build and practice a personalized addiction recovery plan. I think you'll be alright, :) please go with a willingness to grow in recovery.

Welcome to SR NewHorizon. I went to rehab but not for that long. To me, rehab was wonderful, I got to think only about me and my recovery. It was the first time in my life that all outside nuisances were gone and I got to really search my soul for all those things that were causing me problems my whole life. I believe that rehab is a wonderful experience as long as you are really serious about getting sober. I also think its great you are going to 5 AA meetings a week. I go to 2 a day since I got sober, and that's where I am able to face people and make friends. I use to isolate all the time when I was drinking/using and never thought people would even like me, my life is so different now, people care about me and I care about them. I don't isolate anymore, I got a home group (really 3 home groups) and there they all know me, they know if I am not in a good space, if something is wrong with me. I also got myself a sponsor right away and started working the steps. Doing the right things is what has helped me not pick up a drink and start living life the way it should be lived. Good luck with your getting sober, you seem to be attempting to do the right things. Believe me, you cannot believe how great life is being sober, even with all the ups and downs.

Being afraid is normal for such a big step. However the sober life is infinitely more rewarding. Continuing drinking you will only get progressively and exponentially worse. I have never done an in patient treatment or detox (but I needed to), however I am currently halfway through a 22 week Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) that has weekly Group and Individual thearapy, Medical supervision, and Naltrexone to mitigate cravings. Go in with an open mind and participate as much as possible (even if you don't feel like it) in order to get the most out of it.

I went to rehab, not kidding, over a dozen times. One of those times in my youth was for an entire year. Others were for a week here and there or a couple of months etc. It wasn't that rehab didn't help me the first few times, I think it was just that most of the time I was forced, usually by the law or some other decree, so I wasn't in any way ready to let it work for me. When I did eventually get sober, seven years ago now, it was not in a rehab facility, but on the couch of an AA members home. Those times in rehab though, especially the ones where I went voluntarily were a great experience.

I too had what could be described as a 'severe' social phobia. I did not allow physical contact with other human beings for about 3 yrs of my life. Being thrust into a setting with so many people, where I was encouraged to speak and 'share' was certainly overwhelming and frightening. For myself though, living the way I had been, I found out that I had been desperately lonely the whole time and wasn't even aware of it. Those experiences in rehab taught me that I could accept help from people, and that there were people who were actually willing to help me, for whatever reason. It was something I needed to learn, because in getting sober, we need help. I do not believe it can be done alone.

I hated that idea at first too. I was not capable of appropriate social interaction by any stretch of the imagination. Rehab and then my integration into AA was a personal battle every day, but it was necessary and it was my only choice. And because of that I can now interact with all kinds of people, in my life and in my work, successfully and its rewarding.

There are also some really good perks to rehab. You can typically eat as much as you want and you don't have to worry about food. There's clean beds and usually air conditioning. They give you pills so you don't claw your eyes out or vomit all the time from detox. It's a positive environment and it takes people out of their normal environment, the environment in which they used drugs and alcohol in everyday.

Another thing that may set you at ease is that there will be people with far more problems than your own in there. Don't worry though, I never felt unsafe or threatened in any of those places and I am a 100 lb woman. Also, don't worry, it is nothing like jail if you've ever been there.

If you leave aside the fact that your life is probably exploding right now, rehab is actually kind of fun. Bare with me here, but its quite a lot like summer camp. Little activities and such. There's some cheese factor to it also. The bottom line though is that its worth it. It's worth it in more ways than you are able to grasp probably at this moment. Seize the opportunity, it may be the only glimmer of light in what is probably a dark world. Enjoy the levity that it offers.

Hi and welcome.
My name is Cathy..Alcoholic! I want to a 90 day inpatient treatment(yes, I was scared too). By the time I got there, I was so tired, it was a relief to be told when to go to sleep, when to wake up, eat, group etc. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't exactly easy, but it was a lot better than what I was doing before! I was sick for two solid weeks, then the fog started to lift and I actually began to feel like a human physically. Let me assure you this one thing, there is nothing that happened in treatment, that was harder than drinking and being on the street. After I completed, I stayed at the treatment center for over a year working with the new people and earning $75 twice a month. At least I was safe, I also completed my aftercare while living at the treatment facility. It hasn't always been easy, but I owe that experience to over 15 years sober! Be strong, you CAN do this. It won't always be easy, but it WILL always be worth it! I used to wonder how I was going to have fun sober, now I see that I wasn't really having fun AT ALL drunk!!!

Cathy

3 times! LOL

My first treatment was 13 weeks, the other 2 were 28 days. I stayed clean for almost a year the first time and I actually enjoyed rehab, beleive it or not. It helped me confront my lying and maninipulating, and I made some lifelong friends. It is hard, but worth it. Sort of like college!

I say that if you have the time and the money, PLEASE go. It will teach you how to live so you can prepare for living in the real world. And it may also give you a break from any friends/family that drive you nuts, not to mention give them an opportunity to learn about your disease and participate in your recovery if they choose.

GO FOR IT!
Godd luck.