Elisabeth888

Good luck Zorilla!

I completely understand the anxiety about going.

Does there web site or information packet give you any idea on what you can expect?

When I went it was a ton of group therapy and "homework".

zorilla

yeah i have a basic idea.

I did just notice gym shoes are on the list of things to bring..
I imagine they'll probally want us to play stupid volleyball.
I hated gym class.actually it was terrifying.

I remember that the rehab 23yrs ago made us play volleyball.
i hated it then too..i felt alot of anxiety.
it sticks out in my as one of the most uncomfortable times in there.
i'm pretty sure i will enjoy as much as i did then.

Mark75

At the rehab I went to they had this team building stuff... I was still pretty full of myself and I thought it was really lame... I would have been happy to play volley ball!! They had very little in the way of gym, exercise...

Ya know, Zo... there will be others there who feel exactly they way you do... try to remember that, you don't have to like it... give yourself permission to own your feelings, but just remember that all they are is feelings.

What day do you go?

zorilla

team building stuff;
please tell me more about this

Charon

Zo,

Two things you didn't mention that I found especially wonderful when I went to rehab last year. First, you will be with a group of people who are suffering the same way you are and have the same goal. Second, the best part of rehab for me was that I didn't have to decide what I was going to do. Every day was fully planned for me. I didn't have to think or decide what to do. I just did what the schedule called for. Took a lot of pressure off.

Anna

I wish you well with your rehab Zorilla.

Mark75

DO NOT WORRY SO MUCH!!!

The team buiding was very minimally physical and required only that you work with the group... you'll be fine...

zorilla

i don't think i'm going to even worry about taking .
gym shoes.
Stationery, stamps and envelopes.no;i think want these either
Books or magazines for free time.no i don't these either.

zorilla

yeah i was wondering what it was.
physical activity no problem.
it's the team thing that makes me nervous..
but i already know to expect this kinda stuff

zorilla

the best part of rehab for me was that I didn't have to decide what I was going to do.
i totally agree this was the best part for me too.

Mark75

With any endeavor, getting outside one's comfort zone is when real real growth occurs.

zorilla

i know that getting out of that comfort zone is the best thing for everybody.
some of the best things that have happened to me were not very comfortable ..

eddie73

Go for it, treat it as a holiday.

lilotto

Zorilla, quit future tripping if you are serious about getting sober and clean that's what really counts! Team building is common with most treatment facilities. Most place us in one group or another where we work with our counselor as a smaller group so there can be focus and time for growth. This is much more productive than one big group although there usually a time when all the groups meet together as a community. Don't set yourself up for failure. Remember everyone you meet will have something in common they suffer from a substance abuse issue. What they do with this opportunity like you is entirely up to the individual. Some are serious and some aren't. Some will achieve success and some won't. That's just the reality of addiction and treatment. There is no magic formula just an honest and sincere willingness and nothing less.

I don't know if this will help but on 7/26/2011 I completed my fourth inpatient treatment spanning over a period of 10+ years. My substance issues began when I was but an adolescent and has continued in one form or another. Don't get me wrong there were times of long abstinence but here I am at 58yr and just completed a 21day inpatient. Since my second divorce I have been existing on a 15yr roller-coaster of recovery and relapse "so don't beat yourself up". As suggested I went to this last one with no high expectations. As a result it turned out to be like a vacation of sorts for myself where I was able to spend time focusing on me and what I want out of life. I came home very refreshed and peaceful. No I wasn't cured I still have thoughts and urges to drink but I don't have to act on them. If I don't buy it I won't drink it. Sounds simple huh but we both no it's not always that easy as we white knuckle our way through another day.

Take the tennis shoes or something comfortable to walk in you'll be glad you did.

zorilla

i respect your opinion;but i don't think that i am future tripping.
but yeah maybe i'm wrong.

ajangel

I don't think you are future tripping. You are afraid and you want to be emotionally ready. Do what you must to prepare yourself mentally. i am the same way. I try and think of all of the possibilities. Nothing wrong with that. You should be proud that you made this step.

zorilla

lilotto;thank you....you have alot of goods things to say.
sometimes my posts are misunderstood.
my sense of humor is very often misunderstood..

ChewbaccaReflex

I bailed on my first attempt at rehab too. I just got out of rehab earlier this month and managed to finish it this time.

The urge to bail was just as strong as it was the first time, but the difference was simply a matter of ignoring that urge.

You know how they say you need to focus "one day at a time" when it comes to not using? I applied that same mentality to staying in rehab. I kept saying "I won't leave today. No promises for tomorrow, but I just won't leave today" and I did that the entire time I was there.

There wasn't a single day that went by where I didn't think of leaving, but I kept putting it off a day at a time until the very last day when I was able to leave because the program was now over and I had made it through.

I had loads of anxiety about going in and loads of anxiety while I was there, but I managed to get through it and you can too. Focusing on the positives seems like a good thing to do.

Good luck.

Dee74

welcome to Newcomers ChewbaccaReflex

D

zorilla

thanks everybody for the support;it's helping.
telling my dr everything was really not that hard;kind of a relief.
Telling my mom I was going to a rehab wasn't that bad either.
I didn't want to worry my mom but why would it worry her;rehabs not a bad thing.

She's probally jumping up and down and thanking god right now......
My daughters happy that I'm going too.My Aunt told me yesterday that she is very proud of me.

I was in 5 rehabs between the ages of 19 and 21.I didn't bail out of all of them.the ones that were the most helpful were similar to one i'm going to now.
I don't see that any of them were failures;i learned alot.
Although I clearly remember the anxiety;I clearly remember all the good things too.