What is rehab like?
Sobriety is Traditional
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Orcas Island, Washington
Posts: 9,064
What Treatment Can provide
(from Lake Chelan Community Hospital, Washington, 2007)
1. Treatment can help you through withdrawal
a. Provide health monitoring by medical staff
b. Provide support and encouragement by peers and staff
c. Provide therapeutic environment by Chemical Dependency Counselors
d. Provide assistance from support staff
2. Treatment can offer hope
a. I can change
b. I can have personal empowerment
c. I can participate in my recovery
d. I can communicate honestly in my relationships
3. Treatment can offer a forum in which to interact with other addicts/alcoholics
a. I am not alone
b. I am not bad
c. I have a disease
d. Others have it too
e. I can talk and listen freely with my peer group and counselors
5. Treatment can teach alternative methods and coping skills
a. I can learn to communicate my needs.
b. I can talk through my problems
c. I can identify and own my feelings
d. I can be individual and interdependent
e. I can learn to think of alternatives rather than compulsively react
f. I can have choices and evaluate consequences of those choices
6. Treatment provides a supportive environment
a. I am safe
b. Therapists, counselors, doctors and nurses are supportive of my recovery
c. My family can receive help through the family program
d. There are role models of recovery and mentors in treatment
(from Lake Chelan Community Hospital, Washington, 2007)
1. Treatment can help you through withdrawal
a. Provide health monitoring by medical staff
b. Provide support and encouragement by peers and staff
c. Provide therapeutic environment by Chemical Dependency Counselors
d. Provide assistance from support staff
2. Treatment can offer hope
a. I can change
b. I can have personal empowerment
c. I can participate in my recovery
d. I can communicate honestly in my relationships
3. Treatment can offer a forum in which to interact with other addicts/alcoholics
a. I am not alone
b. I am not bad
c. I have a disease
d. Others have it too
e. I can talk and listen freely with my peer group and counselors
5. Treatment can teach alternative methods and coping skills
a. I can learn to communicate my needs.
b. I can talk through my problems
c. I can identify and own my feelings
d. I can be individual and interdependent
e. I can learn to think of alternatives rather than compulsively react
f. I can have choices and evaluate consequences of those choices
6. Treatment provides a supportive environment
a. I am safe
b. Therapists, counselors, doctors and nurses are supportive of my recovery
c. My family can receive help through the family program
d. There are role models of recovery and mentors in treatment
Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Nutmegger
Posts: 1,799
Hi Katee, I did inpatient rehab for 30 days this summer. For me it was life altering. However, what I saw was that you only get out of it what you put in.
Most programs have a minimum stay of about 30 days. The rehab that I went to had a detox facility on the premises, most of us spent at least 48 hours in that unit. The place that I was at had alcoholics, addicts, people with eating disorders, trauma, mood, etc. We ranged in age from 18-65. We stayed 2 to a room, the guys had their own halls, the women theirs.
After detox you entered the general population, in my case that was about 125 people. There was orientation, and usually someone was assigned a "buddy", (someone who had been there a few weeks who could show the newbie around). We attended a lot of group lectures during the day, and also broke down into smaller groups with people on the same track, I was on the addiction and chronic pain track. For instance my group had around 8 of us, as someone was always graduating and new people were coming in the group would change slightly from week to week. This group (usually called process groups) was really the core of the experience. I became very close to these folks, we are still in touch regularly. We usually spent about 2 hours in a group session each morning, one day a week we did an outdoor activity. (I have never seen so many chiefs and so few Indians....OMG
). In working together we learn to ask for help (something which a lot of us aren't good at doing), we also learned that there were things we could accomplish together that we could never do on our own.
Phone calls were limited to 3 2 hour windows a day. We did not have television nor did I miss it. A lot of people smoked (I don't) and hung out at the "butt hut" which was gender specific and had certain hours. People brought guitars and played at night. They only served real coffee from 5-8 in the morning....that was probably one of the biggest drags. We had talent shows on Friday night, sounds dorky, but when your eyes are crossed from talking about drinking and drugging for 12 hours a day a guy with a terrible voice singing a tired Broadway show tune sounds like Sinatra. During weeknights we played board games, went for walks, talked. I learned A LOT. We had co-dependency classes, psychiatry, neurology, we learned about all addictions:food, drugs, sex, gambling as well as alcohol and drugs. Usually there is a week or a long weekend in which family members or friends that you have chosen come and attend classes and workshops to learn about addiction. That was a pretty big deal for most people, some had very good experiences, others no so good.
The days were long, usually 5:30 am to 10pm curfew. Don't let that deter you, I thought I would hate it but I actually got up earlier than I needed to , a lot of us did, and went for a run. There were certain things we couldn't have..tweezers, razors, mirrors, but we were all in the same boat. Our meds were distributed by a nursing station and there was a lot of focus on working with different specialists to find the right protocol. Some people were guarded more closely than others by staff. We also looked out for each other. We pledged confidentiality in group sessions with staff exceptions.
I loved the staff at the place I went. But it was being with other patients, some whom were there for very different reasons, that blew me away. We spent hours and hours and hours hanging out. The range in ages, issues, backgrounds, beliefs made for an intense and incredible experience. Honestly, for the amount of time we spent talking about booze and drugs I had very, very few urges the first month. There really weren't many triggers around. So it was helpful to get some time under my belt before I faced the real world. Having a support system set up for when we got back home was also important. The staff worked with us to make sure we had that in place. If you can't do inpatient I would encourage you to look at IOP programs in your area, intensive outpatient. Basically it is having a small core group to work with without committing to living away.
I was surprised when the addiction counselor I first went to this past June recommended it, I always thought people had to be in pretty rough shape to go to rehab. Not true. I had a lot of logistics to line up before I left for a month, but it was worth it. Hope this helped, pm me if you have any questions!
Most programs have a minimum stay of about 30 days. The rehab that I went to had a detox facility on the premises, most of us spent at least 48 hours in that unit. The place that I was at had alcoholics, addicts, people with eating disorders, trauma, mood, etc. We ranged in age from 18-65. We stayed 2 to a room, the guys had their own halls, the women theirs.
After detox you entered the general population, in my case that was about 125 people. There was orientation, and usually someone was assigned a "buddy", (someone who had been there a few weeks who could show the newbie around). We attended a lot of group lectures during the day, and also broke down into smaller groups with people on the same track, I was on the addiction and chronic pain track. For instance my group had around 8 of us, as someone was always graduating and new people were coming in the group would change slightly from week to week. This group (usually called process groups) was really the core of the experience. I became very close to these folks, we are still in touch regularly. We usually spent about 2 hours in a group session each morning, one day a week we did an outdoor activity. (I have never seen so many chiefs and so few Indians....OMG
). In working together we learn to ask for help (something which a lot of us aren't good at doing), we also learned that there were things we could accomplish together that we could never do on our own.Phone calls were limited to 3 2 hour windows a day. We did not have television nor did I miss it. A lot of people smoked (I don't) and hung out at the "butt hut" which was gender specific and had certain hours. People brought guitars and played at night. They only served real coffee from 5-8 in the morning....that was probably one of the biggest drags. We had talent shows on Friday night, sounds dorky, but when your eyes are crossed from talking about drinking and drugging for 12 hours a day a guy with a terrible voice singing a tired Broadway show tune sounds like Sinatra. During weeknights we played board games, went for walks, talked. I learned A LOT. We had co-dependency classes, psychiatry, neurology, we learned about all addictions:food, drugs, sex, gambling as well as alcohol and drugs. Usually there is a week or a long weekend in which family members or friends that you have chosen come and attend classes and workshops to learn about addiction. That was a pretty big deal for most people, some had very good experiences, others no so good.
The days were long, usually 5:30 am to 10pm curfew. Don't let that deter you, I thought I would hate it but I actually got up earlier than I needed to , a lot of us did, and went for a run. There were certain things we couldn't have..tweezers, razors, mirrors, but we were all in the same boat. Our meds were distributed by a nursing station and there was a lot of focus on working with different specialists to find the right protocol. Some people were guarded more closely than others by staff. We also looked out for each other. We pledged confidentiality in group sessions with staff exceptions.
I loved the staff at the place I went. But it was being with other patients, some whom were there for very different reasons, that blew me away. We spent hours and hours and hours hanging out. The range in ages, issues, backgrounds, beliefs made for an intense and incredible experience. Honestly, for the amount of time we spent talking about booze and drugs I had very, very few urges the first month. There really weren't many triggers around. So it was helpful to get some time under my belt before I faced the real world. Having a support system set up for when we got back home was also important. The staff worked with us to make sure we had that in place. If you can't do inpatient I would encourage you to look at IOP programs in your area, intensive outpatient. Basically it is having a small core group to work with without committing to living away.
I was surprised when the addiction counselor I first went to this past June recommended it, I always thought people had to be in pretty rough shape to go to rehab. Not true. I had a lot of logistics to line up before I left for a month, but it was worth it. Hope this helped, pm me if you have any questions!
Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 1,997
I had a very positive experience. It was a long time ago so it may be different now. I agree with Jaynie. You will probably get what you put in to it. Heaven knows I needed the 30 day rest and I learned a lot that still helps me today.
Mine was a 12 step recovery and a lot of counseling. I just kept an open mind and ran with it. I am not a AA member but I just took what made sense to me and gave it my all. I figured the steps were just a nice reminder on how to be a better person so I didn't have any problem with anything. I would have done anything to feel better back then.
Now 10 years later I did drink again but I don't look at anything as a waste of time. I learned life is better and I can live without drinking just fine. I did it before so I knew I could do it again.
I wouldn't tell anyone not to do whatever it takes to quit drinking or drugging. Do whatever you need to do. Get all the help you can get.
I hope you find your path!
Mine was a 12 step recovery and a lot of counseling. I just kept an open mind and ran with it. I am not a AA member but I just took what made sense to me and gave it my all. I figured the steps were just a nice reminder on how to be a better person so I didn't have any problem with anything. I would have done anything to feel better back then.
Now 10 years later I did drink again but I don't look at anything as a waste of time. I learned life is better and I can live without drinking just fine. I did it before so I knew I could do it again.
I wouldn't tell anyone not to do whatever it takes to quit drinking or drugging. Do whatever you need to do. Get all the help you can get.
I hope you find your path!
Member
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Lakeside, Ca
Posts: 10,208
Originally Posted by KateeDidnt 
Can someone describe what rehab is like? What do you do when you're in there?
they want to know what's really in that blood
not only booze amounts or drugs but also possible disease
possible help with drugs prescribed so as to get over the first few days
many group counseling sessions
usually reading and study of the AA Big Book
we learn much in rehab regarding alcoholism
and tools to prevent future drinking or using
if not in house AA meetings
most rehabs truck the group to AA and or NA meetings nightly
they gave me vitamins and I ate real well (good food) and a lot of it
most rehabs offer after care for after release date
there is far more but this above is a (very short) outline
Mountainman
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Florida
Posts: 31
Jaynie, thank you so much for that very detailed description. I appreciate the time and thought you put in to it. My sister (whom I don't talk to so I can't ask questions) was forced to go to rehab and has had to do it more than once. I am considering it for myself (that damn alcoholic gene!) But since she had relapses I was wondering if it is worth it.
I was also curious if AA was forced on you. I love what 360 shoes says about taking what makes sense.
Mountainmanbob, it sounds like AA was forced on you? Was that difficult?
I would still like to hear more from others. Please post!
I was also curious if AA was forced on you. I love what 360 shoes says about taking what makes sense.
Mountainmanbob, it sounds like AA was forced on you? Was that difficult?
I would still like to hear more from others. Please post!
Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Nutmegger
Posts: 1,799
No, I decided to go on my own. I have never had any legal issues, etc. To me it was and always will be one of the best choices I have ever made. How often in life do we get to check out and reassess where we are, how we got there, and where we want to go? I was surprised that people go more than once, but I think the most powerful thing I took away was how much I had in common with people who were there for all sorts of reasons. There is a beauty in being able to be honest and feel safe.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,126
KD, I think most commercial and nonprofit rehabs are 12-Step based. I think it's a rarity that rehab are purposefully non 12-Step based.
I went to one a decade ago for 28 days and it was definitely 12-Step based. It didn't take.
A decade later I stumbled into an AA meeting after having read the book Alcoholics Anonymous. Every word on every page of that book spoke to me. That was three years ago. I went to hundreds of meetings my first year of sobriety. IN my third year, I go to about a meeting a month.
AA certainly isn't the only way to get and maintain sobriety. During my rehab stint I was convinced AA wasn't for me. I think Rational Recovery is a solid recovery program for many. But during that decade between my rehab stay and my sobriety date, I went to the debts of alcoholism and addiction few return from.
Good luck on your journey. I look back on the 28 days I spent in rehab as a wonderful experience. I just wish I had committed to the program and followed through with a valuable chance to get sober.
And no one forces AA on anyone. There are a lot of statistics out there, the most disconcerting being that it's estimated that 10 percent of people who enter rehab or AA or other forms of recovery maintain sobriety for longer than a year. From the group of folks who I know in AA who went to a lot of meetings and stuck with the program for a year -- worked the steps, hit a lot of meetings a week, hung out with other folks in the program -- I can only think of one or two who relapsed during that period.
I went to one a decade ago for 28 days and it was definitely 12-Step based. It didn't take.
A decade later I stumbled into an AA meeting after having read the book Alcoholics Anonymous. Every word on every page of that book spoke to me. That was three years ago. I went to hundreds of meetings my first year of sobriety. IN my third year, I go to about a meeting a month.
AA certainly isn't the only way to get and maintain sobriety. During my rehab stint I was convinced AA wasn't for me. I think Rational Recovery is a solid recovery program for many. But during that decade between my rehab stay and my sobriety date, I went to the debts of alcoholism and addiction few return from.
Good luck on your journey. I look back on the 28 days I spent in rehab as a wonderful experience. I just wish I had committed to the program and followed through with a valuable chance to get sober.
And no one forces AA on anyone. There are a lot of statistics out there, the most disconcerting being that it's estimated that 10 percent of people who enter rehab or AA or other forms of recovery maintain sobriety for longer than a year. From the group of folks who I know in AA who went to a lot of meetings and stuck with the program for a year -- worked the steps, hit a lot of meetings a week, hung out with other folks in the program -- I can only think of one or two who relapsed during that period.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Lakeside, Ca
Posts: 10,208
Originally Posted by KateeDidnt
Mountainmanbob, it sounds like AA was forced on you? Was that difficult?
being in the torn up condition that I was in
I was willing to do whatever they asked of me in treatment
I listened to all suggestions that might make a positive change in me
I actually enjoyed the meetings back then
and still attend AA meetings today (prox 2 or 3 a week)
Mountainman
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