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Living with an addiction isn’t easy, and it can be hard to seek help for many reasons. According to a report published by the surgeon general, 1 in 7 people are at risk of developing a substance use disorder, like drug abuse or alcoholism, in the US, but only 1 in 10 will receive treatment.

If you’re struggling with a substance use disorder and you don’t know what options are available to you, this article should clear up some questions you may have about treatment and rehab.

What’s the Difference Between Outpatient and Inpatient Rehab?

Most drug rehab programs, big or small, can be placed in two categories: outpatient and inpatient treatment. There are positives and negatives that come with both options.

Inpatient Rehab

Inpatient rehabs are intensive, residential treatment programs designed to treat serious addictions. They’re a more expensive option, as the patient and/or their families must pay for room and board. For this reason, some would refer to an inpatient drug rehab in Florida as “residential treatment.”

Patients are required to check themselves into a controlled environment where they’ll stay with medical professionals and emotional support specialists 24-hours a day, 7-days a week. 

To prepare for inpatient rehab, patients must:

• Settle their affairs
• Speak to their employer
• Find living arrangements for their children and family
• Understand what personal items are allowed
• Plan how to get to and from the center

Successful inpatient care includes active family involvement to provide emotional support and encouragement. However, the main purpose of inpatient rehab is to help patients focus on getting sober without having to navigate the distractions present in everyday life.

Outpatient Rehab

Outpatient rehab programs, like the addiction treatment programs offered in Murrieta, are less restrictive than inpatient programs because you aren’t required to stay at the treatment center. However, you still need to spend 10 to 12 hours a week at a treatment center to “check out.”

If you’re experiencing mild-to-moderate drug withdrawal symptoms, outpatient rehab can connect you to doctors and a community that is actively involved with your treatment.

There are benefits to outpatient rehab, like:

• Being able to keep your job
• Ability to see your children
• Casual treatment
• Avoiding triggers and trauma
• Group support

While inpatient treatment offers group support and the ability to avoid triggers, outpatient rehab takes a more casual approach. Since you have to spend several hours a week at the facility, you hopefully won’t have enough time to be around the triggers that make you want to use them.

6 Treatments That Can Successfully Beat Addiction

Addiction treatment isn’t one-size-fits-all, and it shouldn’t be. We all have different reasons for using, so you need to tackle your addiction in a way that makes sense to you and your trauma.

1. Detoxification

Detoxification, when assisted by medical professionals, can safely rid your body of addictive substances. While detoxification can make you less likely to use it, it doesn’t treat the underlying mental symptoms of addiction. That’s why detoxification is combined with other treatments.

2. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

When you have a substance abuse disorder, you may feel like you’ve lost control. Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) helps you gain that control back by combating feelings of self-defeat. REBT teaches patients that rational thinking isn’t dependent on external factors.

3. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most effective therapies for addiction. That’s because CBT allows you to recognize unhealthy or dangerous behavioral patterns that may trigger your addiction. CBT also helps patients learn their triggers and personal coping strategies.

4. The 12-Step Program

The 12-step program, popularized by Alcoholics Anonymous, is an effective way of tackling the negative consequences of substance abuse. However, the last step requires you to surrender to a higher power. If you aren’t comfortable with that, you should try a non-12-step program.

5. Contingency Management

Contingency management takes the opposite approach to addiction management by rewarding people when they’ve successfully stayed sober for a specific amount of time. This reinforces positive behaviors further, as it forces an addicted brain to see sobriety as positive.

6. Medication

Some doctors may be hesitant to prescribe addicts medication, but there are medicines that can help decrease the chance of relapse, addictive behaviors, and mood disorders. Still, psychiatrists typically use medication interventions for patients who are also in treatment.