The moment people enter a drug rehabilitation center, more often than not, they are not aware how long the process is going to take. The first obvious step is detoxification, but there are other numerous steps as well. The detoxification process alone takes more than a week to cleanse the system. During this process patients go through various symptoms such as nausea and headaches. Whatever the chemical you are addicted with, the detoxification process takes the same amount of time.

Real Work Starts after Detox

The real work, however, begins only after detoxification process. The main physical dependence on drugs or alcohol is removed by detox program though spiritual and psychological aspects still need to be addressed. The reasons that create the desire for alcohol or drugs are basically psychological in nature. Even though drugs or alcohol are not present in the system anymore, the desire for drugs or drink will still be there for the patient. If you want to fight the urge to go for drugs or drink, you will have to find out your strengths to do the same. For example, if you are used to spending time at the bar after office, obviously this habit will need to be changed after you have completed your drug rehabilitation program.

Address All Aspects

After completion of drug rehabilitation program, if you start abusing drugs or alcohol again, the detoxification program is not at fault. Rather, some of your psychological issues went unaddressed, which ended up causing relapse. You cannot fight alcohol or drug addiction simply on the basis of willpower.

You Can’t be Cured Overnight

You didn’t get addicted overnight; in the same manner the drug rehabilitation program is also going to take its own time in curing you. The moment you enter a drug rehabilitation center, the first thing you want to know is how long the recovery process is going to take. You also like to know when would you feel better and when will your craving for alcohol or drugs will stop. One can only say, it is an individual journey unique to every person. Don’t expect any quick fixes while recovering from your addiction, and if somebody is claiming to do the impossible, be suspicious of that person. The chances of your continuing recovery only get brighter if you invest a lot of time and effort into your drug rehabilitation program. If you want to enroll only for a short term program, make sure you continue participating in outpatient programs, so that the chances of your recovery can be maximized.

Behavior Change is also Needed

For any type of addiction to be cured, you need to start with a behaviour change. If you want your recovery to last for the longer term, you need to combine all the factors such a better eating habits, extra nutrition as well as behavioral change to fix the damage already done. These steps are also important to ensure that the withdrawal from drugs or alcohol stays in place for a long time to come. Also, the drug rehabilitation centers only serve as the first step in the recovery of drug addicts. Other method which successfully supports this method is of support groups which can help the drug addict during the aftercare process also. If the drug addict receives some much needed support from people who have gone through similar stages before, he will become more confident of his recovery.