By Steps to Recovery on November 21, 2012

Are you thinking rehab might be a good idea for you? It’s a scary thing to think about, but if you are having these thoughts it’s a good indication that rehab is the right move for you. Do you feel like drugs and/or alcohol are consuming you and your life? It’s a hard decision to make, but here are 5 things that will convince you that going to rehab is a good choice to help you reclaim your life.

1. Going to rehab will help you reach your long term goal of addiction recovery. If you are considering rehab, you know you have a problem. Anyone can get clean and sober, but staying that way is another story. Rehab will help you build the recovery tools necessary to navigate the tough times when you are ready to give up. Long term recovery isn’t easy, but with the experience and education you receive in rehab, staying clean and sober is a much easier goal to achieve.

2. Going to rehab may save your life. Not only by helping you abstain from using, which is the first way rehab may save your life, but also by helping you change your lifestyle. There is a saying in recovery: “If the drugs don’t kill you, the lifestyle will.” When people are actively using, they usually live a dangerous lifestyle. The addict will make bad decisions and put themselves in any number of risky situations. Not to mention the potential for longterm health issues related to using drugs and alcohol. Rehab teaches the addict how to live a healthier and less dangerous lifestyle.

3. Going to rehab helps you build a support group of your peers. Another saying in recovery is, “You can’t do it alone.” An addict needs the support and understanding of people who have walked the same path, who can relate to the hardship of addiction and getting sober. Getting away from the unhealthy relationships that are a part of your addiction is so important to achieving long term recovery, but these relationships must be replaced with something more supportive. In rehab, you will meet many people who understand what you are going through and can provide you the support you need to keep moving forward.

4. Going to rehab will help you rebuild damaged relationships with friends and family members. Once you have been sober for some time, loved ones will often become more receptive to working out differences with you. And the tools you will learn in rehab will help you rebuild and maintain healthy relationships with the people you care about if they are receptive to reconciling with you. It takes time, but I can say from experience that it is possible. After 15 years of addiction I have been able to reclaim and rebuild all of the relationships that I lost because of my addiction and make them even better.

5. Rehab will help you take your life back. When you reclaim yourself from your addiction, you have the whole world in your hands. The possibilities are limitless.

What do you have to lose by giving rehab a try? Nothing at all, but you have yourself and the whole world to gain. And you are worth it.