A substance abuse rehab is a place where addicts and alcoholics can go to be safe against the obstacles that impede their sobriety. They’re staffed by caring, compassionate healthcare professionals and mental healthcare workers that are trained to recognize the signs of substance abuse and other disorders. Once the condition is recognized, a plan of recovery can come up. One subject that is frequently broached is whether or not it’s wise to travel for rehab.
Is leaving town to attend an out of city or out of state rehab a good idea? Will it make it harder to return home at the end of rehab? Before deciding where you’re going, it’s always a good idea to take a brief look at your mental map and see exactly where you are. What’s your plan? Where do you want to be at the end of rehab? What personal changes do you want to make in your life?
Purpose of Rehab
A substance abuse treatment center serves a multitude of purposes. Some clients enter rehab and live in a substance free environment for the first time in years. Others find the self-reflection while in rehab brings them closer to faith in either themselves or a higher power that is greater than themselves. In addition, people enter rehab to:
- Learn the principles of sobriety
- Receive help from counselors
- Engage in lively peer support group meetings that give them hope
- Have a safe place where they can seek help for dual diagnosis issues
- Learn how to prevent relapse
Out of Area Rehab
Millions of people don’t live in an area that has a residential treatment center or even a short-term detox. For those people, it’s not a choice as to whether or not to go out of area. If they want to enter a facility, they’ve got to travel. The great news is that going to an out of area rehab isn’t going to impact the overall quality of recovery at all. In fact, some people find that going out of area helps them to escape local drug use and scenes they’ve become familiar with.
When someone uses drugs or alcohol, they begin to associate certain local sights, sounds, and even people with drug use. This local scene can prove a hindrance to recovery when recovering in a local community. Therefore, many recovering individuals find that going to a rehab out of area helps to curb those associations and give them a fresh start in a brand new environment. It’s not a foolproof way to recover, but it’s one element of a quality recovery.
Returning Home after Rehab
While the benefits of out of state rehab are obvious, it’s natural to worry about whether leaving your area for awhile might impact your recovery upon returning home. The reality is, returning home after rehab will be impacted by many things, but where you’re returning to is less important than your mindset when you finally return. While you’re in rehab, you can make preparations with your friends and family to ensure that the home you return to is safe and sound and encouraging to recovery.
Your rehab center will devise a relapse prevention plan for you to implement once you’re released and on your way back to your new life. The traveling itself means you might have to make more preparations. For example, you’ll need to make sure that you pack everything you need while you’re in rehab. Make lists, double check them, and make sure you don’t leave any treasures from home behind.
A few encouraging trinkets and reminders of friends and family will do a lot to curb homesickness. Your homecoming itself will be a happy one. Why? Well, you’re going to be returning a different person than you left. You’ll be sober, have a better understanding of how you fell into active addiction, and best of all, you’ll have a relapse prevention and aftercare plan that helps you fight triggers in your ongoing sobriety. If you choose the right rehab center, traveling for rehab won’t make returning home harder at all.
Are you looking for a rehab center that will help you achieve quality sobriety and rebuild your life? Let our counselors help. They are available 24 hours a day. Call us at 844-639-8371. The team here is standing by 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help people from all areas of the country escape the nightmare of substance abuse.