If you’re concerned about your state of mental health, your drug and alcohol use, and the state of your relationships, it’s a very good idea to talk to your physician. If your friends and family use drugs and alcohol, you may need help building a safer, stronger community. The pressures of life may be limiting your ability to see the situation clearly. Are there specialized treatment centers just for men? Yes, and you can get support from detox into rehab.
Addiction can impact people of all ages and races. If you’ve ever struggled to open up and share your emotional challenges or your worries about your drug use, a male-centered treatment program may make you more comfortable. The cultural pressures that men face on a daily basis can make it very hard to ask for help. Your community may not include people in front of whom you can be vulnerable.
Physical, Emotional and Mental Support
Whether the decision to enter rehab is yours, imposed by the courts or an ultimatum from family, you can find a supportive structure to help you heal your brain and body. The first step of rehab is a supervised detox. When you have been through detox, you may be able to switch to an outpatient rehab if you don’t have the time to go through inpatient rehab.
It is critically important that you not attempt to detox on your own. Detox can be fatal. You may experience extreme nausea, which can lead to dehydration, which can lead to serious cardiac issues. You may have a family member who has offered to help, but there is a strong risk that you will do serious damage to this relationship. Detox in the presence of professionals unless there is no other way, but never detox alone.
Nutrition and Medications to Make Detox and Rehab Easier
During detox, you may need additional hydration and medications to lower your discomfort. Again, these should only be administered by a professional. As you come through the worst of detox, you will need to undergo assessments for nutritional deficiencies and underlying mental health concerns.
The length of time that you used and the drugs you put in your system will have a huge impact on the intensity of your physical cravings and the level of discomfort you suffer in withdrawal. Because addiction changes the function of your brain, you may not have been eating well, exercising regularly or caring for your body.
You may find that the early stages of detox and rehab are particularly intrusive; for example, you may need to have your fluid intake and output monitored to make sure that your kidneys, liver and gut are functioning effectively. You may be on new prescription drugs to better manage conditions that you were self-medicating. Having someone else monitoring or controlling what you eat and drink may be particularly frustrating; bear in mind that rebuilding your physical health is critical to the success of your rehab.
Therapies to Rebuild Brain Health
Addiction changes how your brain works. Instead of having goals, intentions and interests, you have a yearning for the addictive substance. You may struggle to make plans for the future. You may also find that your craving for the drug leads to illegal or immoral behaviors that wouldn’t ever have considered before the addiction took hold.
Healing your brain is part of the rehab process. Once you’ve been through detox and the physical need for the drug has been greatly reduced, you will still need to address the psychological desire for the drug. Managing this desire and rebuilding your life without the drug will take group and one on one therapy. If you don’t have the time or availability to enter inpatient rehab, you can get these therapies on an outpatient basis.
Undergoing detox and entering rehab is a huge decision that can have a serious impact on the rest of your life. Asking for help and submitting to such intensive and personal care will stretch your emotional life; like a lot of intense stretches, there will be some discomfort but the flexibility gained will be worth it! Our counselors are available 24 hours a day. Call 844-639-8371.