In the United States, 4% of the population can be said to be addicted to drugs or alcohol on any given day. Furthermore, 10% of people have battled problems with addiction at some time in their lives. That 10% translates into more than 30 million U.S. citizens. Overdose deaths have tripled in the United States since 1990. In addition to the tragic toll on individuals and their families, drug addiction costs the U.S. economy $600 billion a year.
Rehab Still the Best Option
Until medical science invents a “magic pill” that can cure a person of addiction, a professional rehabilitation program remains the most powerful tool for helping a person battling addiction. People can regain control of their addiction and rebuild their lives in a safe environment at Rehab. Millions of people have completed rehab and gone on to live happy, healthy lives with peace of mind and to experience the joy of life.
Myths Create Roadblocks
Unfortunately, countless individuals fail to get the help they need because either they or their family and friends are stymied by the myths and misconceptions that have grown up around the promise of rehab. Let’s look at the Top 5 (of many) misconceptions that prevent people from going forward with a rehab recovery program.
1. Rehab is Super Expensive
This may be the No. 1 misconception associated with rehab. Many people think of wealthy elites, such as rock stars and movie stars, paying tens of thousands to attend high-end rehab providers that appear more like posh country clubs than treatment centers.
But here’s the bottom line: There is absolutely a rehab service available to all people in America at a rate according to their means. That means that even free rehab can be obtained in some cases.
Naming an average monthly cost for rehab is difficult because there is a high degree of variation in the kinds of treatment needed. For instance, treatment for a severe methadone addiction may be significantly more extensive than for alcoholism. That’s just one variable.
It’s not uncommon for 30 days of treatment to cost $3,000 to $6,000. But never let figures like these prevent you from checking out what’s available. The price of doing nothing is astronomical and can be life-threatening.
2. Rehab is Only for Severe Addicts
You do not have to be a hardcore drug addict or an alcoholic on the verge of suicide to seek treatment. A general rule in all medicine is that early treatment produces the best outcomes. Even a so-called “soft addiction” to marijuana may merit the help of rehab. Letting any kind of addiction linger, fester, and get progressively worse is not the road to take.
3. Rehab Means Accepting a Specific Religion, God, or Faith
This is a common misconception about rehab. A sizable number of rehab providers do indeed take a “God-centric approach” or provide treatment in the context of some form of religious practice.
However, addiction counselors know that each person is a unique individual. While finding some sort of “power” or “strength” that is “greater than oneself” is a common feature of most rehab approaches, the latter can be non-religious.
4. Rehab is Like Being in Prison
Nothing could be further from the truth. A prisoner cannot simply walk away from a locked cell whenever he or she wants to. A person in rehab remains in charge of their destiny and life at all stages of treatment (unless under a court order or something like that).
Committing oneself to a rehab program may indeed require a mutually agreed upon stay within the environment of a specific facility or location – but it’s nothing like being “locked up in jail.” Additionally, a spokesperson for a Houston-based treatment facility points out that inpatient treatment is not the only option. The Bay Area Recovery Center offers outpatient treatment as do many well-established programs around the nation.
5. Rehab Never Works the First Time
This is not true. In the state of Florida, to take just one example, state statistics report that 70% of first-time rehab patients complete their programs successfully. That said, bear in mind that the World Health Organization (WHO) states that — because there is no official standard definition of rehab — a true statistical measure of success rates is not possible. The bottom line is that up to 88% of people report being clean and sober nine months after treatment, in some studies.
It’s Important to Get Help
Whether you have a mild addiction or a serious problem, don’t latch on to some misconceptions or any kind of excuse to do nothing. Addiction will only get worse the longer it goes untreated. Rehab can restart your life — or even save it.
