Living in the cycle of a drug or alcohol addiction is a horrible thing to experience. An entire life that is centered on finding and abusing drugs will always take a significant toll on the individual caught in such a trap. The problem is that there is only one way out of addiction and that is through the front door of a rehab facility. To be clear, there is no easy way out. To get past a significant substance abuse problem, the individual is going to have to work in earnest on recovery.
Recovery will likely include having to go through a detox program and then it’s off to a month or two of therapy. If this is indicative of your circumstances, you need to know your choices are limited if you want help. If you want help, you can decide between inpatient or outpatient treatment. In most cases, the rehab facility’s administrative staff will recommend inpatient treatment. However, they do so knowing some people can’t or won’t commit to that restrictive of a treatment program. That leaves outpatient treatment. With outpatient treatment, clients have to report to the rehab facility at scheduled times.
Otherwise, they are permitted to live at home under the agreement they will abide by certain guidelines. Those guidelines include (but are not limited to):
- Zero tolerance for any unauthorized substance use
- Must be willing to submit to random drug testing
- Must show up on time for all scheduled appointments
- Must continue making good progress
Assuming a client is willing to abide by the above terms, it’s just a matter of selecting the best outpatient option. Remember, each option involves individual therapy. In some cases, group and family therapy can be included.
Here are the three primary outpatient options, including estimated time requirements:
- General or standard outpatient (OP): one or two appointments a week for one or two hours an appointment
- Intensive Outpatient (IOP): three to five days of appointments a week, covering four to six hours a day
- Partial hospitalization (PHP): five to seven days of appointments a week, covering six to eight hours a day
Is an IOP Substance Abuse Treatment Program Emotionally Exhausting?
This is a very interesting question. Going into treatment, you would need to understand there is nothing easy about overcoming an addiction problem. With a lasting recovery as your goal, you would need to fully commit to the entire process. That would include being completely open and honest with your therapist as well as yourself. Can doing that be emotionally exhausting? Yes, it can. As a matter of fact, you can count on feeling that way at least some of the time you are in therapy.
The only way you are going to be able to learn the truth about your addiction is by taking a complete inventory of your feelings, emotions, and behaviors. The way you deal with the exhaustion is to accept it is part of the healing process. The exhaustion you likely felt while living as an addict was horrible. This kind of emotional exhaustion is a means to an end with the endgame being a recovery that allows you to start living normally again. It’s safe to say that the emotional investment you need to make towards therapy will depend a great deal on your personal circumstances. If your issues are deep-rooted, you can expect your emotions to run higher. However, your therapist will be there to guide you through the process.
No one is going to allow you to lose yourself in therapy. After doing all the hard work to reach recovery, you should feel a great sense of pride. In the meantime, you will be at home with family and friends between therapy sessions. You can use that time to emotionally recover from your therapy sessions. It’s a journey of self-discovery that has the potential for a very happy ending. For now, the process should be secondary to one thing. You need to be willing to admit you have a problem and need help. If you are ready and able to do that, you will find we are ready to give you the help you need.
What does it take from you? Just one phone call and a willingness to get better. For more information about our facility and addiction treatment services, you can call one of our representatives 24/7 at the following number, 833-364-0736.