Tips For Getting The Most Out Of Rehab
If you have made the commitment to go to rehab, chances are good that you are investing a significant amount of time and money into the endeavor. You want to be certain that you make the most out of this time in an inpatient treatment facility so that you can emerge from it stronger and ready to continue your life in a healthy way. Here are some tips for making the most out of rehab.
1. Try Hard to Not Compare
When you go into rehab, you are going to be surrounded by people like you who are in recovery. However, you might feel yourself comparing your story and your illness to those of others. This is harmful because you don't have all of the information that you need in order to make an intelligent comparison between your story and someone else's story, meaning that you risk judging yourself to be "not sick enough" or "not proceeding in recovery quickly enough" without all of the facts. These comparisons can only make you feel bad.
In order to avoid comparing your story and your progress through recovery with anyone else, try to focus on what you can learn from them, rather than how they are in comparison to you. For example, if you worry that you are not sick enough to be in alcohol rehab because you have never gotten a DUI and are therefore wasting your money or your parents' money, focus on the humility that a person who has gotten a DUI can show you in order to help you progress in your recovery.
2. Follow the Rules
Don't spend all of your time in rehab complaining about the rules and how unfair they are. The rules are not going to change and you railing against them is not going to help you in your recovery. Many of the rules in rehab are there for a reason. By simply following the rules, you increase the chances that you will be able to get the most from rehab because all of your time will be devoted to learning about recovery, rather than trying to do things you shouldn't be doing.
3. Be Honest
Whether you are talking to your therapist or in a group setting, try to be honest about yourself and how you feel. If you are trying to work a twelve-step program in order to help you recover and can't get past the first few steps, be honest about that fact in order to get the help you need with the steps. Don't try to please your therapist by telling him or her what you think that he or she wants to hear. Lying will only delay your recovery because it keeps you from getting the help that you need.
For more information, talk to a company that specializes in rehab, such as Pacific Ridge.