Congratulations! You’ve signed up to go to alcohol rehab but you’ve got a couple of days or a week before you can actually leave. Whether it’s by your choice or due to availability at the alcohol addiction treatment center you’ve chosen, you’re faced with how you should be spending the next few days. Most alcoholics will think the same thing: drink as much as you can while you can before heading off to treatment. But is that the safest choice? Should you try and quit drinking altogether? How else can you fill your time before going off to treatment?

The Dangers of Binge Drinking Before Alcohol Rehab

There are so many possible risks that you take on when you choose to binge drink before heading to alcohol addiction treatment: drunk driving accident, accident due to negligence under the influence, alcohol poisoning, overdose when mixing alcohol with other drugs, violence and assault, et cetera. Additionally, if you spend days before going to alcohol rehab drinking to excess, you’re going to feel horrible when you first arrive. The first couple of days will be difficult enough physically – you’ll only make it worse by drinking with the intent to overdo it.

The Dangers of Quitting Drinking Before Alcohol Rehab

For those who experience withdrawal symptoms when they try to stop drinking, it isn’t recommended to try to quit cold turkey unless you have medical professionals there to supervise and advise. The withdrawal symptoms can be managed and you will be much more comfortable until you are in the alcohol detox portion of your rehab program and have access to medications designed to treat your symptoms, reduce cravings, and help you more quickly –and safely – get the alcohol out of your system.

Even if you don’t have withdrawal symptoms beyond a serious hangover when you stop drinking, it’s likely that you will still feel ill when you quit by yourself and crave alcohol even more. Trying to do this without the help of doctors and counselors can weaken your resolve to go to treatment and take away your chance at getting better and starting a new life for yourself in recovery.

So What Do You Do Before Leaving for Alcohol Rehab?

Take it easy. Drink minimally to avoid making yourself feel worse at rehab but not so little that you begin to go through withdrawal symptoms. Get lots of rest. Drink lots of water. Spend time with supportive family and friends and take the first baby steps toward your dreams for future versions of yourself.

It’s not just Whitney Houston’s daughter, Bobbi Kristina, who is making headlines due to alleged drug abuse
and potential addiction behavior. Now it’s Whitney herself who is reportedly beginning a drug rehab program. Like many celebrities, there is no admission from her camp that she is actually living with an active drug addiction that requires treatment, but that she is simply checking in so that she can maintain her long-term recovery and be proactive against relapse.

Whitney Houston’s rep says: “Whitney Houston is currently in an outpatient rehab program for drug and alcohol treatment. Whitney voluntarily entered the program to support her long-standing recovery process.”

When Outpatient Drug Addiction Treatment is a Good Idea

Whether or not Whitney has relapsed or if she is genuinely attempting to fight for a continued sobriety, an outpatient addiction treatment program is the perfect choice for her. Because she has already attended multiple inpatient treatment programs and learned how to remain clean and sober for the most part, an outpatient rehab can give her the refresher course she needs to stay in touch with the principles of sobriety, get a little guidance on specific issues that are causing her trouble, and have a supportive group of people who will hold her accountable for her actions for the duration of the program. For some patients, the constant possibility of a drug test is enough to help them avoid relapse and filling that sober time with personal therapy, group therapy, volunteer work, experiential therapy, alternative treatments and more can do nothing but bolster sobriety.

When Outpatient Drug Addiction Treatment is not a Good Idea

In general, it is not recommended that you attend outpatient drug addiction treatment if:

• It’s your first time in treatment after a long-term addiction.
• If you experience withdrawal symptoms when attempting to stop taking your drug of choice in addition to cravings and will require inpatient drug detox.
• If you have been living with an addiction without treatment for a long period of time, whether or not you have attended drug rehab in the past.
• If you are diagnosed with a co-occurring psychological, social, or behavioral disorder that makes the drug addiction more difficult to handle.
• If you have concerns that you will be unable to avoid relapse when you leave the program each day.

Though there are a number of situations in which outpatient addiction treatment is the only option – and it can be very effective – in most cases, a more intensive inpatient drug rehab program is recommended.

Contact us today to learn more about the addiction treatment programs available here at The Orchid.

It was all over the headlines when Christina Aguilera was arrested and jailed briefly for public intoxication while her boyfriend, Matthew Rutler, was charged with a DUI for driving the car under the influence of alcohol.

Aguilera didn’t seem to take the incident or the media rush to tell the world very seriously. She said: “We’re only able to be seen through the microscope of the media and what people gossip about. You take the good with the bad. It’s by telling our stories, sharing our experiences and really giving a firsthand look at us as human beings [that shows] who we really are apart from what we seem to be.”

Though she had to address the issue of the recent media attention for her drunken night out, her focus remains on her upcoming show, The Voice, where she will be a judge picking out talent based only on the voice of the contestant rather than their appearance. She’s hoping to pass along the lessons she’s learned through her fame to aspiring stars.

Aguilera says: “I am ready to share it all so I’m really excited. I hope we can find the next biggest thing. But I’m not looking for vocal acrobatics. I really sincerely want to be moved by raw talent. The Voice isn’t about tearing people down. I want to bring people up. I want to empower them and give them all the tools I had. I love that I get to be a part of that.”

Finding Balance Between the Good and the Bad in Drug Addiction Recovery

Though it’s important not to get too bogged down when you relapse in alcohol addiction recovery,  it’s also important to take it seriously enough to analyze the situation, figure out what triggered it, and make a plan that ensures it doesn’t happen again. It’s a balance. Those who are flippant about the situation will learn nothing from it and those who feel so guilty that they can’t move forward will both experience the same result: another relapse. Life in recovery is a series of events and emotions that may or may not trigger the temptation to relapse and the individual learning through experience how to stop themselves from making poor decisions that only worsen the situation.

Getting Started in Treatment: How Balance is Achieved

Attending an inpatient drug and alcohol rehab program is one of the best ways to begin gathering the tools you need to fight off relapse in recovery. Here you will meet medical professionals who can treat your physical addiction, psychological professionals who can give you guidance as you navigate through the emotional battlefield that may have brought you to addiction, and peers who are going through the same issues. The longer you stay, the more tools you will gather and the more time you will have to develop a firmer foundation for your long-term recovery.

Call now to find out how The Orchid can get you started.

There is no excuse for any kind of physical aggression against someone you love. Addiction, intoxication, a bad day at work, even poor choices on the part of the victim – there is nothing that can make domestic violence okay or acceptable.

It doesn’t matter what you did. No one who loves you should ever put their hands on you violently with intent to harm. If you are living in a relationship characterized by domestic violence, do not wait for apologies and promises that it won’t happen again. It always happens again. Leave now, take your children with you, and get somewhere safe where you will be protected.

Alcohol Addiction and Domestic Violence

One of the most common excuses for domestic violence is, “I was drunk.” Many women who are victims of domestic violence even blame themselves for the attacks, saying that they were drunk too and yelling at their partner, nagging him, breaking his possessions or trying to order him out of the house. Alcohol addiction breeds domestic violence, and if it happens once – even if he promises never to drink again – it will most certainly happen again.

Few can stop drinking on their own even when domestic violence isn’t part of the picture. If your partner is violent when under the influence but does not choose alcohol rehab immediately, you should not stay in the house.

Getting Help for Yourself

In the cycle of violence, after the attacker hurts the victim, he or she will often follow up with apologies shortly. When they sober up, there are often long, dramatic promises to get treatment or to make other big changes. If the victim accepts the apology, the days that follow are generally nicer than they were before the attack. The attacker is on his or her best behavior, often attentive and sober. The promise to get treatment falls to the wayside as time passes. Soon, the attacker is having a drink, then two, then more and the victim is quickly back in the position of being physically and verbally attacked.

Getting Help for Your Partner

If you are the victim of domestic violence, you cannot stay in the relationship in an attempt to help your partner. If he or she was going to get help at an alcohol rehab, they would already be gone. If he or she were able to stop drinking alone, then they would have. Your primary responsibility is to make sure that you are physically safe and that your children are no longer subjected to this violence. If your partner has not yet hit you in front of your children, it’s coming. If your partner has not yet struck your child, that too will happen the first time your child tries to defend you from attacks.

Statistics tell us that abused women attempt to leave as many as five times before they make it a reality. Unfortunately, many of them do so in an ambulance, beaten severely or beaten to death by their partner.

If You Need Help

If you are the victim of domestic violence whether or not it is due to alcohol addiction, contact an emergency safe house near you immediately. Ensuring your physical safety and the safety of your children should be your first priority.

Codependency is a common component in many relationships during alcoholism and addiction, and it’s a problem that doesn’t go away during alcohol rehab. In some cases, it can reinforce the codependent relationship between the addict and their codependent partner – usually a spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend, parent or child. It’s important that codependent behavior be addressed on both sides of the coin for both parties, separately and together, so that the alcoholic can learn to be independent and successful in alcohol addiction treatment and recovery on her own.

If you are looking for an alcohol rehab for someone you care about, contact us at Orchid Recovery Center today. We treat women who are ready to break free from drug and alcohol addiction through detox and psychotherapeutic treatment. Call now.

Codependency Help for Alcoholics At Alcohol Rehab

Alcoholics can begin to get the help they need to address codependency issues while still at alcohol rehab. Talking about the person who enabled their addiction by covering for them whenever possible, giving them money or a place to live, and allowing a relationship to continue despite the alcoholism can show the alcoholic just how damaging a relationship like this is for both people. The goal of addressing codependency in psychotherapeutic treatment is to help the addict identify the harmful effects of these relationships and to recognize that she is a powerful person capable of standing alone and being a person who doesn’t require anyone else to cover for her or her behavior.

Codependency Help for Loved Ones of Alcoholics During Alcohol Rehab

It is especially important that codependent parties make real progress with codependency issues while their loved one is in alcohol rehab. The space to breathe without having to worry about the addict in their lives means that they have time to go to therapy, attend 12 step support group meetings or other group therapy sessions that address negative relationships. Learning to identify codependent behavior and recognizing the deficit in their own lives that allows them to focus so heavily on someone else can mean that they are a healthier person ready to begin a functional and healthy relationship with the alcoholic they care about when she returns home.

Codependency Help for Loved Ones After Alcohol Rehab

Codependency help for those who love and support an alcoholic in recovery after alcohol rehab should take two forms: continued personal therapy and treatment without the alcoholic present and couples therapy or family therapy with the alcoholic. By continuing personal treatment and building a strong support system outside the codependent relationship, it’s possible to develop and maintain an identity outside of that codependent relationship. Choosing to enter into a group therapy with the alcoholic you care about gives you both the opportunity to work through day-to-day problems in a positive way and have an objective party help you both identify when you are slipping back into codependent behaviors.

Alcohol Rehab at Orchid Recovery Center

Are you looking for an alcohol rehab for a woman one you care about? Contact us today at Orchid Recovery Center and find out how we can help you, the alcoholic you care about and your relationship with her heal.