Signs Inpatient Treatment is Necessary

If you’ve tried rehab before but been unsuccessful, it may be time to try an inpatient program.

Are you or is someone you know addicted to drugs or alcohol? Are you wondering if inpatient treatment is a necessary step for you or if you can get away with some outpatient counseling or involvement in a support group? When addiction is interfering with your life, choosing the right type of treatment can make the difference between whether you recover, or your don’t.

Fortunately, there are some ways that you can tell you really do need inpatient treatment versus outpatient care. Consider these signs that residential treatment is a necessary step for your recovery:

Cravings Keep You from Focusing

NIDA reports that cravings are one of the primary concerns that lead to relapse in most users. If you are experiencing cravings that prevent you from focusing on your normal routines or on your recovery, inpatient treatment is necessary. During treatment, you will receive the therapy and support you need as well as medical care to reduce cravings so that you can focus on the goal at hand—getting sober and staying sober.

Substance Use Consumes Your Life

Is your life consumed by your drug or alcohol use? If you are spending more time using and less time doing things you enjoy, you may need inpatient treatment. Substance abuse weakens the brain cells and makes it difficult for your brain to focus without the use of the drug or alcohol. As a result, you may find that your life is now consumed with cravings, decisions to use, the consistent battle to find more drugs or alcohol and later overcoming the high.

You’ve Tried to Quit – and Failed

Have you tried to quit using drugs or alcohol? Have you attended an AA or NA group and sought help through outpatient counseling or therapy? If you have tried outpatient methods of treatment and you have fallen back into your habits of substance use, you need more invasive care in order to facilitate your recovery. You need inpatient treatment.

You Can’t Imagine Life Without Substances

If your life is consumed, you spend countless hours getting drunk or high and you cannot imagine what you would do without your substance of choice, you need inpatient treatment. This type of treatment will help to restore you back to a state in which you can see there are better things in life, that there are ways of coping with stress that don’t involve drugs or alcohol and that you can live sober. Often times, it’s inpatient treatment that lays this foundation for lifelong recovery.