You see it every day. A breaking entertainment news story in which a celebrity who has gotten into recent trouble with the law is suddenly whisked away to a fancy rehab facility. They stay there for a few weeks or months and make their triumphant return to the real world with criminal charges dropped or reduced, and a bright, smiling face. However, not long after that, those same celebrities are back in trouble and/or rehab for the same issue. This is because drug addiction cannot be solved though a quick-fix detox with a few weeks of therapy. The entertainment media and celebrity culture often fail to recognize the true complexity of drug addiction treatment. So, get the facts about drug addiction treatment and recovery before you make the same mistakes as your favorite celebrities. 

Medically-Assisted Detoxification

The first step in drug addiction treatment is to get the drug (or drugs) out of your system. Unfortunately, this is also the most physically painful and difficult step that most people dread. 

This is because drug addiction is both a mental and a physical condition and dependency. When your body does not get its usual dose of the drug in question, it begins to react by going into withdrawal. Withdrawal symptoms can be severe and life-threatening in some cases.

However, with the assistance of trained medical staff and prescriptions administered by a physician, withdrawal symptoms can be managed to make the detoxification process less painful for you. 

Group and/or Individual Therapy

Once you have all of the drugs out of your system, you can begin the mental and emotional healing process. This is usually accomplished through group therapy, individual therapy, or a combination of the two.

If you are in a rehabilitation facility, your group is made up of other patients in the facility. However, if you are in outpatient treatment, these group therapy sessions are set up by outpatient treatment centers or therapist's offices to gather people going through the same treatment program. 

Therapy helps you to understand the root cause of your drug addiction. In other words, you delve into your psyche to find what pushed you towards taking drugs in the first place. Once you determine and understand the underlying causes of your addiction, you can go about the business of healing.

You learn to handle your triggers in a healthy way, and treat any mental health issues you may have (PTSD, depression, anxiety, etc...). And this helps you to remain sober going forward.

Support Groups

Going forward, if you do not continue with therapy indefinitely, you will still need to remain vigilant in your efforts to remain clean and sober. After all, once you are addicted to a substance, that addiction never goes away. Instead, you learn to live with and manage that addiction without succumbing to it.

Support groups are an excellent source of comradery for people with addictions. You will be surrounded by peers who know and understand your struggle, who you can call if you feel you are slipping, and who will celebrate your victories along with you. These groups can be a crutch for you when it is difficult to resist temptation. 

As you can see, the entertainment media and celebrity culture do not paint a true picture of drug addiction treatment. You do not leave a rehab facility "cured" of your addiction. Rather, you leave on the road to recovery which is a lifelong process. So, know and understand the truth about drug addiction treatment, and get on you own road to recovery. 

For more information, contact Olalla Recovery Centers or a similar organization.