When you’re looking to get treatment for drug addiction or alcoholism there are many options you are likely to face. One of these options is traveling. When faced with the subject its sometimes common to think is traveling for treatment my best option or should I stay in my home state?
Traveling for Treatment from Addiction
One of the main things to think about when it comes to traveling for treatment is you are in a new environment. When a person travels to get rehabilitation he or she will be in an entirely new and even a new beginning environment. Getting away from an environment where drug use or alcohol abuse can trigger relapse is always a good idea.
Treatment which is a decent distance away from one's home helps give someone the ability to start over. While being in your home state or town is ideal for reasons of being comfortable, is usually not the healthiest place to be healing from your mental health and addiction issues.
Having a new surrounding and location to work on yourself can help you build a healthy lifestyle and network of people in recovery. Traveling for treatment will also allow for little distraction away from your focus on your healing journey from addiction and gaining recovery. Being in recovery brings about new changes and perspectives to one's thought processes and life in general.
Staying in Treatment
Another main reason that traveling for treatment maybe your best option is it is harder to walk away and leave treatment. Leaving rehab when you across the country is a lot less likely to happen than if you are close to home. For recovery from addiction to be successful, it's important that treatment is completed. When treatment is not completed and focused on the effectiveness of the therapies and care provided is much lower.
It is normal for people in treatment to want to go back to their old life. This can happen out of a fear response, obsessions, or cravings that often come with addiction. If you are close to your home, you can easily gather your belongings and leave treatment against medical or psychological advice. However, when you are hundreds of miles away from your familiar places your drive and motivation to change tends to be greater.
Relapse is another thing that can be problematic when in a treatment center near home. Studies have shown that being far away from home for addiction treatment is connected to a higher rate of staying in treatment. It is also linked to a higher rate of effective and successful treatment.
Families and Dynamics
Having the support of friends and family while in drug and alcohol treatment is also important. On the flip side, having a separating force between someone trying to recover from addiction and dysfunctional family or friend dynamics can be priceless. Family dysfunction is something all too normal among families that struggle with addiction among members. When a member of the family is addicted to a substance the whole family changes to adapt and normalize any problems going on. In return, the function of the family can become unhealthy.
On top of the unhealthy dynamics that can occur in an addicted family, separating one's self from the dysfunction can give him or her the best chance at achieving and obtaining a recovery. Many addiction rehab centers nowadays have family integrated treatment. This is mentioned because even if you travel out of state for treatment, getting your family involved in your treatment process is still possible and may be recommended.
Most out-of-state treatment programs offer things like family days or weekends that allow your family to come and see you. In addition to coming to see you, many treatment places will offer family counseling services. Having family counseling while you're in treatment can give you and your family a chance to get on the same page. When everyone is on the same page, leaving treatment and returning home will not be tough.
Finding Yourself Again
If you are someone who is struggling with addiction issues it is likely that you may want to start over and find a new way of living. Getting into recovery through treatment and continued support involves finding yourself and what you want out of life. To find yourself in treatment and become healthy you need the ability to completely focus on yourself.
Staying at home while getting treatment can be highly distracting from your focus of recovery in the first place. A good way to engage in treatment and think about traveling to rehab is to view it as a vacation for yourself. While in rehab away from home you don't have to worry about anyone asking you for anything or expecting anything from you. Not having to stress about anything else, you'll focus on gaining your health and adopting a recovery lifestyle.
Pursuing Recovery
Traveling to go to a treatment facility for substance abuse issues can get you into a mindset of recovery and starting a new journey. If you are not looking for a new start but prefer going to treatment away from home for privacy that's okay too. Many people have fears about going to rehab for addiction and losing their careers or respect of those around them. If privacy is an issue, traveling for treatment is your best bet most definitely.
But creating a distance between anything that triggers you or puts you at risk of going into a negative mental fog of addiction, distance during recovery is the best thing you could do for yourself. Separating yourself from things that harm your health in a physical, mental or even spiritual way is the first step to adopting a life in recovery. Breaking free from routine and demands of day to day life can help you get a footing in recovery and ultimately break free from drug and alcohol addiction.
