What Happens in Rehab? What To Expect for Your First Time

There are 70,000 deaths each year because of drug overdoses. If you’re reading this, you or someone you’re close to doesn’t want to become just another number, and you’re looking into addiction treatment. If this is your first time in treatment, you might be wondering what happens in rehab?

This brief guide is going to prepare you for what you should expect your first time in rehab.

Intake

When you arrive at your treatment, you will go through the intake process. During this process, someone will gather all your information and search your belongings before taking you to detox.

They are going to confiscate any contraband such as drugs or alcohol that might be in your possession. Because you’re new to the facility, it’s also common for your cell phone to be taken as a precautionary rule when starting out in the program.

Detox

The next thing that will happen when you enter treatment is to go through detox. You’ll likely be separated from others in the treatment program until your system is 100% clear of all substances.

While in detox, you can expect to experience a series of symptoms due to withdrawal, including:

Increased irritability
Trouble sleeping
Sweating
Vomiting

As the days continue, your symptoms will begin to peak, and you’ll start to feel normal again or as normal as can be after detox.

Group and Individual Meetings

After you’ve finished detox, you will begin to work on your program. Most rehab programs are comprised of a series of both group and individual therapy sessions.

In the individual sessions, you’ll work with a counselor to get to the bottom of your addictions and begin to identify the triggers that cause you to use. In the group sessions, you’ll share your experiences with others in recovery and gain advice from people that have been working the program longer than you.

Establish a Healthy Routine

The best type of rehab is one that teaches you to live life without the presence of drugs. While in treatment, you’ll learn to create a routine that doesn’t center around using or abusing drugs and alcohol.

You’ll get the chance to rediscover the hobbies that you’d given up to use. It’s likely that you’ll also learn new hobbies that you never dreamed you’d ever try.

Learn to Forgive

Another thing you can expect your first time in rehab is to learn how to forgive yourself and mend the relationships damaged by your addiction. Learning the art of forgiveness isn’t easy, but it will be essential to remain sober after treatment.

Your therapist will help you learn forgiveness and help you understand why some people in your life aren’t as open to forgiving you as you’d like them to be.