Why Should I go to Rehab?

You’re fine, right? You’re doing just dandy. The world is your peach. You can quit anytime you want. You just don’t want to. Only alcoholics go to meetings. You only smoke, drink, snort, inject, whatever, to keep yourself calm. It’s the world that needs to sit itself down. Mellow itself out.

Have you got a lush, rich lifestyle? You’re rolling in more money than Jordan Belfort, the Wolf of Wall Street? No doubt. Your business is at an all-time high. Your relationships thrive. Healthwise, you’ve never felt better. Other people are the problem. They need to leave well enough alone. Just get out of your way and let you do you.

Quick question, though.

How’s all that working out for you?

Thrown Into The World

You didn’t ask to be born when you were. Where you lived in the world. Who your family members were. Your genetics. As far back as you can remember, life’s just sort of…been this way. You just woke up here. And then it was all up to you. To figure life out all on your own. To describe these feelings, German philosopher Martin Heidegger coined the term “thrownness.” Here’s your life, with its predetermined set of circumstances over which you had no control. How do you orient yourself on this rock that meanders through space around a giant ball of fire? What are you here for? How do you decide what is important and what isn’t?

Contemplate? Or Self-Medicate?

It’s not like there are easy answers to these questions. How are you supposed to figure it out? Just thinking about it provokes a headache. To think about such things unsettles us. Dread, anxiety, anger. We don’t want to contemplate why we’re here. We don’t know our purpose. We cannot find meaning. So we wander through life, drifting about like ships without rudders. We feel nothing. We want nothing. We love nothing. No wonder we turn to substances for relief! At least they make these feelings go away for a little while!

What’s Rehab For?

Don’t repeat the refrain of the late Amy Winehouse. Consider rehab. You know your life has problems. You just don’t want to say it out loud. Because that will make it true. And you know what? It’s ok that you don’t want to say it out loud. Nobody wants to. But those who do say it out loud reap benefits. They can learn how to assemble their lives around a purpose. They can form deep interpersonal relationships. They can find a meaning and direction that offset the dread of “thrownness.” Still not convinced? No problem. Here are five reasons to consider rehab.

Rehab Is Cheaper Than Addiction

There’s no two ways about this. Addiction is expensive. Whether it’s cash, or some illicit form of bartering, the cost of addiction far outweighs the cost of rehab. To afford your substance of choice requires a job. Well now, that’s complicated. You need a job to make money. You need money to buy your substance. But if you consume your substance at work (or come to work after consuming it), then you get fired. Bit of a catch 22, isn’t it? On the other hand, most addiction recovery centers offer treatment options for people who don’t have jobs or insurance. And, at least in the beginning, rehab centers expect that you’ll show up after consuming your favorite substance! That’s kind of what you’re there for. They might be a little more willing to accommodate you than, say, your employer might.

Rehab Is Cleaner Than Addiction

Substance abuse treatment centers are medical facilities. As such, they value hygiene. The floors, the walls, the carpets, the furniture. Their staff clean and sanitize everything. Particularly since the COVID-19 epidemic, treatment centers have tightened up their tidying. But when you’re nurturing an addiction, you don’t know what you’re consuming. You don’t know what else is in your substance of choice. What it’s been mixed with. What tools or instruments were used in manufacturing it. Does the provider of your specific supplement wash his/her/their hands regularly? Do they sanitize their equipment? Has your product passed through industry standards?

Rehab Provides Order And Structure

Let’s face it. When you’re struggling with addiction, you don’t exactly keep regular hours. You might sleep thirty minutes a night. Or, you might sleep for two entire days. Maintaining that 9-to-5 likely isn’t in the program for you in this season. Same with food. You might eat three pounds of food at one meal. And then not eat again the rest of the week. You probably aren’t hydrating that well either. What about exercise? Substance use disorder doesn’t leave a ton of room for zumba or weight training. In treatment, you’ll learn how to regulate your biology. You’ll form habits around sleeping and waking. You’ll learn about nutrition. And you’ll be able to move and test your body in ways that preserve your health.

Rehab Is Less Fatal Than Addiction

From May 2019 until May 2020, the CDC recorded their highest number of drug overdose deaths. Over 81,000. That’s the highest number of deaths in a 12-month period. Ever. The CDC also estimates that about 95,000 people each year die as a result of excessive alcohol consumption. Do you know how many people die because they go to rehab? Zero. True, not everyone who goes to rehab stays sober forever. Not everyone who goes to rehab survives their addiction. But the decision to continue a pattern of addiction always comes with the risk of death.

Rehab Can Help You Find Meaning

Remember that sensation of “thrownness?” That gnawing, aching, anxious feeling in your gut that just won’t go away? Feelings like that lie beneath addictions. Addictions don’t just happen. There are problems under the addiction that you must deal with. Broken relationships. Wounds to your psyche and emotions. Adverse childhood experiences. Mental illnesses. Enrolling in treatment assists you with probing deep into these problems. Not to help you become sober. But to help you heal. To become whole. Because wholeness is really what rehab is all about.