Even with the amount of awareness brought to addiction to people throughout the United States, there is still a major misconception that addiction is a choice – that the people who are addicted to drugs and/or alcohol are “bad” people who deserve all of the consequences that come their way. It is completely understandable why many people feel this way, especially if they have been touched by addiction. When someone is addicted to a mind-altering substance, it can feel very personal as he or she continues to use despite pleas to stop, regardless of what that use is doing to both the user and his or her family. This is just one of the many reasons why addiction is as complex as it is.
However, addiction is not a choice, it is a disease. The majority of addicts and alcoholics are not “bad” people, and they do not deserve bad things to happen to them. The disease of addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease of the brain and its functions, making it an issue that can only be managed when treated, just as other diseases like cancer or diabetes. Make no mistake about it – addiction is a fatal disease. If someone who is addicted to drugs and/or alcohol does not get professional help, he or she is at astonishingly high risk for dying as a result of their use. In fact, fatality is almost guaranteed. That is why when someone is struggling with the disease of addiction, it is absolutely critical that he or she gets professional help before it is too late.
Drug and alcohol addiction should be considered an emergency situation at all times, as someone who is using can die at any moment and/or harm or fatally injure someone else in the process. The best and most effective action that a person can take is to seek emergency rehab.
In a sense, anyone who is entering into a rehab is doing so due to the emergency that they are facing in their lives – their addiction. When someone reaches out for emergency rehab, he or she is taking the most important step in saving their lives.
If you are one of the millions of people in the country who are suffering from the disease of addiction, stop everything you are doing and get yourself in emergency rehab right away.
The Scope of Addiction in the United States
Approximately 23 million Americans are addicted to substances such as alcohol, opioids, cocaine, meth, and prescription drugs. The amount of people suffering from addiction surpasses the number of people who are battling cancer. This is why 1 in every 3 Americans now know someone who is addicted, who is in recovery from addiction, or who has died from their addiction.
More than 15 million people out of the 23 million people experiencing addiction are addicted to alcohol. Another 3 million are addicted to opioids like heroin, fentanyl, and OxyContin. Back in 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the “opioid epidemic” due to major influxes in opioid addiction throughout the country. Today, now that rates of substance abuse have reached record highs, the Department of Health and Human Services is now referring to this problem as the “opioid crisis.”
According to most recent data, more than 70,2000 people died from overdoses in 2017, with a whopping 43 million of them died from opioid-related overdoses. Today, 130 people die from opioid overdoses each and every day in the United States, projecting a total number of over 47,000 deaths for 2019 alone.
Unfortunately, only 10.4% of the addicted population reaches out and get professional help, such as that offered through emergency rehab. This particular statistic offers insight into just how pervasive the disease of addiction continues to be, despite people being more educated about it than ever before. Studies show that the main reason why people do not seek treatment or emergency rehab is because they do not feel like they have a problem.
It is no secret that people who are experiencing drug and alcohol addiction struggle to see the full scope of their addiction. Many truly do not believe that they have a problem. This is because part of the disease of addiction is that it causes both users and their loved ones to grapple with denial over the severity of the addiction. While this is completely normal, it is very dangerous, as with every day that passes where a person abuses an addictive substance, he or she gets closer and closer to overdosing.
WHEN IS EMERGENCY REHAB NEEDED?
The one Golden Rule that people can follow to help those who are struggling with addiction is to seek professional help whenever it is suspected that one’s use has become problematic or is on the verge of being problematic. Seeking help as quickly as possible can help determine the level of care that the user needs. For some, emergency rehab is the answer.
As mentioned before, addiction is a deadly disease when treatment is not obtained. It is not curable, meaning that those who have this disease must learn how to manage it in order to prevent relapse. This is completely possible, as many people enroll in emergency rehab and go on to live substance-free for the rest of their lives. However, just because a person gets sober does not mean that he or she will stay that way. Relapse is very much so a part of the disease of addiction, meaning that people who have this disease are truly never “out of the woods” in terms of their possibility of using again. This is why it is so important for those who are actively addicted to drugs and/or alcohol to get into emergency rehab as quickly as possible.
It can be hard to know what to do when you or a loved one is addicted to drugs or alcohol. However, being aware of the signs that it is time for emergency rehab can make this decision much easier.
Those who need emergency rehab include individuals that are:
- Continuing to use despite suffering health problems (both mental and physical)
- Experiencing financial and/or legal issues because of use
- Struggling to stop using regardless of the consequences of doing so
- Using all the time, as well as regularly increasing the amount of drugs and/or alcohol that are being consumed
- Using when in dangerous situations, or using and then participating in dangerous situations, such as getting behind the wheel of a car, going to work (especially if in charge of operating machinery or providing care to others), or caring for young children
- Abusing more than one substance at a time, especially if the substances produce the same effects, which can increase overdose risk (e.g. abusing heroin and OxyContin simultaneously)
- Ignoring professional recommendations from healthcare providers to stop using and/or to get treatment
- Experiencing one or more non-fatal overdoses
- Responsible for harming others while under the influence
- Regularly posing a risk to themselves or others
Many people who abuse substances do not suffer many consequences of their use, even if they use for a long period of time. Others, however, can experience countless repercussions related to their use. Regardless of how many issues have developed as a result of you or your loved one’s addiction, even just one issue is enough to consider getting treatment. Individuals who can benefit most from emergency rehab as those who fit the list above – users who are at a point of no return and who are not only harming themselves but potentially harming others. Unfortunately, the people most fit for emergency rehab tend to be the most difficult to get help for as a result of the severity of their addiction.
DANGERS OF IGNORING THE NEED FOR EMERGENCY REHAB
It cannot be said enough – having the disease of addiction but not getting professional help to treat it is fatal. The risk of dying as a result of an addiction to drugs and/or alcohol is the most pressing concern for those who are trapped in a dangerous pattern of substance abuse. As mentioned before, thousands of people die every single year as a result of an overdose, never mind as a result of accidents that occur while someone is under the influence.
Death by overdose or accident, while certainly the most concerning danger of them all, is not the only risk that people who are addicted to drugs and/or alcohol can experience. Depending on the substance that is being abused, people can suffer a whole range of physical and mental health effects that are specific to what they are abusing. For example, those who abuse opioids are specifically at risk for suffering respiratory problems ranging from shallow breathing and a persistent cough to respiratory depression and respiratory failure. A person addicted to cocaine can suffer from cardiovascular complications such as inflammation of the heart tissue, heart disease, stroke, and heart attack. However, most individuals who abuse drugs and/or alcohol can experience several similar consequences of not enrolling in emergency rehab when it is needed. Some of these consequential dangers include the following:
- Vital organ damage and/or failure
- Brain damage that can lead to serious psychological, physical, and emotional repercussions
- Contraction of bloodborne diseases like hepatitis and HIV (when drugs are used intravenously or when people make poor sexual health decisions while under the influence)
- Malnutrition or obesity
- Development of cancer
- Kidney and liver damage/failure
- Weakened immune system
- Frequent vomiting and nausea, as well as other gastrointestinal problems
These are simply just some of the many physical dangers that a person can incur when he or she continues to abuse drugs and/or alcohol as opposed to seeking help at emergency rehab. Several psychological dangers become more likely to develop and continue when the need for emergency rehab is ignored, such as the following:
- Depression
- Suicidal thoughts, behaviors, and attempts
- Anxiety
- Panic
- Paranoia
- Becoming “burnt out” referring to poor cognition, short term memory, and other mental health effects that cause someone to appear unintelligent and out of touch
- Mood swings
As already discussed, continuing to abuse drugs and/or alcohol and avoiding enrolling in emergency rehab can easily lead to death. Not only can ignoring the need for emergency rehab cause death, but it can also cause several of the above-listed risks to occur prior to one’s death, making his or her life extremely unpleasant and difficult to manage.
WHY CHOOSE OUR EMERGENCY REHAB
Emergency rehab begins with making a call to us. This can sometimes be the most difficult thing to do when it comes to kickstarting the recovery process, as it represents a real and tangible path towards change, which can be frightening for many. For the addict or alcoholic, this phone call is loaded with emotion and fear as they know that they will have to experience withdrawal symptoms and will have to learn how to live life without the aid of alcohol and drugs. For the family, the phone call represents both a relief and a tremendous amount of anxiety, as many times they may be baffled as to how things have gotten so bad so quickly. They are faced with the unequivocal reality that their loved one is suffering from addiction and needs help, and sometimes they even feel like have failed their loved one. These feelings are to be expected, but there is nothing you could have done to help your loved one until they were ready to seek help. Their addiction is not your fault or your failing, and you should be proud of yourself for helping them get in touch with our emergency rehab.
If you have a question about our emergency rehab call us today at 800-338-5770.
Once the phone call is made, you can expect the following services from our emergency rehab facility. These services represent the best that substance abuse treatment has to offer, and they cover all of the bases for what you or a loved one will need when it comes to achieving sustained recovery.
These services can be found throughout the three steps of our emergency rehab program: detox, therapy, and aftercare.
- Detox:
- Drug-free, comfortable environment
- Prescription medications to help manage withdrawal symptoms and cravings
- Around-the-clock care from medical and mental health specialists
- Therapy:
- Individual therapy
- Group counseling
- Family therapy
- Trauma therapy
- Biofeedback
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
- Experiential therapies (e.g. music therapy, art therapy, equine therapy)
- Holistic therapies (e.g. yoga, acupuncture, massage therapy)
- 12-Step therapy
- Aftercare:
- One full year of personalized recovery coaching through the 12 Keys app
- A continuing care plan that helps clients structure their daily lives to support recovery
- Encouragement to participate in 12-Step programming within the community
- Referrals to mental health specialists to continue to participate in therapy
- Invitations to alumni events
These services are available for all clients, as they are our baseline of care for everyone who comes to our emergency rehab. We also offer several other therapies and services that are more specific to our clients’ needs, and we utilize them in treatment plans when clinically indicated.
HOW OUR EMERGENCY REHAB WORKS
The very thought of going to rehab, especially for someone who is addicted to drugs and/or alcohol, is often completely overwhelming and even terrifying. At our emergency rehab, however, we do everything within our power to show all clients that in rehab, there is nothing to be scared of. Of course, there are things that might cause clients some apprehension and anxiety, such as beginning therapy sessions and starting to talk about one’s history. All of that is very normal, however, we are unwavering in our dedication to ensure that clients feel as comfortable and adjusted as possible during this transformative time in their lives.
No progress can be made in one’s recovery, however, unless a call for help is made. Picking up the phone is the very first step in entering into emergency rehab.
The Call
When you call our emergency rehab, you will be immediately connected to a caring professional who can help you through the entire process of getting enrolled in our programming. He or she will ensure that you get into detox as quickly as possible so that you can begin clearing toxins from your system right away. During this initial call, you can also receive guidance on how your treatment process might go. If you wish, we can speak with your loved ones and inform them on how the process will take shape and what they can expect on their end. The phone call is not difficult at all, as we only need to ask you a few questions to figure out the best course of action moving forward. From there, we can help to coordinate your travel arrangements to our emergency rehab so that you can get here quickly and safely. To expedite this phone call, be prepared to discuss the following topics:
- The type of substance or substances that you are abusing
- Family history of substance abuse
- Any past treatment stays, their duration and extent
Detox
When you arrive at our emergency rehab center, you will be welcomed with open arms into our drug detox program. Detox will be the very first step of your recovery once you get here, as withdrawal symptoms can set in quickly. You will want to get settled as soon as possible so that you can be comfortable when your symptoms begin. Depending on the extent of the addiction prior to attending our rehab, the detox process may last a few short days to a couple of weeks. Our caring medical professionals will monitor your progress as you experience withdrawal symptoms in order to ensure that the process is as comfortable as possible. Mental health professionals will also be available to you during detox, as many times this process produces several psychological effects that require attention.
Therapies
Once you have completed detox and are in a place where you can manage any lingering withdrawal symptoms independently, you will begin addressing your psychological and emotional needs by participating in a number of different evidence-based therapies. Our psychiatrists, therapists, and counselors at our emergency rehab will meet with you in both group and individual sessions and work with you to get to the root of your addiction and any underlying issues that you may have. You will have the opportunity to meet individuals who are in similar situations as you in group settings, allowing you to start to form relationships you can count on both during and after your stay at our emergency rehab. You will also partake in fun activities, such as watersports, kayaking, and swimming. Not only does participating in these activities allow for relaxation and enjoyment, but it can also help to show you how to have fun without being under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
Aftercare
When you and your therapist determine that you are ready to begin the transition back into your daily life, you will work together to develop an aftercare program that will continue to support you during this fragile, yet exciting time in your life. Your aftercare plan will guide you through your daily life and help you maintain your sobriety, even when times are tough. For example, you and your therapist might determine that it is best for you to go to regular meetings, therefore agreeing upon doing something such as a 90 in 90, where you go to 90 meetings in 90 days. You might also develop a regular week-long schedule that helps you include things such as work, activities, downtime, and meetings so that you do not feel overwhelmed as you get used to your new life. All aftercare plans are unique to the client, so you can expect that your aftercare plan will be designed based on your needs.
FINDING THE RIGHT EMERGENCY REHAB FOR YOU
If you think that you or your loved one may have a problem with drugs or alcohol and you believe that they need emergency rehab then call the professionals at 12 Keys’ Florida Emergency Rehab today, at 800-338-5770.