Importance of Compassion and Understanding in a Rehab Program
In most rehab centers, the focus is fixed on getting a person to stop using drugs and alcohol or any other substance they have become addicted to. The treatment program takes several steps; all geared towards making a person drop their destructive habit and start living in a better, healthier, and sober manner. But in most of those treatment programs, chances of a relapse are high due to one factor; failure to address the underlying cause of the addiction.
Something happened to a person to drive them to abuse drugs or alcohol. It may have happened recently, or as early as in their childhood. Whatever it is, addressing it is not easy, but it provides a better path towards eliminating the addiction and healing them. The trick lies in finding a rehab center that takes such a deep and keen interest in the root cause of the addiction.
Addiction is in simple terms enslavement to a substance. How that enslavement came to be possible should be the main concern for any rehabilitation efforts. An addict will display strange behavior, at first believing they are in control of the relationship they have with alcohol or drugs. But over time, it consumes them, controlling them to the extent that their lives are centered on the next hit or the next drink. Their health suffers, as does their career, relationships, social standing, safety, and security. The mere thought of giving up the addiction makes the habit even more reinforced.
There are studies that have concluded that those who suffered some form of traumatic experience in their childhood are likely to become addicts. Physical abuse, sexual abuse, mental health problems in their parents, or neglect leads them down that path. Drugs present a way for them to address the fear, danger, and threats they had to deal with during those periods. Drugs seem like what can numb their pain and give them some love. It does not help to judge that individual, as judgment feeds the feelings of inadequacy and loneliness, even more, leading to a stronger bond with the substance.
The constant feeling of shame and the stigma that accompanies being an addict adds to the problem. In most instances, an addict does not receive much support from the family. An addict blaming themselves for what happened to them to cause such dependency, and the shame of relying so heavily on something that hurts them leads to them feeling worthless.
It is clear that the mental state of an addict needs to be examined more than what happens in most rehab programs. Getting an addict to talk about their addiction and exploring the different possibilities that led to it is important. No one who feels good about themselves takes time to destroy their life. A person using drugs is therefore troubled by something about themselves. Finding out what that is made for finding the right solution to their addiction.
Finding a rehab program that prioritizes compassion and understanding in its approach will yield long-lasting results for an addict than what other programs promise. In the end, an addict just wishes to address and resolve the thing that causes them to feel the way they do. Once that is settled, drugs and alcohol lose their grip on their lives.