The reason lots of people finally enter rehab is often because they have failed to manage it by themselves or relapsed. This does not mean however that it is impossible to do it by yourself, some people do, but they are more likely to be those people who are less severely dependent.
Rehab is more than just detox. Rehab is a complete programme from detox, through to psychological counselling and ongoing support, to ensure your lasting success which requires the help of professional experts.
What you should understand about the Rehab Process
If you want to attempt detox at home, there are some important things you should understand and consider before trying it.
- Withdrawal symptoms: until you start withdrawing from alcohol you do not know how severely you might be affected by withdrawal symptoms. These can be severe and even life threatening, and you may need medication and medical supervision. Therefore, if you are going to try to detox at home, you must make sure that your GP knows you are doing it and that you are not at home alone so that if your symptoms do become severe, someone can get you urgent medical attention.
- Willpower: even if your physical withdrawal symptoms are manageable, the cravings you experience will be intense and when you are in our own environment, it is much easier to give in to these. This is why many people who try to detox at home don’t make it past 24 hours.
- Your environment: rehab is more than just detox. It is about understanding the triggers in your life that lead you to drink and changing those circumstances and behaviours to create new ones, which do not tempt you. This is often done through Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and other psychological counselling with the help of an expert. If you do not make these changes in your life and continue in the old ways, even if you do make it through detox you are far more likely to relapse.
- Your friends and family: by doing rehab at home, you will need to rely on the support of your friends and family to help you. This can put an enormous strain on your relationships as they may feel the stress and anxiety of whether they can cope with what is coming.
Key Steps to Consider
Once you have considered all these things, if you still want to try rehab at home, take these steps before you begin:
- Tell your GP
- Get rid of all alcohol from your house
- If possible, get someone to be at home with you or go and stay somewhere else
- Do not spend time with people who are drinking
- Do not make any work commitments that you may not be able to keep
- Keep yourself occupied
- Get plenty of fresh air and exercise whilst going through detox
- Make sure that people around you, friends and family, know what you are doing
Online Rehab
If you do make it through detox on your own, you can get the psychological counselling and support you need to ensure you do not relapse through The Online Rehab programme. This can be done from your own home and provides personalised one to one support with qualified counsellors.
This programme makes the ideal follow up to someone who has managed to detox, but still needs ongoing support to complete their rehabilitation.
For free confidential advice on the best rehabilitation option for you call us today on 0203 955 7700
