An alcohol rehab is comprised of several distinct alcohol rehabilitation components. When we refer to alcohol rehab, we are referring to a luxury residential alcohol rehabilitation center. In alcohol rehab, the individual resides in the alcohol rehab facility until alcoholism treatment is completed. A person’s length of stay in the alcohol rehab program can last between 3 days to 7 days for alcohol detox and up to 6 weeks for effective alcohol rehab. The time a person spends in alcohol detox or alcohol rehab, depends upon a variety of factors; amount of alcohol consumed, frequency of use, severity of use, medical issues, psychological issues, motivation, drug use etc. The length of stay in alcohol rehab is different for each person, but research shows that people who go on to alcohol rehab after completing alcohol detox, do much better than those that just go through an alcohol detox program.

Detox in the Alcohol Rehab Program: An alcohol detox program is only the first step in recovery from alcoholism or alcohol dependence. Alcohol detox is a process which generally lasts between three days and seven days depending upon the factors mentioned above. The goal of an alcohol detox program is to assist the person by managing their alcohol withdrawal symptoms as they discontinue alcohol use. An effective alcohol detox program will dispense appropriate medications to manage and reduce alcohol withdrawal symptoms. An alcohol detox program should be on a medically monitored alcohol detox unit, complete with 24 hour nursing and a physician trained in the treatment of alcoholism and addiction medicine. In conjunction with the medical services associated with alcohol detox, support staff is also available to assist each person with the mood swings associated with alcohol withdrawal. You should always try to access treatment in an alcohol rehab program that has its own alcohol detox unit, not an alcohol rehab program that has to refer out for alcohol detox. It is not wise to break the continuity of care between alcohol detox and alcohol rehab.

I was sitting on the couch trying to decide whether I would shoot up enough to give myself that high I loved or enough to just end everything… it was a tough decision to make, but I decided to pick up the phone instead. For me, drug addiction was something of a family hobby. There was plenty of alcohol around all the time. My mother would usually have a cocktail in the car with her friends and I grew up thinking this was normal. After all, alcohol use can seem glamorous when it is used out by the pool or on the country club lawn. I mean, I didn’t start using because I thought it would make me look like a movie star… I just thought it would help me fit in better with the people around me. See, I was always the odd man out… I always felt I was different, strange and growing up in a small town near Los Angeles doesn’t give much room to anyone to go down a different path. That was, until I checked into a drug addiction treatment center.

This week marks 70 days of being clean for me. I know this may not seem like a big deal, but it is when you’re 30 years old and 70 days is the longest you’ve been clean since your 15th birthday. So, what makes me think I’ll stay clean this time? For starters, I went to a great luxury residential drug treatment program in Malibu. I was able to get treatment, therapy, in a realistic and real world setting. I was able to build up my self-esteem, which is probably one of the reasons I ended up where I was to begin with. Perhaps the other thing is, that for the first time in 15 years, I really wanted to be clean- and it worked.