You’ve thought long and hard about your decision to go to rehab, and you are confident that it is your best choice for getting sober. Now that all of that earlier questioning is over, you can turn your thoughts towards getting ready for your stay. The majority of the suggestions that exist for someone who is getting ready to go to rehab involve prepping your mind and body for one of your most important life journeys. Other than that, you’ll find that getting ready for rehab is a lot like what you’ve done for other types of trips that you may have made in the past. From packing to getting into the right mindset, you’ll want to take these steps to feel fully prepared for walking through those life-changing doors.
Set Yourself Up for a Worry-Free Stay
Drug rehab offers a respite from your day-to-day stressors, but no one is ever able to completely escape their responsibilities. You may have a mortgage to pay, a job that expects you to show up and kids who depend upon you to make dinner. All of these things will need to be addressed to keep you free from worry. Making some of the following types of arrangements makes it possible for you to focus on your recovery.
- Inform your employer or school about your intended absence
- Arrange for someone to care for your pets, children or senior loved ones
- Pre-pay your mortgage and any other bills
- Set up lawn care and other home maintenance services
Although you will be able to handle essential tasks while you are in rehab, it is best to have as few of these types of things to do as possible. You’ll want to wake up and be ready to focus on learning more about your addiction each day, and having to worry about whether or not the water bill got paid will cut into your ability to think straight. Since you may experience some anxiety as part of the normal withdrawal process, starting off as stress-free as possible will help it to remain mild.
Make Sure You Bring Your Essentials
If you have a tendency to overpack, then this is a time when you’ll want to scale back. Whether you have a private room or share the space with a roommate, you don’t need a bunch of clutter cutting into your ability to relax. Most of everything that you’ll need will already be provided by the rehab. You’ll have plenty of food to eat and things to do. This pretty much means that you’ll only need to bring the essentials that you can’t get anywhere else such as your clothes and prescription medications.
Keep in mind that you won’t be trying to impress anyone. Getting dressed each day helps you to feel better, but you don’t have to bring anything fancy. Many people prefer to dress in comfortable casual clothes such as joggers or t-shirts. You can check the rehab’s dress code to make sure that what you pick is acceptable, but generally you’ll need to leave any clothing with potentially offensive graphics at home.
Embrace the Opportunity to Achieve Personal Growth
This final suggestion is one that will give you the most benefits overall. You might be looking forward to your stay, but you could also still be apprehensive. You will be spending time with people from a variety of different backgrounds. While it is nerve-racking to meet new people, it is also the perfect time to learn from the others in your group. You’ll hear from counselors who are experienced with guiding people to sobriety. You’ll also meet people who are in various stages of recovery. Learning from them gives you insight into new ways that you can manage your addiction.
You will also spend time engaged in deep individual therapy sessions that help you to develop greater self-understanding. There’s a saying in rehab that you only get out of it what you put in, and this is one area where you’ll find that this rings true the most. Sitting quietly in your counseling sessions won’t get you anywhere, and neither will denying the truth. Try to view this as a special time where you can be completely honest about your addiction. During your stay, you won’t need to hide your past or try to seem like you’ve got it all together. Instead, lean on the people around you for support, and you’ll find that you begin to feel stronger every day.
Are you still wondering what else you need to do to get ready for rehab? Give us a call today at 732-392-7311 to start rounding out your to-do list.
