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It takes a lot of courage to recognize that you have an addiction. Once you’ve made this realization, the next hardest step is to pursue treatment.
Though you may worry about the time, energy, and quality of life without drugs and/or alcohol, detoxification and staying clean has countless long-term benefits that make the whole process worth it.
Prevalence of substance abuse
Each year, the prevalence of substance abuse increases across the United States. Though you may feel alone, a quick look at drug abuse statistics will show you that many others are going through the same thing.
Likewise, many people receive treatment each year and turn their lives around. If so many other people can do it, why not you?
Benefits of long term detoxification
All the benefits of getting clean are too long and complex to list in one article, but four of the biggest benefits include the following:
Improved relationships with loved ones
Regardless of the type, strength, or length of addiction, you can bet that your relationships have been impacted by it. As addiction worsens, you begin to lose interest in the things that once made you happy – including your family – leading to neglect.
Friends and family may also have noticed substance abuse issues and approached the subject with you. Chances are, you didn’t respond positively. Arguments over substance use can cause relationships to become strained.
Resiliency
Once you’ve hit rock bottom, pursued treatment, and found recovery, you’ll have a new mindset that you can do anything. Going through a difficult experience and coming out on the other side as a better version of yourself proves that you have nothing to fear in this world.
Whatever gets thrown at you, you can handle it.
Improved mental health
Oftentimes, addiction develops as a coping mechanism for difficult emotions. Learning to express your emotions constructively through detoxification and subsequent treatment will help you develop healthier coping mechanisms.
These healthy coping mechanisms will help you feel more stable and improve your overall mental health and happiness.
Improved ability to achieve goals
Like resiliency, recovery will help you believe that you are capable of establishing goals and achieving them. Being sober will make your situation in life much less precarious. You will be able to hold a steady job, form strong and positive relationships, and lead a healthier life.
This stability will help you make goals according to a framework you can depend on, making them much more achievable than they would be otherwise.
How to ask for help
Asking for help is scary, but it’s also the hardest part. Once you take steps to get the help you need, it will become easier to move forward.
To ask for help, consider confiding in a trusted friend or loved one. People who have addictions often keep them a secret, so getting the issue out into the open will lessen the burden on your shoulders.
If you don’t have someone in your personal life to talk to, search for local treatment centers in your area and ask an experienced medical professional for advice on the next steps. The road to recovery is within your grasp.
