Hee hee hee… when I was there, they used to take us on an outing every weekend- miniature golf, the beach, a movie. The week before I got there, guess what movie the patients got to see? The Doors. 
Nope, no triggers there… :smack:
My rehab didn’t try to shield us completely from the real world- hell, we went to meetings almost every day, and the topics were drinking and using… 
But outside distraction were kept to a minimum.
I just wanted to chime in to mention that this really made me stop and think. I have been sober a little over 3 years now and have always looked at hitting my bottom as the point at which my whole life failed. And to some extent that is true, I have literally nothing left of that old life. But I had not until now really thought that the time immediately afterwards could be looked at like this. So thanks. Also (and most important) best of luck and warm wishes to the OP. Your life will change in recovery! Mine did and strange as it may sound I would not go back for anything.
I think it was me that made that comment. I agree that you can’t just do whatever you want but, you aren’t there to be punished or left to die either which is the big difference in my mind. The reason rehabs exists in the first place is to help people get better and then move on with a normal life. I have never been in prison or jail (or a nursing home) but I doubt the focus is the same.
One surreal thing I found in rehab was that you could ask other patients just about anything and they would tell you and I would do the same. I only did alcohol but I learned a lot about what crack and heroin addicts go through to support their addiction for example. They would tell me stuff that they probably wouldn’t tell their own priests and it scared the crap out of me but in a good way. I think the whole setup is designed to encourage that.
A 30 rehab is kind of unusual these days but I am happy if someone can get it. Most are 7 - 14 days unless you have some really good insurance or a very wealthy family. I got the insurance statements for mine and it cost $12,500 a week.
I also found this to be the case, with one exception.
There was a seventeen or eighteen year old kid who showed up one morning - it wasn’t uncommon to wake up and find a new addition sitting in the lounge, having come in over night. I was still not allowed off of the floor,* so it was just me and him for about an hour. I was relatively new and still learning the protocols. I asked him what he was “in for” (like it was prison or something?) and he just shook his head, “no.” Later that day, after having been asked by several others, he finally answered someone. Turns out, he had some pretty big issues and wanted nothing to do with the place. I wasn’t around long enough to see if he ever warmed up to the program.
Everyone else though, hell, it was all you could do to get them to quit talking. The other drunks’ stories were comforting at first (“hey, it’s not just me”) but began to wear thin if just because of the redundancy. The addicts had much better stories.
*Where I was, you could not leave the unit for the first 24 hours and even then not until cleared by a physician. I think this was my second morning and I just hadn’t seen the doc yet that day.
I just wanted to thank everyone for all the good advice and let you know that after my evaluation they determined that I should go into the intensive outpatient program.
I’ll still take all the good wishes, though. Thanks.
One funny thing…I was just calling to make an appointment to get evaluated for a prescription for Campral and while I was on hold the music came on:
“…so she gets up and pours herself a strong one…”
Nice choice.
good luck
One day at a time, cher3. Good on you for taking the first step. Keep on stepping.
Wouldn’t knitting help you avoid idle hands? I dunno…I find knitting and stuff to be a great stress-reliever for me, so I’d have thought it would be encouraged.
(The mere thought of having to sit and watch TV without something to do with my hands is making me feel all antsy!)
Good luck, cher!
Why won’t anyone at the facility talk to you?
I participated in the clinical trials to get Campral (acamprosate) approved in the U.S. I am still on it and it works but it doesn’t fix everything. You still have to do everything that any other recovering person has to do but it makes it a little easier.
Intensive outpatient can be, well, a little intense but I thought it was great as well. Give it your best shot. If that doesn’t work, try again. It takes most people several tries but you will make it as long as you are committed to recovery. You might be the superstar that gets it on the first day and never looks back. Everyone in your life wants you to get better including those of us here. It is far from a rare problem.
Good luck and keep us posted. I always found that there are way more understanding and sympathetic people around for that type of thing than most people ever realize.
There are plenty of other things you can do with your hands, such as work puzzles, play UNO, snack. Knitting needles can be dangerous to some people, as could the yarn. We did some stress management therapy, but a lot of what we learned when we were not in groups was to interact with the world again without alcohol. I didn’t need much to learn about stress management, because drinking was my tool, and oddly enough, drinking caused most of my stress.
Good luck, cher3. I would suggest you try to find a meeting every night that you are in therapy.
SSG Schwartz
Oh, I completely understand that Campral isn’t going to be any kind of a magic bullet–nothing is. I’m really doing it on the recommendation of the program facilitator because the plan is to do everything they tell me to do. I’d be interesting in hearing more about your experience with it, though, Shagnasty.
And SSG Schwartz I am going to meetings on every day that I don’t have the outpatient group.
I never noticed any side-effects to Campral at all and it isn’t supposed to have many for anyone. It doesn’t cause any type of high or abnormal feeling. It just blunts some cravings. If you drink something while on Campral, it just blocks some of the effects that you would normally feel although not all of them. There isn’t much downside to that drug so give it a try and take it as prescribed.