By Sandy Baker

Drug and alcohol rehab is an essential service, one available to you at The Ranch at Dove Tree even during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you’ve thought about rehab but never thought you could step away from your life to get treatment, now is the time to do so.

For many people, stay-at-home orders are in effect right now. Even as parts of the country begin to open up, there are many people still unable to get back to the life they were leading. What if that life isn’t what you want for the future? Could you get into a residential addiction treatment right now? Doing so can offer some outstanding benefits. In many ways, this is the best time to seek care. In other words, this is the time to enter recovery.

Local Support for Addiction Is Limited

One of the key reasons to enter into a drug and alcohol treatment center right now is clear – you just cannot find local support to help you right now. Most community support groups, AA meetings, and community center-based programs are not available right now due to the pandemic. As a result, finding help locally may not be possible. Some programs have moved to online or telehealth services, but even then, access is limited especially if you need face-to-face support.

Residential treatment can offer all of the benefits of community programs, and much more, in a safe manner. For those unable to find help locally, programs are available to support your needs right now in our residential programs.

Going to the ER May Be Difficult

One of the concerns you may be seeing right now is a lack of access to emergency medical care. Depending on where you are, getting into an emergency room, such as for an overdose, is hard to do. If you do end up there, you are now faced with the risk of being exposed to the virus. Keep the following in mind:

• If an overdose is occurring, act by calling 911.
• If you’ve overdosed in the past and are still using, call a residential treatment center to start on the path of recovery.
• If you are using heavily, even if you’ve never overdosed before, keep in mind care may not be the same in an ER scenario, meaning your overuse could be deadly.

Don’t let that stop you from getting into a residential treatment program, though. Now is the time to enter recovery. There is help available no matter what stage of addiction you are in at the moment.

Being Alone at Home Isn’t Safe

For those with addiction and stuck at home, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and even scared about what’s happening around you. You may not have access to the drugs you used to or you may be finding it difficult to financially maintain your addiction.

For those with co-occurring mental health disorders, this can lead to intense anxiety and even depressive episodes. If you’re struggling to maintain your addiction, you can pursue treatment options in a residential addiction center. Doing so will allow you to break your physical dependency and reclaim your health again. Here are a few key things to keep in mind.

• Don’t try to detox on your own. Doing so can be dangerous depending on your addiction level.
• Monitor your mental health. You don’t want to put other people in your family at risk because of your inability to gain the access you’ve always had.
• If you’re been unable to use, you may be feeling the impact of withdrawal symptoms. In a rehab center, pain medications and medication assistance is available to help prevent what you’re feeling right now.

You are not in this alone. Many other men and women with addiction are facing a harsh reality right now. The good news is you can use this as an opportunity to step into rehab for care.

What Can Residential Treatment Offer You Now?

Your needs right now are likely different from those with COVID-19. You may not have the ability to just stay home and wait it out. Residential drug and alcohol treatment can offer you several benefits:

• Get into a detox program capable of giving you the relief you need from withdrawal symptoms.
• Get help for co-occurring disorders including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or anxiety that may be feeling challenging right now.
• Start counseling to uncover what’s happening to you and how to deal with it moving forward.
• Live in a safe place where extensive measures are being taken to keep individuals healthy and safe.
• Rebuild your future while everyone else is at home.

Now is your time to enter recovery and to get the help and support you need. COVID-19 has created an opportunity and a very real need for those with substance use disorders to get into recovery. Let our team at The Ranch at Dove Tree be the first call you make.