Determining the Success of Your Alcohol Rehab Experience

Many inpatient alcohol rehab program graduates find themselves wondering if recovery worked during the post-rehab period. Successful alcohol rehab experiences will correct not only the physical addiction through medical detox, but also will uncover and heal the emotional, chemical or psychological root causes of chemical dependency. So, how do you determine the success of your alcohol rehab experience?

Determining the Success of Your Rehab Experience

Here are a five helpful questions you can ask yourself in order to assess the success of your alcohol recovery program’s experience.

Have you been cured of alcohol dependency by graduation?
While many 12-step programs do emphasize the process-oriented nature of recovery, successful inpatient alcohol rehab experiences will result in lasting sobriety. If you find yourself still using drugs or drinking, your rehab experience may not have been as effective as it could have been.
Are you experiencing withdrawal pangs?
Successful alcohol rehab experiences will result in the elimination of physical withdrawal pangs through medical drug or alcohol detox. If you are still experiencing withdrawal pangs after discharge from inpatient rehab, you may not have received the supervised medical detox you deserve.
Do you still experience “triggers” that cause you to want to drink or use drugs?
Successful rehab experiences will clear away negative self-beliefs, and heal underlying trauma that may cause you to gravitate towards drug or alcohol use as an escape or coping method. Reexperiencing “triggers” that lead to cravings after graduating drug or alcohol rehab may indicate that deeper work still needs to be done.
Have you begun using a different drug than the one you entered rehab for?
One common sign of unsuccessful inpatient rehab is that while one addiction may have been overcome, another enters the picture. Substituting one addiction for the last one usually indicates that the root cause of addiction has not been successfully addressed or treated.
Do you have the coping skills you need for a brighter future?
Part of the inpatient drug and alcohol experience is developing the emotional and psychological tools that you need for living. Often, drugs or alcohol have prevented us from fully developing and learning how to turn challenges into successes. Effective inpatient rehab will leave you with the tools you need to handle interpersonal relationships, work pressures and other stressors.