Dealing with anger in a drug and alcohol rehab center is a common occurance. When people have just recently stopped using the drug of their choice and are squarely confronting their addiction, most are irritable and somewhat “short tempered”. While allowances are made to a certain degree for this behavior, drug rehab is communal living. As such it is important to control the emotion of anger, and point it at the appropriate outlets so everyone can feel safe and learn together.

When you find yourself getting angry and frustrated especially in the first two weeks of rehab, remember this is common and a sign of drug withdrawl. The important thing is to focus on what is important. Ask yourself . “What am I REALLY mad at?” When your mind gives you a quick response, take a deep breath and pause, then ask yourself again, “Is that what I’m really mad at, or might it be something else?”

Here’s an example to illustrate. Suppose you have been at rehab for 7 or 8 days. There is a group session slated for 10:00 a.m. You are not feeling well, and you arrive for group 10 minutes late. The leader of the group points out your tardiness and reminds you to be on time for the next group. Inside you well up with anger for being singled out. You ask yourself the first question, “What am I really mad at?” You answer comes back, “this rehab has too many stupid rules. They don’t care about me. They just care about these stupid rules.”

Now pause. I said pause, take a deep breath, take another, and ask the second question. If you ask yourself, “is it something else?”, you might come up with the real reason. Most likely you are mad and frustrated at the drug and the addicition that is so uncomfortable to get over. You might be mad at yourself for letting yourself get in this position. When you are sure at what you are angry and frustrated at use it wisely. Use the anger at the drug to “hate” it and push it far from your life. If you are angry at yourself, refocus and use that energy to push yourself through those moments of discomfort that come with change. The point is you are not angry at the rule of starting groups on time to be fair to everyone. Anger can be useful if it is controled and directed at the real source. This is especially true in the first few weeks of drug and alcohol rehab.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 20th, 2006 at 5:26 pm and is filed under Drug Addiction, Drug Rehab. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.