Drug and alcohol addiction are learned behaviors.  Before experimenting with any drug or alcohol, a non user is always taught by someone who is experienced with the drug or alcohol.  They are taught what they will feel when they use the drug.  They are taught how to take the drug.  They are taught where to find the drug.  They are taught how to handle the side effects of the drug and how to handle coming down, and the hangovers.  They are taught the language of drug use.

The job then of a good drug and alcohol rehab center is to teach a new set of behaviors.  If someone has the tools to learn how to be addicted, then they are also capable of learning the tools to live sober and full of life.  A quality rehab program is much more about education than anything else.  Discussions of the past are interesting, and somwhat useful, but learning the new coping and communication skills of a sober person are much more critical.  You learned to be an addict.  Now take the time to learn to be sober.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 11th, 2007 at 10:03 am and is filed under 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.