Life After Rehab

Addiction and Alcoholism are diseases that are taking a great toll on our society. This papers purpose is to show how it is possible for an addict or alcoholic to have a clean and sober life after rehab. There have been many studies which substantiate the claims made in this paper. While addiction has no known cure, attending twelve step meetings after treatment greatly increases chances of sobriety.

Each year 2 million people or more receive treatment with problems from alcohol or drugs. While addiction holds no prejudice to race, sex, or age, nearly everyone knows of someone who is affected by this disease. Many users often end up in some form of treatment facility. The majority of rehabilitation centers are based on the program of Alcoholics Anonymous (Kingree &Thompson, 2011). While there are several types of rehabilitation facilities these centers seem to be not only the majority but also the most successful.   Aftercare seems to be almost more important than the treatment facility itself in most cases.
It is here where many are introduced to twelve step meetings. These meetings are often encouraged as a form of aftercare once the individual is released from the treatment center. There is a false misconception among many who believe a person can just go to a rehabilitation center, get out and be alright. This is far from the truth as studies have shown individuals who attend meetings and work with a sponsor are more likely to remain abstinent versus someone who does not (Kingree & Thompson, 2011). Just as a child needs someone to teach them how to ride a bike or tie a shoe, and addict or alcoholic needs someone to teach them how to stay clean and sober.
While getting through treatment is a huge task for many, what is done once a person gets out can be where the true life changing process starts. Many residential treatment facilities with a longer duration period have proven to be more effective versus short term facilities (Arbour, Hambley, &...