Prepare Your Body

Preparing your body for treatment should be your immediate focus once you make the choice to seek help for your addiction.

Physical Preparations

If you’ve developed a dependence on alcohol, the first step of rehab will be detox. In detox, you’ll abstain from substance use and let all traces of drugs and alcohol leave your body. This will break the physical dependence on drugs or alcohol.

Detox is considered by many to be the hardest part of treatment, although it’s the part where you do the least work. Withdrawal symptoms can range from mild to severe and will probably include intense cravings. Getting you through the detox process with as little discomfort as possible is the goal of medical detox. Medications will be provided to help reduce the severity of withdrawal symptoms, but you can help the detox process along and reduce your level of discomfort by taking good care of your body in the weeks or days leading up to treatment.

One of the worst things you can do before heading into treatment is go on a bender in anticipation of quitting. Although it may be tempting, over-using before treatment can have devastating consequences. These may include accidental overdose and legal trouble stemming from your drug or alcohol abuse. Over-using can also make detox more drawn-out and uncomfortable.

By choosing instead to take care of yourself in preparation for treatment, you’re setting the stage for success.

Get plenty of quality sleep. Getting enough sleep each night leading up to treatment will help keep your mood stable and promote mental clarity during detox and treatment. It will also help keep stress and anxiety at bay. Quality sleep will be crucial during treatment and early recovery, so developing good sleep habits now will give you a head start.

Exercise. Exercise strengthens your body and improves the way…

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