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Drug Rehab Myths

Drug Rehab has become more and more mainstream with the recent incidents of celebrity addicton in the news, but there still remain many old and some new myths about drug rehab that may present some with unrealistic views about drug rehab and what to expect.

Drug Rehab is going to push Christianity on me with the 12-step method.

 Actually, there are so many different kinds of drug rehab out there for every kind of person, belief system, preference, and requirement. If you don't want your experience with drug rehab to involve the 12-steps or Christianity, it doesn't have to. Some of the best drug rehab programs in the country offer a variety of rehab programs to suit each individual need. If you do want a traditional 12-step or Christian based drug rehab however, they are in no short supply. So no matter what the preference, there is a drug rehab program for you.

My boss is going to find out about my time in drug rehab and fire me. I don't want everyone knowing my personal problems.

 Well, not quite. Under the Family Medical Leave Act, "covered employers must grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12 month period for... a medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition". Because addiction is a very serious disease, time in drug rehab is covered under this Act. It is, however important to know your rights as a worker as this Act does not cover most part-time employees and is subject to individual coverage and employment.

My boyfriend is in rehab somewhere in Georgia and I need to find him. How can I figure out where he is?

 Not so fast. There is a law referred to as HIPAA(Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996). Under this law, no drug rehab center can legally release information confirming or denying the attendance of any individual in a rehab program, past, present, or future. If you have a loved on in rehab somewhere or you think you know where they are, but want to check, you'll have to wait for your loved one to contact you.

I don't have $30,000 for drug rehab. I know I'll never get sober going to one of these publicly funded rehab programs

 While it is true that publicly funded drug rehab programs do suffer with quality of care in comparison to private pay rehabs, it is not necessarily the quality of the program that determines the success of it's residents. If you are committed to rehabilitation and willing to do whatever it takes to get your life back on track from drug addiction, it doesn't matter what the quality of care provides for you. In publicly funded treatment centers, it is harder, but nothing is impossible. Drug rehab is expensive because it costs a lot of money to provide the care needed for quality rehab, but will and determination are free states of mind. Millions get clean and stay clean after attendance at a publicly funded drug rehab and all they did was want it badly enough.

I can't be away from my family. They mean the world to me and I want to be near them, so there's no way I'm going to California to get treatment!

 You're going to have to get over that. If any part of addiction were within the control of the addict, perhaps deciding the geographic location of recovery would be possible. However, the reality is that wherever the best drug rehab for an individual may be is where the addict needs to be. Look at it this way, if you don't do whatever you have to do and go wherever you have to go to get well, your addiction wins and your family loses you anyway. During treatment, your main goal shouldn't be your family. It should be focus on your own recovery so that you can be with your family and have a life. If you do that, you can go back to your family after treatment and hopefully never have to leave them again.