When seeking counseling services, many people look for a therapist within their local area as the quick commute is beneficial for most people’s busy lives. But when it comes to seeking addiction treatment, there’s a lot to be said for going away for care and leaving your hometown.
Numerous addiction recovery treatment centers offer residential/inpatient programs for this reason, giving their clients the chance to leave the familiar environment of home and recover from addiction in a totally new, entirely peaceful environment.
Why should I leave home for addiction treatment?
Home is comfortable, familiar and safe, for most people. So why, you may find yourself asking, should I leave that behind for a journey that is going to be difficult? Shouldn’t I have a place like this to go home to after a long day in the treatment center?
Well, while that’s entirely up to you, there are a lot of factors to take into consideration when determining where to seek addiction treatment. Because even though the home is familiar, it may actually be this familiarity that is preventing growth and change in your life.
So, when researching addiction treatment facilities, take into consideration the following.
A remote facility will remove triggers from your daily environment
When you stay close to home for treatment, you’re remaining near the places where substance abuse used to take place. The temptation to relapse is often much stronger when you know substances are close by and easy to get. Leaving your hometown for addiction treatment removes these familiar and convenient temptations. When you’re in a new place without easy access to substances, it’s easier to maintain abstinence and stay focused on your recovery.
Being in a new place minimizes distractions
Leaving your hometown for addiction treatment removes many of the distractions you’d encounter if you remained close to home. Recovery takes work, and the less distracted you are the better able you’ll be to concentrate solely on getting sober and healthy.
Traveling away for treatment also gives you the opportunity to temporarily (or permanently) detach from people back home. In many cases, friends, coworkers and/or family members can serve as triggers. Detaching from them by putting temporary distance between you can help you heal from painful relationships, as well as give you a different perspective when you’re not under the influence of the thoughts, opinions and suggestions of others.
Traveling for care gives your privacy
When you leave home and go to a place where no one knows you, you’ll have a greater sense of anonymity and absolute privacy to fully engage with your treatment program. While a substance use disorder is nothing to be ashamed of, some people still mistakenly believe that addiction is a choice. Leaving your hometown for addiction treatment removes the possibility of scrutiny and stigma from those in your hometown and allows you to begin recovery without the prying questions of others.
There’s a lowered risk of relapse
When you stay in an environment that is familiar, especially if you’re participating in an outpatient program, there’s always a risk of relapse purely because you’re still in an environment where addiction used to occur – meaning, triggers will still be present. Unfortunately, even if you decide to make a change, it’s not often that the environment around you, including other people in your life, is also dedicated to making a change.
When you leave your hometown, however, you can significantly lower your risk of relapse in the early stages of recovery as those triggers simply are no longer there.
It will give you a healthy sense of starting over
Traveling for care will give you a sense of newness, of starting over and perhaps even freedom. You’ll most likely gain a new perspective and find yourself viewing old habits and routines with a new outlook. This can be especially beneficial in recovery, helping you to remain committed to new lifestyles and motivated during difficult parts of treatment.
You might be able to find a more specialized program
You might be wanting to leave your hometown not because the quality of life at home is poor, but because you can’t find the specialized kind of treatment you need in your local area. Especially if you live in a more rural place, this could be the case.
The good news is, if you do decide to travel for care for this reason, you’ll be able to reap the benefits of a specialized program and those mentioned above.
Consider going away for addiction treatment
Your initial instinct might be to seek treatment close to home, perhaps because you have obligations. But keep in mind that traveling for rehab allows you to more easily focus solely on yourself, heal effectively and return to those obligations as a stronger person.
If you’re looking for an addiction recovery center that offers residential treatment for out-of-state clients, consider Silvermist Recovery. Contact us anytime to learn more.