As soon as the doctor begins explaining the deaddiction treatment to the patient and his or her family members, one of the first things that everyone gets in mind is the duration of the recovery. While some people keep quiet, burying their doubts, others frankly ask the doctor, “How long does addiction recovery take?” Surprisingly, neither the medical doctors nor psychiatrists will have an answer. Because the length of the recovery depends on multiple factors—the person, the situation, the deaddiction program, etc.
In this blog, let’s briefly discuss every aspect that determines or alters the period of recovery.
Factors that decide the duration of your addiction recovery
1. Length of deaddiction treatment
The length of a deaddiction program varies from one rehabilitation center to another. For example, a well-established and equipped de addiction centre with sufficient medical doctors, psychologists, and psychiatrists may offer a shorter recovery period as you can use all their resources one after the other and enjoy a quick recovery.
2. Addiction substances: drugs, alcohol, marijuana, etc
A recovery program for alcohol abuse will not be the same as a rehab for drug addiction. So, the duration varies depending on what substance you’re addicted to.
3. Whether the person has previously tried recovery
If you’ve already tried deaddiction, your recovery may get shortened as you’re aware of the recovery stages and plans, and no time is needed for contemplation again. On the other side, you’re starting from scratch, so it is going to be quite lengthy.
4. How many failed attempts if tried
This factor counts on the previous factor. Your doctor will suggest the severity of your deaddiction program after checking on you based on your number of failed attempts. Accordingly, the recovery duration may vary.
5. Realization mindset
How far the person has tuned the mindset toward de addiction program and recovery is what matters. In fact, pre-contemplation is the first stage of the addiction recovery process.
6. In-patient or out-patient
Obviously, an in-patient can make the best use of the rehabilitation center throughout the day and shorten their recovery. With out-patients, it is definitely time-consuming.
7. Effectiveness of the addiction treatment program
It is the only external factor that involves the quality of the rehab center in helping you in your recovery journey. Thus, identifying a quality rehab center for your addiction treatment plays a vital role in deciding your recovery period.
The importance of recovery stages
Some may take weeks to months to recover. Others may take months to years to recover. This is because when you treat addiction, your body and mind will react differently and at different speeds. This leads to variation in the progress toward the changes, i.e., differences in unlocking each recovery stage in addiction.
Here are five different recovery stages developed by the researchers in the behavioral studies:
- Pre-contemplation stage: Wherein no hope or self-realization has happened
- Contemplation stage: Beginning to understand the problem and the consequences
- Preparation stage: Getting ready for the change with some solid plans
- Action stage: Implementing the plans without losing hope
- Maintenance stage: Controlling the relapse and enjoying the abstinence
Based on the listed seven factors, each person will face these stages at a different pace, in a different angle, in a different mindset, etc. Thus, one cannot predict the length of an addiction recovery care period.
Conclusion
After having read all about the influencing factors, the recovery stages, etc., if you're still asking us, “How long does addiction recovery take?", here is our simple answer. On those days, people take at least 48 days to get used to a particular habit. Recent research claims that these days, it takes at least 66 days. So, for an addict to change a bad habit and inculcate a new habit, it will take at least 2+ months.
However, as clearly mentioned, this approach may not suit every addiction patient. To ensure you receive personalized care, consider visiting Naveen Hospital for addiction recovery, where experienced doctors and psychiatrists will analyze your specific needs and recommend the most effective recovery plan.
