What Is A Residential Treatment Center In Bakersfield Like?
Residential Alcohol and Drug Rehab is a mixture of alcohol detox, nutritional supplementation, hydration therapy, rest, group counseling and individual counseling.
Alcohol rehabilitation is intended to help people that are suffering with alcoholism to regain their physical and mental health. The goals are simply to improve physical health as quickly as possible, reveal their core issues (dishonesty, defense mechanisms, distorted thinking) and bring about greater self-awareness.
Alcohol rehab is the only effective option for any person physically dependent to alcohol and for people headed in that direction (alcohol abuse). Residential rehab centers in Bakersfield Ca offer much more than just a place where there is no access to alcohol. There is also behavioral therapy to help the client work through their respective issues, as well as close monitoring, and a heavy focus on preventing relapse.
What are some of the warning signs that a person has a drinking problem?
- DUI
- Missed work due to alcohol consumption
- Strained or destroyed relationships (divorce) due to drinking
- Hangovers
- Blackouts (Anterograde Amnesia)
- Palmar Erythema
- Cannot regulate consumption of alcohol
- Cannot start day without a drink
- Craving for alcohol
- Alcohol withdrawal symptoms when blood alcohol levels drop
How long is a residential alcohol rehab program in Kern County?
In general, most people will need to enter an alcohol detoxification center first. It is imperative that a person’s brain and body be cleared from alcohol before therapeutic techniques can be of maximum benefit. The detox period varies from person to person but on average alcohol detox lasts approximately 10 days.
The rehab centers in Bakersfield Ca are generally a one month long endeavor, though for chronic relapsers this period is often insufficient. A thorough history of the person’s drinking should be used as a guide in determining the length of stay in alcohol rehab.
Often an extended care program can be the key to success. Many extended care programs vary in length and structure. A long-term sober-living home can often make all the difference after Primary Care (1st Month) is completed.
What Happens in an Alcohol Rehab Center?
Most treatment centers will not distinguish between alcohol and drugs. In fact, if there were to be a distinction made it would often be quite humbling to the alcoholic because of the devastation alcohol has on the individual, their family and society at large. Alcohol is second only to tobacco in number of annual fatalities and second to none in societal costs.
Key to any alcohol rehab treatment in Bakersfield is the recognition of each person’s character flaws that lead them down the path of self-destruction. Most people understand that alcohol is a poison (toxic to the body). They realize that they should not drink alcohol if they want to be healthy. For people that are thinking about entering alcohol rehab the stakes are usually much higher. They are often trying to escape an alcoholic death or psychiatric institutionalization. So why do they drink? That question has baffled the best of physicians for many years. It seems that people with drinking problems drink to feel empowered to solve the problem of feeling helpless. Whether that helplessness is based in shame or trauma or distorted thinking is almost immaterial to the issue. If they feel helpless they drink.
Most alcoholics are totally aware of the dangers that taking a drink means, yet they drink anyway. How can common sense be so easily ignored? It is often one common rationalization that makes drinking acceptable to them at that moment. That rationalization can be conscious or unconscious but it goes very much like this, “it will not kill me today.”
Common Core Issues of Alcoholics
Each individual has a unique grouping of core issues that disrupts their perception of reality. These core issues can interfere with their ability to connect with people on a deeper level. This can make a person feel different or separated from their peers.
Consistently being aware of your thoughts and feelings can help break the cycle of self destruction. Thoughts often precede a person’s emotions but emotions consistently dictate behavior. Are a person’s thoughts, feelings and behaviors based in fear or anger or shame? Does the person have problems in recognizing the truth (perception of reality) or maybe in telling the truth (dishonesty)? Did something happen in childhood that they have not been able to talk about or even recognize?
These questions have to be asked and answered during alcohol rehab in order to overcome these potentially life threatening behaviors. When an alcoholic or drug addict practices behaviors they know are counter-productive or are contrary to what they believe is right, they are practicing egodystonic behaviors. The result of egodystonic behavior is a state of emotional distress that slowly eats away at them causing them to feel helpless until they decide to drink again.
The moment they decide to drink they feel empowered. Drinking is almost a side-effect of the decision. The answer to overcoming alcoholism is to find healthier and more effective ways of dealing with emotional problems. Inpatient rehab is the most popular of the different kinds of treatment for alcohol abuse.
Telling the truth, exercising, working, making lists, sharing your feelings, mindfulness and 12-step therapy are just some the techniques we recommend to rehabilitate alcoholics.
Alcohol Detox Treatment Services in Bakersfield Ca
Alcohol detox is the first step in beginning a new life. The residential rehab center will separate alcohol from an alcohol dependent person in an effective and compassionate manner. No more pain and no more shame. Their approach is designed to minimize discomfort and improve an alcoholic’s well being by using expert medical care, proper nutrition, vitamin therapy and hydration therapy (electrolyte therapy).
Their first objective is to have the new client receive a thorough medical examination to ensure that they are an acceptable candidate for that center’s method of detoxification.
The alcohol detox programs in Kern County are all nutritionally based so as to meet or exceed Federal Standards and Daily Nutritional Guidelines. Administrators at the Bakersfield rehab facilities recognize that proper nutrition and active alcoholism are contradictions in terms. The very nature of alcohol creates some very serious side effects, such as; inhibiting the body’s ability to maintain proper levels of Vitamin B-1, Vitamin B-6, Potassium and H2O. In contrast, both alcohol abuse and alcohol withdrawal stimulate the production of cortisol. The full consequence of this side effect is still not fully understood but is believed to have a significant negative effect. In response to alcohol’s debilitating effects on the body we include along with nutritious food a daily regimen of vitamins to assist the body’s own natural healing powers.
One of the major concerns for all of clients (alcohol detox and drug detox) is maintaining adequate hydration. Most drug users and especially alcoholics tend to suffer from mild to severe dehydration. As soon as a client arrives the rehab center staff begins the process of rehydration through scheduled hydration and electrolyte replenishment periods. Hydration therapy is quite possibly the most critical component because effective medication treatment, nutrition programs and vitamin therapy are greatly benefited by proper hydration.
The most difficult medical issue that many rehab centers in Bakersfield Ca deal with are the diabetic alcoholics. Their blood sugar irregularities are even more exaggerated when alcohol is removed and stress (alcohol withdrawals) is introduced. Take into account the inability to exercise due to the debilitating effects of alcohol withdrawal and a diabetic alcohol dependent person can be terrified to even try to quit. The reality is that even though diabetics can have a more difficult time than most we have a track record that we believe cannot be matched by any other alcohol detox treatment program. The keys to success are compassion, vigilance, nutrition and expert medical supervision. Ultimately, it is hoped that alcoholics that suffer from Type I or Type II diabetes will find the facilities in Kern County and commit to changing their life.