131 - Day 30 to Day 120 - Intensive Out-Patient Level of Care

Here we are with Real Recovery Talk! Ben is with me today, and we are going to talk about what you can expect from day 31 on when you are a recovering addict. The first thirty days are all about detox and living in a safe environment. The next phase for patients is intensive outpatient treatment. You can easily underestimate how well you will do after 30 days and may want to skip this phase, however, many who do jump the second 30 days of outpatient treatment usually end up using again.

When you decide to recover from drug and alcohol use, make a promise to yourself to see your recovery past 30 days. You may want to get back to your regular life; however, there are many environments that you may not be strong enough to withstand, and you can quickly end up relapsing without enough support.

The stronger you are, the better husband, wife, daughter, son, brother, and sister you will be. You have the choice to be a better you, and only you can create the change which will make this happen. Remember, your drug addiction may have been with you for years, and the trauma which led you to your addiction may have also lasted many years. You cannot heal from multiple years of engrained trauma and abuse in only 30 days. Take the time to put in 100% for yourself from the start of your recovery.

On days 30 to 120, you'll be a part of PHP and IOP programs. Generally, you'll spend about 30 days in the PHP of the recovery program. At this point, you'll be assigned a therapist and start digging into the source of your addiction. You may be going to a supermarket with a group and learn to navigate through the aisles without buying alcohol. This is a useful program as you're spending approximately 25 hours of clinical therapy per week to have the support necessary to move through the healing process.

IOP can last 120 days past your initial start of recovery. You'll be able to give the treatment team a good perspective of where you are for the team to be able to identify where you'll need support and what emotional factors you'll need to work on in your recovery.

Listen in to find out why you will gain more and be more successful when you see your therapy through the past 30 days, why a drug or alcohol addict's behavior is worse when they are not using drugs or alcohol for the first time, and how you can replace drugs and alcohol with other risky behaviors.

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Show Notes:

• [05:43] Let's move into today's show with a profile scenario.
• [09:01] It's very easy to underestimate the amount of control you have over your addiction during the first thirty days of treatment.
• [11:49] Ben and I discuss the details of intensive PHP therapy.
• [13:29] The purpose of PHP is to figure out what the underlying conditions are which caused your addiction.
• [15:15] Ben and I talk about why we became addicts, our emotional triggers and what we had to work through to become clean again.
• [20:28] Why an addict's behavior is worse for the first few days or weeks after they become clean of drugs or alcohol.
• [22:08] When you are addicted to drugs or alcohol, you need to find a positive behavior to replace the old behavior.
• [25:10] The most important part of recovery is the transitional level of care.
• [29:28] Staying in your program until you have dealt with your emotional hurt is the best way to receive the support you need when recovering from addiction.
• [31:18] Getting your life back on track and how your sponsor can be an important support in this process.
• [34:17] Be willing, open and honest when moving through recovery.

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