If I Am In Rehab, Can I Go Home for Christmas?
One of the most natural questions regarding drug addiction treatment is coming home for the holidays. Although you might think it’s mandatory for a facility to let you go and spend time with family, even Christmas isn’t a good enough reason to exit rehab before you’re ready. In most cases, it’s beneficial for you to remain in rehab even over Christmas.
Disrupting the Treatment Process
The main reason why you don’t want to go home for Christmas during addiction treatment is your sobriety progress. Regardless of your time in rehab at that point, you’re still working through a step-by-step program. If you go home for just one day, you might backtrack and slow down your recovery process. In fact, you could completely derail your progress and require extra treatment when you return to the facility. You must think of your treatment process as a train that cannot be stopped until you reach the sobriety station.
Relapse Possibilities
A worst-case scenario could be in your future if you return home for the holidays. Temptations might be all around you during Christmas, such as alcohol. You could relapse over the course of one day. This relapse could be so damaging to your body that there’s medical issues involved. Ideally, you should stay in rehab to keep those temptations away from you. When you graduate from rehab, you’ll have the mental tools to fight off temptation in the future.
Giving Your Loved Ones Peace-of-Mind
You may not realize it, but entering rehab may have given your loved ones a huge relief. They probably worried about your health for months or years before you faced the addiction. If you return home during treatment, they’ll worry about you instead of enjoying the holiday. You should keep in mind that next year’s Christmas will be entirely different for you and the family because addiction worries won’t be part of the festivities. Complete treatment this year, and you’ll have a much better time over the holidays next year.
Outpatient Alternative
Although most rehab facilities are inpatient types, you might be able to come home for Christmas if you’re in an outpatient program. When you’re an outpatient, your addiction issues are under control. You simply need some extra support to help you with consistent sobriety. Outpatient programs fill your daytime hours, but you’re allowed to go home at night. For Christmas, you could be home for dinnertime and spend time with loved ones.
If you’re struggling with addiction, putting off your treatment because of the holidays is a poor decision. Because you have an impending date in mind after Christmas, it’s possible to use even more drugs before you quit entirely. It’s important to enter rehab as soon as you decide that treatment is necessary. Procrastination can have negative repercussions.
