After taking a severe beating from this disease, it is not uncommon for an addict or alcoholic to express a sincere desire to enter inpatient treatment. That being said, it is still not uncommon for that same addict or alcoholic to enter treatment and then want to sign themselves out after the first week. Some people don’t understand this behavior, rightfully so, because it is very irrational.

The reason why the sincere desire to enter switches to a sincere desire to leave is because they are unaware of how this disease will operate on them without the use of drugs. When the drugs are down and we enter a “bubble” (a safe environment) where drugs are not available. The disease is in our brain, so if we know drugs are not available here, our diseased thinking is aware as well. So at this point our disease doesn’t really come at us with wanting to use drugs, it switches to “you have to leave here”. So it conjures up all kinds of reasons on why we should leave treatment. “The bills are piling up at home”, “I miss my kids, they need me”, “If I don’t leave, I’m going to lose my job”, we also start picking apart the rehab we are in, looking for reasons why it isn’t a sufficient facility and that it’s best if we leave. Not to mention that we are no longer numbing ourselves with drugs and alcohol, so we also feel the feelings we were so carefully protecting ourselves from. We also get a very clear view of the mess we have made of our lives, the people we hurt, and we feel all of the guilt and shame. Which makes it easy for us to say “forget this, I don’t want to feel this”. The disease says “run”.

The disease of addiction is the obsession and compulsion of the mind. So when the thought of leaving treatment centers, it is also accompanied by “don’t tell anyone!”, because we can’t give anyone the opportunity to talk us out of it! This thought plants a seed in the brain, which then grows and grows until it turns into an obsession, that’s when it totally consumes our being, and compulsion is on it’s way. The compulsion is when we go to our therapist or recovery coach and say “I want a 24-hour form, I’m leaving”. We may not have a ride or anywhere to go but all we know is that we are getting out of here. At this point it is extremely difficult to reverse this type of desire. Not long after this, the individual signs themselves out of treatment. The disease now has you exactly where it wants you, and now the thought of using drugs is right around the corner. The point is, if this individual does not have the tools to resist the obsession and compulsion of leaving rehab, how will they resist the thought of using, when it becomes an obsession, then a compulsion shortly after they leave? How will they get through that without the tools? This is a recipe for relapse. The disease was operating on them the whole time and they are totally unaware of it. The disease of addiction is cunning, baffling, and insidious.

“The same disease that got you in rehab, will get you out of rehab.” Call Seabrook today to discuss reatment options today 856.455.7575.