Emergency Rehab – How to get into Rehab Immediately

For many people, drug and alcohol addiction is a slow and steady decline. For others, it happens faster, but there is usually a point that makes the person realise that they need to seek help. This may be some sort of crisis and your physical or mental health could be at stake.

In such cases, it is vital to get the right help as soon as possible and this could involve emergency rehab.

Reasons to Seek Emergency Rehab

Addiction is a chronic condition that only tends to worsen over time. As you build up a tolerance and come to rely on the chemicals provided by the drugs or alcohol in your system, the addiction becomes more and more difficult to break free from without expert help. At the same time, you may be exposing yourself and others to greater risks the longer your addiction goes untreated.

Experiencing an overdose, including alcohol poisoning for drinkers, can be one clear sign that your substance misuse has gotten out of control and is now a clear danger.

In 2020, 4,561 deaths related to drug poisoning were registered in England and Wales.¹ There were also 7,423 deaths from alcohol misuse in 2020 and, while the majority of these were from liver disease, 6% were from accidental poisoning by exposure to alcohol.²

If you do experience an overdose it is likely that you will receive emergency treatment in hospital. If you are addicted to drugs or alcohol, even a warning like this will usually not be enough to help you quit alone, but going straight to an alcohol rehab can give you the best chance of breaking free and avoiding relapse in the future.

Other crisis moments could include getting a diagnosis of a condition such as liver disease that will only get worse and could even prove fatal if you carry on misusing drugs or alcohol. You may experience a mental health crisis or find yourself at ‘rock bottom’.

Your loved ones may have staged an intervention or you might have realised that your marriage, job, family relationships or other things that are important to you are at serious and immediate risk.

Whatever the situation, it is important to seek help as soon as you realise that you need it. Addicts will often experience moments of clarity when they realise the seriousness of their situation. If they don’t seek help right then and there, the intentions and motivation can be washed away in the next waves of drugs and alcohol.

What Happens at Rehab?

Rehab uses a combination of different treatments and approaches to address all the different elements of alcohol and drug addiction. If you are entering rehab after an emergency situation you will almost certainly have to go through alcohol or drug detoxification, which is where you process the drugs or alcohol already in your system.

This may be accompanied by strong cravings and physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms, which can be both very unpleasant and potentially dangerous. It’s always best to undergo this process under medical supervision, especially if it is following a crisis of some kind.

Beyond alcohol detox, you will also undergo a range of therapies aimed at helping you to explore your behaviours and the root causes of your addiction. This is important as it will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to avoid relapsing once you leave.

After all, there is little point in getting clean or sober if you are just going to go back to drugs and alcohol at the first opportunity, or relapse the first time you are stressed or encounter a trigger.