Whether you have left home for addiction treatment before or not, it is normal to feel pre-treatment admission anxiety. We understand that seeking help for addiction can feel like an intimidating adjustment. It is important that you know leaving what you know in addiction to seek the path of your recovery journey is a brave choice. We know any change can be anxiety-provoking, but it is important you know your recovery will be worth it. There are also many ways to help relieve some of that anxious pre-treatment admission energy.
Ways to Manage Pre-Treatment Admission Anxiety
Managing pre-treatment admission anxiety may seem like a difficult task. In reality, there are many different things you can do to help you manage your anxiety in healthy ways before admission. Having friends and family to talk to about your worries could be one way you manage pre-treatment admission anxiety. In this case, you don’t necessarily need your support system to fix anything about the situation. It could be important to let them know you do not need any advice or solutions to the situation. Sometimes it can just be helpful to have people to talk to.
Another way you can manage pre-treatment admission anxiety could include activities like journaling. Getting your thoughts out of your head and putting them in a designated place can help calm nerves. It can be common for people leaving for treatment to find themselves overthinking or spiraling into overwhelming thoughts. A possible solution could be to write these thoughts down instead of allowing the thoughts to take up too much space in your mind. This is not a fool-proof plan, you will likely still notice times when you feel worried about treatment, however, it may not be as intense if you practice writing them out.
We know physical activities can also be helpful to manage stressors like anxiety. An article called “Effects of Exercise and Physical Activity on Anxiety” published in Frontiers in Psychiatry stated that regular exercise causes changes in the human body that play a role in lowering psychological stressors. This could mean that before admission to treatment for your addiction, you try some extra physical activity. Even movement like walking can help release endorphins.
What to Pack for Addiction Treatment
Addiction treatment with us means you will either be located in Utah or Idaho. Depending on the time of year will determine the type of clothing you bring with you. We recommend bringing no more than 2 weeks’ worth of regular clothing and church clothes as well. Knowing what to pack could be helpful in easing some pre-treatment admission anxiety.
Renaissance Ranch has some specific suggestions for clothing including bathing suits, and toiletries that are not aerosols or contain alcohol. There are also some general suggestions like bringing journals, books, pictures of family, or materials to write letters, which anyone could benefit from bringing with them to treatment. Essentially, anything you can do that will bring you comfort can add up and help you feel more at ease.
Familiarizing Yourself With the Treatment Program
Knowing more about the treatment program you will be beginning could be another way you manage anxiety before admission. If you are beginning your program in detox, you may want to familiarize yourself with that process. Knowing what to expect can help with anxiety and make the process less intimidating. We also have different levels of care, including residential, outpatient, and sober living. All of the levels of care we have to offer have differences in the amount of time you will spend in treatment. Our outpatient level of care alone has three options, partial hospitalization program (PHP), intensive outpatient program (IOP), and general outpatient program (GOP).
Renaissance Ranch treats adult men and has a faith-based approach. The 12-Step approach is well-known in the recovery community. Familiarizing yourself with the Twelve Steps if you have not utilized this treatment approach before could be helpful for any pre-treatment admission anxiety. Rest assured though, studying is definitely not a requirement before you are admitted. We want you to feel safe and comfortable while you are away from home and we believe our facilities can be a wonderful place to help you heal. We also want you to know that our approach incorporates scientific evidence-based methods with the Twelve Steps. The combination of the two has proven to create positive outcomes.
Pre-treatment admission anxiety is perfectly normal even if you have been to treatment for addiction before. There is no shame in feeling anxious; you are about to turn your whole life around and make some big changes. It makes sense that you would feel nervous about that. We hope if we are the right treatment facility choice for you that you take healthy steps to manage your anxiety before admission and we look forward to helping you begin your recovery. You are capable and deserve it.
We understand that leaving what you are familiar with to seek help for your addiction is a brave choice. We also understand it can be an anxiety-provoking situation to manage before you are admitted. There are many different ways you can manage your pre-treatment admission anxiety such as learning about the treatment program you will be in. You could also try taking that nervous energy and putting it elsewhere by exercising or writing. It is important you remember that your recovery from addiction will be worth it and you are capable of recovery. Please call (801) 308-8898 for more information on how we can help prepare you for admission to treatment today.