4 Advantages to Attending Out-of-State Treatment Facilities

Treatment centers far from home make an impulsive decision to leave more difficult

Considering a treatment center far from home certainly may make the big decision to seek recovery from drug abuse or addiction a more difficult or complicated task. However, there may be some definite advantages to going out-of-state for this kind of help.

Fighting an addiction requires users’ full engagement – mind, body and soul. With so much concentration needed in order to achieve a successful recovery, out-of-state treatment centers can be a good option for avoiding outside distractions. Depending on the severity of the addiction, an intensely structured setting – like an inpatient treatment center – may be needed in order to begin changing the behaviors and habits that led to that addiction. Research indicates that many people benefit more from this type of round-the-clock care.

The ability to separate from outside distractions, responsibilities and temptations in order to focus on the internal reasons behind addiction is invaluable to recovery. While not everyone needs to travel to find this level of care, the chance to truly “get away” can give individuals a valuable jump-start to a happier, drug-free lifestyle.

So let’s take a closer look at four logical reasons for going farther away – beyond state boundaries – in order to lose addiction’s grip, gain a better state of mind, and recapture one’s “authentic self.”

1. Sense of Adventure

Learning how to live a sober life comes by reinventing behaviors and thoughts. Because addiction treatment requires a person to change many aspects of his life, the feeling of adventure that comes from traveling to a new place can add a sense of excitement to the treatment process. When a person stays in his home environment, he may be bogged down with feelings associated with the ways that addiction affected his day-to-day life.

Everyone enters treatment with different feelings. One person may have decided to enter treatment on her own; for others, loved ones may have convinced her that she needs treatment. Whichever the case, traveling out-of-state is literally leaving the past in the rear-view mirror.

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2. Limit to the Distractions

Everyday life is often full of problems and distractions. When a person travels out-of-state for treatment, the temptation to become involved in matters involving issues like work or relationships – as in the case of stressful job problems or family disputes – is greatly diminished purely by their physical distance. Family members and friends who may be unsupportive or have enabled drug use habits will also find it more difficult to travel to a distant facility.¹

3. Freedom from Temptations

A big part of addiction is the ritual associated with finding, preparing for and using drugs. When a person continues to go to hangouts where drugs were used and associate with drug-using friends, the temptation to use drugs again is even stronger. The desire to relapse back into old habits is hard enough to resist without having familiar environmental cues around.

In addition to offering a completely fresh environment, treatment centers far from home make an impulsive decision to “drop out” of the program more difficult. Such places are more conducive to starting healthier habits, new attitudes and greater resolve. Addiction experts recommend completely reinventing routines to give the brain a chance to associate sobriety with new actions, places and people. An out-of-state treatment center can offer the perfect location to begin the process of building a whole new life – a return to one’s “authentic self.”²

4. Distance from Responsibilities

A drug addiction may seem like something that can be handled at first – that is, until the need for more drugs overwhelms all other aspects of a person’s life. Getting far away from one’s home stomping grounds can really help a person focus completely on recovery without the interference of outside responsibilities, such as work and family duties and obligations.

With in-patient or residential treatment, most aspects of the day are structured in a facility that allows people the chance to learn healthy habits and live around supportive people who know what it’s like to overcome addiction.

Living at a facility also gives a person more time to learn needed strategies for overcoming negative thinking patterns. After all, the goal of addiction treatment is to give a person the best chance at achieving a happy, healthy life, right? So if a special environment means a better opportunity to achieve success, isn’t that worth a little extra travel?²

Out-of-State Care: As Accessible as Your Phone

Everyone has unique needs when considering an addiction treatment program. The freedom to be open about all aspects of life is important, especially when past emotions and worries contribute to a substance use disorder. Addiction treatment programs that incorporate individual needs into all aspects of care – from day-to-day living to counseling groups – better meet the psychological and physical needs of a person in treatment.

If you or a loved one is looking for a program that specializes in addiction treatment services, please call our 24/7 toll-free line. When you call, various treatment options tailored to your special needs will be presented in a friendly, supportive way – indicative of all our services. We can…because we care.

¹ “Drug Addiction: Complications”, Mayo Clinic, http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/drug-addiction/basics/complications/con-20020970 , (December 5, 2014).

² “Conditioned Responses to Drug-Related Stimuli: Is Context Crucial?” National Center for Biotechnology Information, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7549777 , (August 1995).