How Drug Addiction Treatment Will Affect Your Career

Drug addiction treatment can have dramatic effects on patients’ professional lives. Taking time off for rehab may seem costly in the short term, but drug addiction treatment is often the best way for people to become happier and more productive in their work lives. Clinical rehabilitation can also help people deal with the stress and frustration that accompany even the most successful and fulfilling careers. Overall, working professionals with drug problems must make informed decisions about seeking help. It is crucial that they understand the many ways in which drug addiction treatment can affect their careers – for better or worse.

Increasing Productivity

Addicts are sometimes able to manage their drug problems – but only to a certain degree. Alcoholics may drink in private and control drunken behaviors, while those who abuse prescription opiates may be able to function while high. Still, people who abuse these drugs can never be as productive as they are while sober.

Drug addiction treatment allows workers to avoid getting drunk or high altogether. When they return to their jobs, they can devote their full attention to their tasks. They don’t have to worry about when they will use next – or who might find out.

Taking Time Off

People with severe addictions must typically undergo residential inpatient treatment. These programs require one to three months of full-time clinical living, along with fifty hours of therapies per week. Most working addicts will therefore have to take leaves of absence in order to get better.

However, busy people should not look at this time off as a negative. Though clinical addiction treatment may set their careers back in the short term, they will become far more able to handle heavy workloads and increased responsibilities. Rehab may actually be the only way for some people to advance in the workplace.

Better Stress Management

Even those who love their jobs experience work-related stress – a common cause of addictive behaviors. People who attend drug rehab learn a variety of strategies for dealing with stress and avoiding the cravings it can easily cause. Working addicts can return to their jobs armed with a variety of methods for dealing with minor frustrations and traumatic events. Instead of succumbing to cravings, they can productively respond to difficult situations.

Protecting Your Job

Drugs are not only detrimental to productivity – they can destroy job security and future prospects. Possession of most illegal drugs can be charged as a felony, and even legal narcotics can bring drastic consequences when used illicitly. It is crucial for people with careers to attend drug addiction treatment before they get caught by their bosses or by law enforcement.

Making Tough Decisions

While clinical rehabilitation can save some careers, it can spell the end for others. Addicts with stressful workplaces must often relinquish responsibilities or find new employment to avoid uncontrollable cravings. Others will not be able to attend clinical rehabilitation without losing their jobs.

Ultimately, people must decide what is truly important in their lives. No job is worth the continuance of an active addiction. In addition to money, careers should provide fulfillment, happiness, and a sense of purpose – but none of these are possible while struggling with drugs or alcohol.

If you have an addiction of your own, there is no time to waste. Pick up the phone and call the number at the top of your screen now to speak with one of our compassionate addiction specialists. We are standing by day and night to get you started on a drug addiction treatment program that will have you enjoying your life on your own terms – and sooner than you might think. Take action now.