When does "treatment" become enabling?

This is a serious question. I'm wondering, when does "treatment" become enabling?

Let's say you have drug or alcohol problems. If you've been to rehab over 3 times, does the "treatment" or facility start to become an enabler? Is it their responsibility to tell you to practice what you learned in previous stays, and not allow you back? If we as a society allow people to keep going in and out of treatment, is that hurting them more then helping?

When is it the person's responsibility to realize only I can help myself? I have to want to get better. I have the tools. It's my responsibility, and not a "counselor's"?

I'm asking this because I do know of someone who seems to be using inpatient rehab why to often (7 times in 2 years. Usually for at least 30 days). And I can't understand why they keep taking her back and not forcing her to stand on her own two feet, or at least telling her to check into a sober living facility and apply what they taught her over the years. It's time like this I think the whole treatment/mental health field is corrupt. If it's a disease treat it like a disease, or just tell people it's a choice, and you will only change when you want to. Good luck with that.

Sorry for such a long first, and probably last post.

Thanks

This is an interesting question. In what way is it enabling? Many people who suffer from addiction want to get better, they recognize it's a real problem, but if it was just a choice like should I wear my blue shirt or my red shirt, rehab/inpatient treatment centers wouldn't be necessary. The addiction becomes controlling... it begins to make the choices. It may seem silly to someone who doesn't suffer from addiction, but when you have it - often times it really has you. Its tough, and although there are many people who can do inpatient treatment and fight after successfully with outpatient, there are many people who can't. It is a long and difficult battle. So, I don't think there's a number assigned to a perrsons allotted admissions to rehab... as long as they're seeking treatment, be as supportive as you can

Unfortunately she needs to hit her bottom whatever that looks like. You can't force it. When you teach somebody you repeat it until they get it. That seems like what is going on here although it is a very expensive way to learn. A lot of people fall of the wagon a zillion times but aa will keep welcoming back every time.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Not sure what good it would do to not allow the drug user in your example back to the rehab facility. With addiction people can relapse and its probably much harder for them to stay clean than one would think.

Also I kind of disagree with the prospect of 'only I can help myself' because People can help people, sometimes people need help from others...I think this society is too focused on independence. Maybe that sounds stupid but what I mean is there is nothing wrong with people helping each other, but society is so caught up in every individual having to 'get ahead' or be better than the next person and be entirely self sufficient and even narsisstic and greedy about it. It seems like there is no focus on the community and how individuals can make it better as a whole...its just me me me. So I suppose its not so much the observation 'only I can help myself' that bothers me as sometimes that situation can arise but its the philosophy behind that phrase that just irritates me a bit.

Also depending on what problem someone has it may not be as simple as teaching them skills and expecting them to be able to apply them. For instance I'm on the autism spectrum so its hard for me to socialize...I have learned quite a bit about how to do so, but there are still a lot of things I simply can't apply...like i know typically people make eye contact and its seen as weird if you don't but I still can't make proper eye contact. So when you have some kind of mental problem which drug addiction is classified as it can still be hard to implement things you've learned. I mean what if someone ends up in the psych ward because they are suicidal, and they eventually get suicidal again and they are refused re-entry simply because they supposedly learned skills to deal with it the last time? Kind of an extreme example but the point is refusing people treatment on the grounds that they should have skills to overcome their problem probably would not work in the real world.

Also though when it comes to the person in your example, perhaps this facility is not teaching her the skills she needs or aren't doing a good job of it and she'd be better off looking into other facilities....Or maybe she needs more help than she's getting. I mean that does seem like a lot of time in rehab. But at the same time sometimes the goal in those places(I have only been in a psych ward but I have heard impatient drug rehab is quite simular) seems to be to get you out as soon as possible and that can sort of overshadow any treatment you get. places like that just want to stabalize someone till they are fairly safe and then send them back to their lives...maybe that is an issue in how such conditions are treated and people should be encouraged to stay longer till some of their issues are more resolved but that would also require more intensive individualized treatment in such facilities.

Not sure I believe in hitting the bottom. So many people have hit the bottom when they went to their graves.

If it takes several treatments to save someone's life, maybe it is worth it? Or should we think like If they die, that'll teach'em.

Yes, death could be bottom. Each visit is another seed planted though. Every time she listens to the same thing a little more may get through. Maybe a different speaker or just the repeated message will work. Thus bottom could be closer than it would be without treatment.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

@hellion, while I agree with people helping out, there d0es c0me a time when people have to do something for themselves. Being a recovering alcoholic myself, and coming from a long line of alcoholics & addicts--and having been married to an alcoholic--I learned from experience that, no matter how much you help a person, if they don't want to be sober, they won't do it. My late husband had all kinds of "help" from people who were trying to "get him sober," but he just didn't want it, and he died of a heart attack brought on by a combination of meth and a very high alcohol level. He took total advantage of people trying to "sober him up." On top of that, he was disabled so the state would pay for his detox. So he spent a lot of in rehab also, where people would take care of him.

@jimi....I see what you're saying; but people are gonna do what they're gonna do no matter what anyone else does. And yes, sometimes people do die from it. We can only do so much.

Well of course one has to want sobriety to get there....but wanting sobriety doesn't get rid of the addiction that is still something the individual has to fight through treatment and such. And sometimes attempts are unsuccessful and addicts relapse...so it really can be an ongoing battle.

Also though since a lot of people get addicted to drugs through self medication, I think those people probably need some kind of meds to help the problem they were self medicating...so being entirely 'drug free' may not be the best approach for all addicts. I personally think medicinal marijuana has a lot of potential for this because it could probably help with withdrawls and it can be use to treat conditions people self medicate. But as I said I like the idea of harm reduction for those who really can't go totally drug free. Also perhaps the idea of complete sobriety is intimidating to people with addictions so harm reduction may be a better place to start in moving towards sobriety.

One other thing is obviously people in general don't always have the skills to 'help' someone with a problem like addiction, so that is why we need treatment facilities with professionals who are trained to help.

@Hellion--the places you talk about where you can stay as long as needed to get help or more than the standard 28 or 30 day program, are usually private pay and very expensive. I know someone who went to a 90 day program minimum, it was $15,000 a month and insurance didn't pay for it. It would be good if insurances would pay for places like that, but insurance doesn't reimburse as much as cash money.

And as far as addicts needing medication, some people are self-medicating with drugs. They may struggle with depression or anxiety or bipolar disorder (as in the case of my friend). Their problems were treated with prescription medication as well as traditional rehab therapy. It is important to treat the root of the problem I think, wether that was a diagnosable psychaitric disorder or even coping with psychological issues such as past abuse.