Entering Drug Rehab Without Ruining Your Professional Reputation
Entering Drug Rehab Without Ruining Your Professional Reputation
We all worry about what other people think, but when you’re suffering from an addiction to drugs or alcohol, the opinions of other people should be your last concern.
Millions of Americans avoid getting addiction treatment because they are afraid of losing their jobs or facing criticism at work. In many cases, these fears are unfounded. Most employers would rather help a valued employee into rehab than to hire and train a replacement.
“Most people have nothing but praise for substance users when they go into recovery – they understand that getting sober requires a heroic effort, If you give people a chance, they will often surprise you by being much more supportive than you ever dreamed.”
-Tanya Desloover, MA, CADC-II, and Marriage & Family Intern,
Many people who enter an rehab program are able to keep their jobs or find one even better suited to their talents and interests. On the other hand, research shows that people who continue to use drugs are more likely to become permanently unemployed. And, as Desloover warns,
“Substance users have so much more to lose than their careers. When you avoid getting treatment you put your relationships and your very life in jeopardy.”
-Tanya Desloover
Although career worries shouldn’t be your foremost concern, there are steps you can take to protect your professional reputation when entering drug rehab, such as choosing the right substance abuse treatment program. Here are a few features to look for when choosing a drug rehab facility:
Privacy and Confidentiality
One way to protect your professional reputation is to attend a drug rehab facility outside your home community. Clients can tell their employers that they are entering treatment for mental health or for a personal retreat – reasons that would both be true and protective of their privacy.
While privacy and confidentiality are the law at all drug treatment centers, some drug rehab programs specialize in creating an exclusive environment that is highly conducive to a discreet recovery. Choose a smaller, more intimate program that can create an intimate and private setting more ideal for executives and professionals.
No More Secrets
There is still a stigma attached to addiction, and people go to great lengths to keep their disease a secret. But an important part of recovery, and a running theme in AA, is rigorous honesty.
“The stress of trying to hold a career together and putting a different face on for the rest of the world can be paralyzing,” Once you get rid of the secrets, you feel as light as air.”
- says Desloover.
The reward for all of this honesty and hard work, reports Desloover, is that “Once an addict begins peeling away the layers and unburdening themselves, they can become absolutely unstoppable.”
Family Involvement
Addiction is a family disorder, and recovery is a family process.
“Every member of the family has learned behaviors in response to a loved one’s addiction, and every family member needs to get healthy again in order to restore function to the family system,”
- says Desloover.
Families are encouraged to participate in their own recovery, to learn about the disease of addiction and to get their eyes off each other and onto themselves.
According to Desloover, “Not only do addicts benefit from family therapy, but their parents, siblings, spouses and children also feel a sense of freedom and empowerment.”
The Company of Like-Minded People
According to Desloover, many high-functioning addicts are in denial. They think, “How can I be a drug addict? I’m not living under a bridge.” In treatment with like-minded people, patients realize that other people who are affluent and successful are also struggling with addiction, which makes them more likely to acknowledge that they too have a problem, and are able to work on their self-esteem, past traumas and other issues in a safe, healing setting under the guidance of expert clinicians who specialize in Substance Use Disorder.
An Opportunity to Reinvent Oneself
“Addicts are generally people who are highly intelligent and have a lot of potential, but who haven’t found healthy ways to manage their stress. They often have co-occurring disorders like anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, ADD and social phobias, all of which contribute to low self-esteem.”
-notes Desloover
As a result of low self-esteem, many addicts may have made safe choices that didn’t require much risk, but that also left little room to excel. They report using drugs or alcohol because they feel bored and unfulfilled, explains Desloover. After completing drug rehab, many women go back to school, begin new career paths and consider a whole new set of options.
“Going to treatment is an opportunity to completely reinvent themselves,. According to the Big Book of AA, recovering addicts have to take contrary action. For many, that means finding new careers and discovering their passions so that they can play full out in their lives.”
- Desloover says.
Ongoing Support While Transitioning Back Into the Community
Extended care programs and sober living houses offer structure, therapy and support while recovering addicts transition back into regular life. Patients generally work or attend school during the day and attend AA meetings and therapy sessions in the evenings.
It is true that drug rehab will require some time away from work. You may even need to quit your job and resume employment after completing a full course of treatment. Some people discover during rehab that the stress of their work, their workplace environment or some other factor was fueling their addiction, and they seek employment in an alternative field.
Whatever option you choose, you have many years ahead of you to enhance your professional reputation, if needed, and you have the freedom to do so without the damaging influence of drugs or alcohol.
Drug rehab is only a short period of time in the larger scheme of life, but it is an experience that brings hope and a world of new possibilities to recovering addicts. Even if rehab means taking a short break from your career, the doors that will open up to you will be well worth the sacrifice.