Substance use and abuse has been a significant problem in the military that leads to suicide, violence, and mental disorders. Each year thousands of people seek help in Indiana drug treatment centers to overcome drug and alcohol addiction. The loss of productivity and suicide death rates among the nation’s active-duty personnel outpaces the number of those dying in battle.

In this article, we will look into the top 5 reasons why drug treatment fails in the military and why drug abuse is prevalent among the people in uniform. 

Many people will go in and out of rehab centers before gaining the tools to stay sober and move past their addiction. Most treatment facilities adopt the 12 step program that lasts 28 days.

However, drug abusers who have come out of a treatment facility agree that 28 days is not enough to treat addiction, especially for that suffering heroin dependency. For this reason, a long-term treatment program would offer a great benefit to those with serious addiction problems.

Many addicts who have used treatment facilities near them reported having bad days and struggle with emotional turmoil. Recovering addicts who have used inpatient and outpatient treatment may end up quitting early or relapsing. 

Secure rehab centers that are far away from an addict’s hometown are very useful in helping the addict recover faster.

Some treatment centers do not offer one-on-one counseling to help the addict deal with the underlying issues. Addicts who have abused hard drugs often suffer emotional trouble and stigma. While most facilities will offer group therapies, rarely will they have personal interaction time with patients. 

In addition to this, a recovering abuser may need to confide specific private information to someone he can trust. Therefore group therapies become less effective in combating emotional turbulence, anxious thoughts, and fear.

One of the biggest pitfalls to an addict who is getting out of a treatment facility is – lack of an exit plan. There are many effective alternative non-traditional therapies that a recovering addict can utilize together with the conventional methods.

Some of these methods include:

• Acupuncture

• Yoga

• Biochemical restoration 

• Neurofeedback 

• Sound therapy 

• Meditation 

• Ropes cause 

• Experimental treatment with psychedelic drugs and many others

A solid exit plan that focuses on what the addict will do every day will be extremely beneficial in achieving recovery success and inhibiting a relapse.

Addiction is more of a chronic disorder with remissions and relapses. Unfortunately, short term treatments aren’t able to adequately address substance abuse effectively unless followed by outpatient, long-term programs (months or years) and supported by a 12-step program.

In addition to these, some medications help reduce cravings and also increase the probability that an addict will not relapse — other drugs such as methadone help to stabilize the addict and permit normal functioning.