The best time to get treatment for substance use or mental health issues is right now. Yes, there’s a lot of uncertainty in the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but life is even more challenging if you fear drugs or alcohol negatively impact your health, behaviors, and the people you love.

Your Recovery Is Essential

Just like hospitals, inpatient treatment centers are considered essential businesses that need to remain open for the sake of public wellbeing, even during “stay-at-home” orders. They’re also required to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocols for maintaining clean facilities and restricting visitation to reduce spread of the contagion.

So if you’ve wondered if you can still get treatment during COVID-19, the answer is yes. Here are some reasons why you shouldn’t hesitate.

How Are You Handling Things Right Now?

Although most of us have practiced safe social distancing as to not expose others or be exposed ourselves, staying sequestered at home might make it even more difficult to handle everything that’s happening. External factors are major stressors that often trigger some of our deepest emotions—and if the non-harmful methods we usually rely on to stabilize ourselves, these factors erode our ability to reduce stress and handle challenges more effectively.

Trauma is one of many reasons why people struggle with mental health issues or addiction. They may have never uncovered the primary causes for their troubles, and choose substances to blur the edges off their pain. The residual impact of trauma affects our personalities, moods, relationships, and functioning. Other forms of psychological chaos, like what all of us are dealing with now, is a form of trauma for some people, and adds even more pressure.

Kathleen Parrish, Cottonwood’s senior director of clinical operations and community outreach, recently shared her thoughts about coping during stressful times. She says, “Trauma is a highly individualized experience, and we cannot know how others may be experiencing these current events. We cannot assume that those around us are coping. Instead, we must ask, we must connect, we must acknowledge, and we must support those whose infrastructures are at risk of collapse.”

So answer these questions:

• Are you choosing drugs or alcohol instead of positive wellness actions?
• Are you aware that your substance use is increasing due to job loss, family pressure, financial uncertainty, and other stress factors?
• Are you binge drinking?
• Do you find that being home is only compounding challenges to your mental or emotional health?
• Do you have a history of trauma, grief, or generational addiction problems?
• Are your relationships strained to the point of continual arguments or fear of safety?
• Were you thinking that you needed to talk to someone about substance or alcohol use even before the pandemic occurred?
• Have you tried online support groups but feel they’re not enough?

Even if you have a couple of “yes” responses, it might be time to consider talking with a professional to evaluate your behaviors.

Choosing Rehabilitation Treatment During COVID-19

Making the decision to pursue treatment during COVID-19 is courageous, and while you don’t have to wait for the perfect moment to go into rehab, you should do some research beforehand.

First, consider the advantages of integrated treatment. You aren’t broken; thus, you don’t need to be fixed. But you deserve personalized, holistic, whole person care to improve your wellness. If you’re diagnosed with substance use disorder, it not only affects the body, but also the mind and the spirit. On the journey to recovery, it’s not enough to simply remove someone from an unhealthy environment—medical experts must determine how and assist each person to heal from within. A certified and accredited rehab center should be able to provide comprehensive physical, psychological, emotional, nutritional, and spiritual care to ensure you experience lasting wellness.

Next, you have a right to ask every question you can think of to assure you’ll receive the best treatment available. Here are some examples to start your list:

• How is my condition assessed?
• How is individualized treatment developed?
• What onsite medical care is available?
• What forms of therapy are provided?
• Are there qualified professionals on the clinical team, such as board-certified psychiatrists and addictionologists; psychologists and licensed professional counselors, social workers, and mental health workers; psychiatric nurse practitioners; clinicians and nurses; family and marriage therapists; registered dieticians; and other holistic care providers?
• Is the facility able to treat mood disorders, process disorders, and co-occurring disorders?
• Are there special programs for trauma and grief?

You may have more specific questions and that’s good. Treatment should address all your needs.

Finally, a facility should be fully transparent regarding rates based on length of stay, foundational costs vs. additional service fees, what insurance plans are accepted and what they cover at the center, and costs for further treatment after departure and relapse prevention services.

Learn about Cottonwood Tucson’s holistic approach to inpatient rehabilitation and how it can help you.

Start Recovery Today

There’s no need to fear the coronavirus, and there’s no need to wait to get the treatment you deserve. If you are in need of treatment during COVID-19, we can help. All it takes is one call to the compassionate staff of the Cottonwood admissions office to change your life for the better. We’re here for you.