According to the California Health Care Foundation, 50% of Californians aged 12 years or older used alcohol within the past month. 9% of Californians also have a substance use disorder (SUD), but only 10% of these people seek treatment.
Are you or someone you love struggling with alcohol use disorder? A San Diego alcohol rehabilitation program can help you beat your addiction once and for all. But your success will depend on a number of factors.
For example, drug and alcohol success rates vary depending on how you define success. Is success completing the treatment program? Or does treatment success require complete abstinence for the rest of your lifetime?
In this guide, we will discuss the different ways clinicians and people struggling with SUDs define success after rehab for alcohol use disorder. Keep reading to learn more and find a treatment center near you.
How Do We Measure Success in Alcohol Rehabilitation?
The total number of people in the US who suffer from an alcohol use disorder (AUD) has gone up. From 2019 to 2020, rates of AUD deaths increased by nearly 25%. They went up again in 2021 by nearly 22%.
Luckily, we do not measure San Diego alcohol rehab success in terms of the entire population of people with AUDs. Instead, it is better to measure individual success. And here are three methods for doing just that.
Treatment Completion
One way to measure success is through treatment completion. Treatment completion is defined as going through all the steps in your rehabilitation program and getting discharged for completing that program.
Research shows that people who complete rehabilitation treatment for drugs and/or alcohol have a higher chance of remaining abstinent. Unfortunately, 42% of people who start an alcohol treatment program do not complete it.
Relapse Rates
Relapse is a medical term. It happens when someone who is in recovery for an alcohol or drug use disorder returns to pre-rehabilitation levels of alcohol or drug use. But notice that this definition does not mention abstinence.
Many people who attend rehab have the goal of abstaining from drugs or alcohol forever. For other people, the goal is to reduce consumption, not eliminate it entirely. AUD abstinence relapse rates are estimated at between 40% and 60%.
Remission Rates
As we mentioned, abstinence is not the only way to define success after the completion of the treatment program. Some people also set the goal of merely reducing the symptoms of AUD, including cravings and increased tolerance.
A rehab center may track program graduates’ success in reducing alcohol use. They do this via remission rates. In 2021, 25% of people in recovery for an AUD successfully reduced their alcohol intake for at least a year after rehab.
Aftercare Completion
Aftercare treatment compliance and completion are yet another way to define success after rehab. One of the most common aftercare recommendations for individuals with AUD is to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) program.
According to AA, 50% of its members report remaining abstinent from alcohol per year. At the same time, 25% of members relapse and return to AA. Unfortunately, 25% of members never complete their AA program.
Other Ways to Define Success After Rehab
The good news about AUD success rates is that you can define success however you want. Some other ways to define success after an alcohol addiction recovery treatment program include:
- Measuring your quality of life
- Improvement in your quality of relationships
- Increased functioning at work or in school
You will define what success looks like for you by setting goals. And the first step toward setting these recovery success goals is to enroll in an alcohol use disorder treatment program in San Diego.
How to Increase Your Chances of Success
If you want to use less alcohol in the future, your best chances of success are to seek treatment. People in treatment for alcohol addiction can decrease their use by as much as 70% compared to people who do not receive treatment.
If you wish to decrease your chances of relapse and/or remission after rehab, here are some additional tips.
Attend a Long-Term Inpatient Program
Program completion rates vary depending on the type of rehabilitation program an individual undergoes. Here is the completion rate breakdown for the majority of the types of programs available:
- 70.6% completion rate for in-hospital residential programs
- 61.8% completion rate for detox programs
- 54% completion rate for short-term residential programs
- 42.2% completion rate for medically-assisted opioid detox programs
- 43.8% completion rate for outpatient treatment programs
As you can see, long-term inpatient programs have higher completion rates than others. Enrolling in a hospital or inpatient residential program may be just what you need to boost your chances of success after rehab.
Complete Your Treatment Programs
People who complete inpatient alcohol treatment programs and adhere to aftercare recommendations may have a reduced risk of relapse and remission.
You can reduce your risk for relapse and remission even further by adhering to your program’s aftercare guidelines. Aftercare may include enrolling in a part-time outpatient program or, as mentioned, attending AA meetings.
The better you adhere to your rehab program and aftercare treatment plan, the better your chances of long-term recovery.
Searching for San Diego Alcohol Rehabilitation Centers?
Success after rehab depends on your goals. Whether you want to stay abstinent for life or cut back on your alcohol use, enrolling in a treatment program is the only way to get the help you need and recover on your terms.
Are you searching for ‘San Diego alcohol rehabilitation programs near me’? Apex Recovery San Diego rehab centers are here for you. Reach out to us today and finally get the help you need for your alcohol use disorder.