First responders are in a league of their own, and it often takes a first responder to understand the needs of another first responder. If you’re in this field and have a problem with alcoholism, a first responder drug rehab program is where you should go to recover from this seemingly hopeless situation.

The first thing you should know is that you’re not the only one who is struggling with this issue, and that will be even more apparent when you enter the first responder drug rehab center. You’ll be surrounded by police officers, fire fighters, EMTs, & other emergency personnel who are in your field and understand exactly what you’re going through. Going to a Jacksonville FL drug rehab center is an excellent way to begin building peer support.

Going to Detox Before a First Responder Drug Rehab Center

As a first responder, you likely understand what detox is, at face value. Detox is the cleansing of alcohol and other substances from your body through abstinence from those substances and the resulting withdrawal. To help return good health to your body, mind and spirit, detoxification at Tides Edge, Beaches’ partner Jacksonville detox center provides proper diet, exercise and plenty of rest while you prepare for rehab.

At Beaches Recovery, we partner with first responders from the very beginning of their treatment, all the way through aftercare. Of course, detox is the first part of treatment and must occur before rehab can begin.

Trauma Therapy at a First Responder Drug Rehab Center

Being a first responder can be traumatic on almost a daily basis. As a first responder, you are exposed to things that many people never see or experience in their lifetime. These experiences can be both physically and psychologically overwhelming.

There are several main types of trauma for which trauma therapy is provided at Beaches, as part of the first responder drug rehab program. Those main types of trauma include:

  • Impersonal trauma, as a result of natural disasters, accidents and other misfortune
  • Interpersonal trauma, acts deliberately committed by humans as violence, neglect, assault or abuse
  • Identity trauma, committed on people because of their gender, sexual identity, race, ethnicity or orientation
  • Community trauma, due to religious beliefs, political viewpoints or other belief system
  • Complex trauma, repeated or chronically recurring trauma

As a first responder, you have likely witnessed all of the above forms of trauma and may have carried residual effects from your experiences in those circumstances, as well as from traumatic events in your own personal life. You may even suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, as many people on the front lines of emergency management and in the armed forces do.

Despite working in specific career fields, some people are more susceptible to the effects of trauma and benefit from trauma therapy. Trauma therapy may heal existing wounds, or may be something that is beneficial as ongoing treatment even after completion of a program at a first responder drug rehab center.

How Trauma Therapy Works in Relation to Addiction Treatment

In a first responder drug rehab program, trauma therapy plays a significant role. Addiction is often closely tied to PTSD or other personal trauma. Many first responders turn to alcohol or other substances to self-medicate when experiencing the negative effects of exposure to traumatic events.

Symptoms of trauma often leading to drug and alcohol abuse include:

  • Anxiety
  • Fear
  • Insomnia
  • Irritability
  • Agitation
  • Concentration problems
  • Shame
  • Guilt
  • Self-blame

In order for anyone suffering from co-occurring trauma and addiction to recover, they must undergo trauma therapy to heal and have a real chance of maintaining sobriety.

In the Beaches Recovery first responder drug rehab program, trauma therapy is closely tied to other methods of alcohol treatment. As a first responder, your vulnerability to trauma is understood. Individualized treatment plans developed by a multidisciplinary team ensure you are treated in regard to the following aspects of your individual addiction:

  • Physical health
  • Mental health
  • Substances of use
  • Work exposure to trauma
  • Personal trauma

Trauma therapy at Beaches Recovery helps patients learn to manage symptoms of personal and occupational trauma without turning to alcohol. This trauma therapy helps patients develop the following life skills:

  • Establishment and maintenance of personal boundaries
  • Showing compassion to those you care about and yourself
  • Building healthier relationships
  • Communicating more openly
  • Coping with grief and loss
  • Maintaining wellness
  • Other life skills as needed

What Happens After the First Responder Drug Rehab Program?

Whether trauma therapy continues to be apart of your personal life, in your home community, can be determined through an individualized aftercare plan. Aftercare can be structured around 12-step programs in your local area, may involve sober living before returning to independent living, or can involve a recommendation of quality providers in your area who can continue trauma therapy and other therapies needed to ensure the best possible chance of long-term recovery. There are multiple aspects of aftercare available for first responders as they return to life at home and their work on the front lines of public safety.

Don’t Be Too Proud to Ask for Help

As a first responder, you’re used to being of service to others. You’ve been professionally trained to get through tough situations and help people who are in need. Unfortunately, the pride that comes along with being a first responder can keep people in your field away from getting the help that they need.

It’s difficult for people who struggle with alcoholism to believe that they don’t have the willpower to overcome their problem. However, this is an issue that’s far beyond your control. The disease of addiction is powerful and potentially fatal, and one of the only ways to ensure your recovery is to get the professional help that’s available at a first responder drug rehab center.

How a First Responder Alcohol Treatment Center Can Help

While you’re at a first responder alcohol treatment center, the peer support from other first responders is crucial, but the education is important as well. In treatment, you’ll learn that being addicted to alcohol doesn’t make you a bad person. You’re suffering from an mental illness, but you’ll have the opportunity to get well when you’re willing to take the suggestions that are offered. When you work with an individual therapist, you’ll be able to meet in a safe place to discuss the possible origins of your addiction to alcohol and what’s been fueling your addiction. From here, you’ll begin to receive suggestions and potential solutions.

With all of the help available through this specific type of treatment center, you’ll gain the knowledge and tools that you need to return to work and avoid relapse in the future. Millions of first responders who were once in your same position were able to return to duty and live incredible lives free from alcohol addiction. You can too.

If you’re looking for a confidential first responder alcohol treatment center in Florida, look no further than Beaches Recovery in Jacksonville, FL. Call us today at 866.605.0532 to speak with a counselor today.