Question: There is this non profit Buddhist meditation and mindfulness based rehab in Thailand where it only costs like 20$ a day and you can stay for as long as you like in this community of sustainable agriculture and meditation and overnight silence. It’s all in the mountains and jungles and it looks incredibly peaceful. I am a cocaine and alcohol addict. I can clean up for a while but I can’t stay clean. This program that I am talking about looks really god and I can actually afford it. I am thinking about dropping out of the world for a few months to live like a monk. My worry is that even if I can stay clean for 3 months in a meditation retreat in the jungle does this make it very likely that I will be able to stay clean once I am back here in Chicago?

Zelik Mintz Says...:

The retreat sounds like it could provide structured initial support for sobriety.  I do have some concerns that would be important to address to sustain sobriety once back in Chicago.  It may be necessary to detox from alcohol before attending the retreat unless the retreat provides detox to those who need it.  Upon returning to Chicago it would be vital in keeping sober to immediately have set up a program, either outpatient rehab or attending daily AA and/or Cocaine Anonymous meetings, to attend and get a sponsor.  Also, to address the issues that led to your self-medicating addiction, it would be advantageous to work through those issues with a psychotherapist. Although the retreat sounds wonderful, you will still be returning to Chicago with all your triggers.  Sustaining sobriety upon your returning to a vastly different environment will necessitate ongoing recovery support as well as addressing the internal conflicts that led your addiction.

Question: Is there any disadvantage to going to rehab on a tropical island or beach spa type place. We are picking a place for my sister and the costs are outrageous. Beyond this, many of the places seem to be selling themselves more like vacation resorts than places of treatment. I don’t want to be the Grinch of the family bit it seems to me that she has lacked responsibility her whole life and everyone has always just picked up the pieces for her so she never had to learn to do it herself. Now she’s really messing up so she’s getting sent to rehab, but instead of getting sent somewhere serious, we are all looking over places with massages and private chefs. Isn’t there an advantage to going to a place that isn’t like a vacation? It seems to me she should go to the Salvation Army or someplace similar, so at least she can start to face the consequences of what she has become. Am I correct? Is there something I am missing?

Zelik Mintz Says...:

Any rehab can be effective if the person who is dealing with addiction is committed to recovery.  Is your sister committed and ready for recovery or is she only ready if she goes to an inpatient rehab that resembles a luxury vacation?  If your sister only wants to stop using with the condition of pleasure and comfort, chances for recovery are slim. Rehab from addiction is neither easy or comfortable.  Addiction is self-medicating pain and recovery a very difficult struggle wherever rehab takes place.  If the motivation for recovery is not coming from the person dealing with the addiction, and the addict has conditions about what a rehab place provides, rather than being motivated by a commitment to stop using,  the focus is misguided and recovery not promising.

Why is your family looking for places with massages and private chefs?  Is that your sister's requirements or your discomfort with the serious and difficult road to sobriety for her?  Are there co-dependent and enabling issues in your family?  There is no guarantee whatsoever that the more comfort gotten or money spent on an inpatient rehab will be more effective.

At the same time, a place does not have to be uncomfortable or a punishment for addiction. And if yours sister is not ready to "face the consequences of what she has become" and do whatever it takes to achieve recovery, no rehab environment will be effective.