Substance Abuse Stats in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, MA. It is located within the Boston metropolitan area and has a population of 113,000 people. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, around 15% of people over the age of 11 in the Boston metro use illicit drugs.
In the same population, more than 10 percent of the population lives with a substance use disorder. The national average is 9 percent, while the percentage of Massachusetts residents living with a SUD is 10.7. Binge drinking is prevalent in the Boston metro, with nearly a quarter of the surveyed population reporting having done so in the past year.
Choosing Between an Outpatient and Inpatient Rehab
One of the first and most important steps in the treatment process in Cambridge is choosing what type of care is right for you. Two of the primary options you will choose from are inpatient rehab and outpatient care. Of the two, outpatient care is less intensive.
Inpatient rehab in Cambridge involves living full-time in a substance abuse treatment facility where you will have access to care around-the-clock. Outpatient care, on the other hand, allows you to continue to go about your daily life—but you will attend treatment sessions for a number of hours per week. Choosing between the two comes down to personal treatment needs and budget.
How Long Can Treatment at a Rehab Last?
Treatment centers in Cambridge have many lengths of stay for you to choose from. Common program lengths at inpatient rehabs are between one month and three months. Certain individuals stay far longer, because their treatment needs are more intense.
Before leaving inpatient care, you should be stable enough in your sobriety to be able to live with some autonomy without relapsing. It is always best to choose a length of care that is on the longer side whenever possible, to give you ample time to stabilize and recover.
What to Expect at Rehab
Inpatient rehab in Cambridge is completely designed with the recovering addict in mind. Each treatment center operates differently, but the goal is always to help you regain control of your life and learn to live sober. All your triggers to abuse drugs and/or alcohol will be removed, and you can focus entirely on your recovery.
It is likely that you will follow a strict daily schedule at rehab. Your schedule will include elements such as a healthy diet, exercise, treatment sessions like therapy and group meetings, and supportive activities like art, yoga, writing, and meditation.
When Would You Need to Go to Detox?
Anyone who enters treatment after recently using needs to go to detox. If you still have drugs and/or alcohol in your system, you could be at risk for dangerous withdrawal symptoms. You can only begin treatment once this risk has passed. Detox provides a safe, controlled environment for you to go through any withdrawal symptoms.
In detox, a professional staff will monitor you 24/7 to ensure that you stay stable and as comfortable as possible. Medication is sometimes administered to aid in this process. Once you have completely stabilized, you can move on to treatment.
How Long is Detox?
Detox lengths vary from patient to patient. Generally, the process lasts for 3-10 days, but it entirely depends on what condition a patient enters detox in and how bad their withdrawal period is. Detox is not a treatment for substance abuse; it is a stepping stone to treatment that is necessary for many.
The length of detox will depend primarily on the length of withdrawal, but could also be impacted if a patient is physically and/or mentally unstable for another reason. A patient who is in the midst of a manic episode and at risk for hurting themselves or others, for example, would need to stabilize before moving into treatment.