Substance Abuse Stats in Jersey City, NJ
Jersey City is the hardest-hit area for substance abuse in Hudson County with 2,373 treatment admissions for drug and alcohol abuse in 2017–nearly four times as many cases as nearby Bayonette City.
More substance abuse stats in Jersey City and Hudson County include:
- 69% of people in treatment were male in 2017
- 55% of people leaving treatment reported they were now alcohol- and drug-free in 2017
- 54% of people in treatment had a co-occurring mental disorder in 2017
- 36% of all treatment admissions were for heroin in 2017
- 18% of all treatment admissions were for intravenous (IV) drugs in 2017
Choosing Between an Outpatient and Inpatient Rehab
If you’re looking into drug treatment in Jersey City, your first question should be: Is inpatient or outpatient rehab better?
It’s not that one option is better than the other. Rather, inpatient is right for some patients, and outpatient is right for others.
Here’s a look at the differences between outpatient and inpatient rehab:
- Outpatient rehab lets you go to treatment on your own time while living at home, working, and attending to responsibilities.
- Inpatient rehab offers a structured live-in environment so you can focus on recovery without distractions.
Many patients start their recovery with an inpatient stay and switch to outpatient once they have more stability.
How Long Can Treatment at a Rehab Last?
Rehab treatment lengths come in a few standard packages, including the 30-day rehab, 60-day rehab, and 90-day rehab.
It’s common for patients to start with 30-day rehab and increase the length if it doesn’t work the first time—but science supports 90-day rehab as the minimum treatment length for substance abuse.
That’s because it takes time to rewire the brain connections that are changed by substance abuse, and 60 days simply isn’t long enough.
The longer you can stay, the better the chances that rehab will work for you the first time. Some patients keep attending outpatient rehab indefinitely.
What to Expect at Rehab
Many treatment centers use a few common strategies that are effective for treating substance abuse.
They can include:
- Activity therapy: Daily activities such as journaling, yoga, and art can play a role in recovery.
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy: CBT is the most popular kind of talk therapy for substance abuse.
- Daily check-ins: Regular check-ins give you the opportunity to ask questions about your care.
- Dialectical behavior therapy: DBT helps you learn mindfulness, a skill that’s popular in the recovery community.
- Medication-assisted treatment: MAT is the use of drugs to treat cravings and withdrawal from opioids or alcohol.
When Would You Need to Go to Detox?
Your first stop should be detox before rehab if you:
- Abuse alcohol: The detox period from alcohol is intense and sometimes dangerous. Detoxing from alcohol without help has been known to cause death in some cases, usually from seizures or coma.
- Abuse opioids: Opioids have an intense detox period too, although it’s not usually dangerous to your health. Opioid detox can cause severe nausea and diarrhea, fever, mood changes, sweating, and pain.
- Have a physical dependence: If you’re addicted to any drug, then you should attend detox before rehab.
How Long is Detox?
Many hospitals and inpatient centers offer detox programs that last seven to 14 days.
The right length depends on:
- The drugs you use
- Your health
- Whether you’re using medication-assisted treatment
If you’re stuck between a short detox and a long detox program, it’s always better to choose the longest detox program you can commit to. The extra support comes in handy during one of the most vulnerable times in your life.
There’s not much you can do to speed up the detox process, but people who are healthy and have fast metabolisms may detox faster.