Substance Abuse Stats in Lakewood, NJ
Lakewood is beloved for its commitment to Jewish culture and its booming Israeli population, but that’s not all that makes it notorious. These days, the war on drugs has reached Lakewood and the rest of Ocean County, where it’s located.
Some surprising substance abuse stats in the Lakewood area (specifically Ocean County in 2016) include:
- Over 5,000 people entered treatment for drug abuse
- Half of all people seeking treatment used heroin
- 27% of those in treatment used alcohol
- 70% of those in treatment had legal problems
While heroin and alcohol made up over two-thirds of all new treatment cases, cannabis accounted for 11% and cocaine made up another 3%.
Choosing Between an Outpatient and Inpatient Rehab
Inpatient and outpatient treatment each have their own places—and many patients end up using both at different points in their recovery.
- You should choose inpatient rehab if you need structure and predictability. It can be the right choice if you have complicated substance abuse disorder or an unstable living situation. It’s also the right choice if you’ve relapsed before.
- You should choose outpatient rehab if you are stable and looking to keep up with your current responsibilities. It’s common for patients to start with an inpatient stay and continue going to outpatient after that. Other patients start their journeys with outpatient.
How Long Can Treatment at a Rehab Last?
No single treatment length is right for everyone with substance abuse disorder. Your experiences are different from the next person who enters treatment—so the treatment length that works for you won’t necessarily work for that person.
However, research does show that 90-day rehabs are more effective than most.
You’ll probably see options for 30-day and 60-day rehabs as well, but any treatment length under 90 days is less effective.
If you want to make the most out of your rehab stay, commit to the longest stay possible—even longer than 90 days if you can.
What to Expect at Rehab
Every treatment experience is full of activities that keep you focused on what matters at the moment—treatment, recovery, and your new drug-free life.
That can include:
- Activities: Many programs include art, music, yoga, and animal therapy as part of your daily routine while you’re in treatment.
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy: CBT is the most common kind of therapy for drug abuse treatment because it challenges lines of thinking that lead to using drugs.
- Group therapy: Many people in recovery find that meeting other people who are facing the same challenges is empowering.
- Medication-assisted treatment: It’s not right for every patient, but MAT can help you overcome cravings.
When Would You Need to Go to Detox?
Your treatment center will ask you to attend detox if you are physically dependent on any drug. Physical dependence can derail your withdrawal, and most treatment centers aren’t equipped to help you with it.
When you’re dependent on a drug, you experience strong cravings and physical symptoms when you stop using it.
That’s why drug addiction is such a difficult problem to overcome. Detox uses tools such as symptom control and MAT to help you get through the hardest part.
Always detox from alcohol and benzodiazepines under medical supervision. Not doing so can lead to harm and death.
How Long is Detox?
Most residential facilities and hospitals offer detox programs that last seven to 14 days.
Some shorter detox programs last three to five days, including those for alcohol and hallucinogens.
Drugs have their own detox periods, so you can’t expect to detox from cocaine in the same amount of time as you’d take to detox from opioids.
At intake, your care team will use your drug abuse history to help you know what to expect from your own detox length. It’s important to spend enough time in detox before entering rehab, especially if you’re using medication-assisted treatment.