Substance Abuse Stats in Bensalem, PA
Like the rest of the Greater Philadelphia area and Bucks County, Bensalem Township is deep in a fight with opioid drugs.
Out of the 2,488 people who died from drug overdoses in Pennsylvania in 2014, over 8% were in Bensalem.
That year in Bensalem:
- Most overdoses were on opioid drugs, including Vicodin, Percocet, and heroin
- Most overdoses happened on Saturdays or Sundays
What else do you need to know about drug abuse in Bensalem? For starters:
- Bucks County discarded over 127,000 pounds of prescription drugs between 2010 and 2014
- Overdose deaths climbed every year until 2017 when they began dropping for the first time
Choosing Between an Outpatient and Inpatient Rehab
If recovery is on your agenda, then the first step is deciding between inpatient or outpatient rehabs in Bensalem.
The differences between the two include:
- Outpatient treatment lets you attend treatment on your own time while living at home and attending to your life and responsibilities. This is a good option for stable patients who have children to care for or jobs to get back to.
- Inpatient treatment provides intensive, live-in care in a structured, drug-free environment. This is the ideal solution for patients who need extra help and accountability while they’re in treatment.
How Long Can Treatment at a Rehab Last?
The length of your rehab treatment depends on a few factors, including:
- What drugs you’re recovering from
- How long you’ve been using
- How often you use
- Your health and mental health history
The first step of entering rehab is finding the right program length for you. Your care team will discuss this with you and help you make the right choice.
However, it’s important to remember that treatment is more effective when you commit to at least three months. Live-in treatment for less than 90 days is associated with a higher risk of relapse.
What to Expect at Rehab
No two treatment stays are exactly the same. Still, there are some common treatments for drug abuse that you might encounter during your stay.
They include:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy: CBT teaches you the ways your thought processes lead to drug use so you can alter them.
- Daily check-ins: Regular appointments are often combined with drug testing if your treatment is outpatient.
- Dialectical behavior therapy: DBT is popular in substance abuse treatment because it’s helpful for teaching how to live in the moment (rather than thinking about drugs).
- Medication-assisted treatment: Some drugs can be used to treat opioid and alcohol abuse disorders. These medications remove withdrawal and cravings.
When Would You Need to Go to Detox?
Rehab centers usually require that you go to detox before treatment if you have a physical dependency.
This is especially true if you’re dependent on alcohol or opioids. Alcohol detox can be dangerous and even cause death. Opioid detox isn’t dangerous, but it can make you very sick and uncomfortable.
Medical detox allows you to be comfortable and safe during this difficult part of recovery, setting yourself up for the best outcome possible.
If you’re not sure whether you should attend detox first, then you should check in with your care provider before beginning your rehab stay.
How Long is Detox?
The length of detox depends on the substance that you’re detoxing from, but most medical detox centers have a set program length.
This length can be anywhere from seven to 14 days depending on the program. For instance, an alcohol detox program may be shorter than an opioid detox program—simply because opioids take longer to leave your body.
If you’re not sure, it’s better to opt for a program that’s a little longer than you think you need. It’s common for detox to take longer or be more challenging than you expect.
Sources
- Penn Foundation: Preventing substance abuse in Bucks County
- Philadelphia Inquirer: Opioid statistics don’t tell the full story of progress, says Bucks County DA
- Psych Central: Differences between inpatient and outpatient treatment programs
- National Center for Bioinformatics: Intensive outpatient treatment and the continuum of care