Six years ago, I was a drug addict. I was using a lot of different things, and I had been using for a little over 10 years. My family decided it would be a good idea for me to go to rehab. I couldn't disagree, and I actually was sick of the life I was living, so I went. It was this 28 day 12 step program where I shared a room the size of my closet with someone and my daily drug treatment came in the form of a large group meeting and some medication. We talked about our feelings and shared war stories and before I knew it, I was back home. Nothing had changed, only now I had this new drug that I added to my plethora of other drugs--only this one, I was allowed to have.

We tried another one with a fancier name, and then another one that was 30 days instead of 28. In short, the lesson I learned is this: Short term 12 Step rehab is a joke.

Long term treatment (inpatient, of course) in a facility that cared more about my future than to just give me a new/different medication is what turned my life around. No group therapy--all individualized treatment programs. No drugs--instead, only natural and holistic physical treatments. As a former addict I can tell you that going to rehab is not fun for anyone--but for me it was made slightly better when I wasn't classified into a group and medicated like the rest only to get lost in the system. I began to succeed when I was looked at and talked to like a human being who made some bad choices, and who just needed some help undoing all my wrong turns.

Long term drug rehabs are always the way to go. Take my word for it.