These changes directly affect the brain's chemical reward system, judgment, and impulse control. An addict is forced to use more and more often because their brain tells them drugs are the only thing that can make them feel good. After many years of sustained use, drugs are needed just to feel normal.

If you or your loved one has had one or multiple attempts at treatment, and have been discharged, or told that you are stable and ready for the next phase of treatment, you may be frustrated by the fact that treatment has never been completed.

The seven to ten day stay in treatment is woefully inadequate; not only to address the myriad of psychosocial problems that has been created by the disease, but that most people suffered from post-acute withdrawal syndrome.

A leading expert on relapse prevention reports the presence of brain dysfunction in 75-95% of recovering addicts; the symptoms of this syndrome appear seven to fourteen days after the initiation of abstinence.

That means many people are discharged as the secondary set of symptoms are just starting. We believe that this sets people up for failure. Inability to think clearly, emotional reactions and sensitivity to stress are three major symptoms of post-acute withdrawal. When you send someone home who is not ready to handle stress properly and expect them to stay clean and sober, is setting that person up for failure. We strongly believe that thirty days of treatment, in a less stressful environment, builds a solid foundation and gives patients an opportunity to actually achieve long term success in staying sober. We advocate strenuously with your insurer, and negotiate treatment issues to insure that you are allowed at a minimum a 30-day stay.