When we enter treatment or detox for substance use, the need to entirely remove ourselves from daily activities is a vital part of the detox treatment. However, as professional adults with both career and family responsibilities, not being able to contact or be contacted by those within our close circle of professional colleagues and family may prevent us from seeking treatment in the first place.
What is The Argument for Taking Your Phone into Treatment?
Running a business with sole or at least primary responsibility for its daily functioning, including financial matters, makes the notion of zero contact with the critical people in our professional circle seem like a non-starter. Being away from the helm can leave us vulnerable to mismanagement of funds and misrepresentation of the business, and social messaging, all of which can lead to potentially catastrophic consequences and even financial ruin.
We may feel stuck because we know withdrawing from our professional environment for treatment and rehabilitation may be the healthiest option. However, we also realize the need to keep up appearances and be fully engaged with our careers.
The Conflicts of Bringing Your Phone to Treatment
Recognizing this conflict, professional treatment and rehabilitation programs like those at Oceanfront Recovery in Laguna Beach often permit the use of cell phones and other smart electronic devices for their clients, along with tailored therapy sessions geared toward the professional’s life demands. However, no matter the policy, even when permitted to use our smart devices and cell phones, focusing exclusively on our recovery should take priority. It is important to remember we will encounter feelings and physical discomfort that we need to deal with and recover from during treatment. Part of that physical and emotional recovery will come in the form of rest, challenging to achieve when staring at our devices’ screens.
Although it is tempting, and in some cases, necessary to remain in touch with the outside world, being kind to ourselves and learning to make ourselves a priority is one of the most important things we can do during this phase of our life. Often, as professional adults, our career and the demands of a lifestyle that goes along with it can create the pressures that lead to our substance misuse. Depending on our social position, access to controlled substances may even be readily available through accessible contacts, and those contacts may even try calling during treatment!
What to Consider When Bringing a Phone
Working through treatment and rehabilitation, we are encouraged to become more mindful of our actions, thought processes, and behaviors. For example, as professionals, if we have been burning the candle at both ends and into the center, taking time away from those pressures can give us valuable insight into what really matters and what we think matters. It is when we step back that we have the clarity to make those decisions.
It is also difficult to develop coping strategies while continually clinging to your phone, waiting for a text, social media post, or a phone call. If your sole identity is derived from your professional title, continually monitoring your smart devices remains part of the problem, with the addiction’s underlying condition remaining unaddressed. Ultimately, it may help if you think about bringing your phone or electronic device into treatment as a compromise between the two worlds—your professional and personal life outside of treatment and your rehabilitative life. Placing your focus on rehabilitation will enable you to function in a healthier, less destructive way in your world.
During your stay at a treatment program for professionals, remember that your success depends on your ability to apply yourself to the program entirely and give full attention to the skills needed for your rehabilitative success and wellness.
Learning to Set Boundaries
You may want to consider boundaries before attending treatment and rehabilitation. While the professionals program at Oceanfront Recovery in Laguna Beach understands the need for electronic devices and cell phone usage, it is still a good idea to prioritize your wellness. We allow our clients in the professionals program to have their cell phones and computers at delegated times during the day because we recognize that it is important for the professional to be present and available for meetings, conference calls, and other forms of communication.
For example, you may wish to arrange a conference call during the day, but should be scheduling it around your treatment schedule and other important appointments for your recovery. Time spent in treatment is an opportunity to learn and grow from where you are right now. Taking that concentration and focus away from the moment is denying yourself the right to long term wellness.
Before entering treatment, decide how often you will check your emails and social media posts. You might limit yourself to fifteen minutes in the morning, fifteen minutes in the afternoon, and another fifteen minutes in the evening. You might decide to put your phone calls to voicemail, and then based on the urgency of the messages, deal with those accordingly. Regardless of what your needs are, the Oceanfront Recovery team will work with you to ensure that you can meet your professional obligations as you begin your recovery journey.
Oceanfront Recovery’s Policy
It is essential to understand that most patients seeking inpatient treatment and rehabilitation often do so to escape everyday distractions, which often bring the triggers or stressors that have enabled or caused the substance misuse. Oceanfront Recovery understands that professionals’ unique challenges can make disengaging from responsibilities problematic. For this reason, the professionals program allows for a greater degree of flexibility, understanding that contact may need to be made with the outside world.
However, it is still essential to realize that no matter what professional position you hold or your public reputation, addiction is a life-threatening illness with no magic cure. We need to place ourselves first and above professional demands that pale compared to the value our life brings to this world and how quickly it can end in an accidental overdose or other risky behavior.
Ultimately, it is your treatment to own, and purposeful use of your cell phone or electronic device can undoubtedly cut down or eliminate the stress of being away from the office or your professional life. However, setting boundaries over your usage of devices not only continues to set the stage of recovery but may allow you to re-balance and rethink the priorities in your life going forward.
The use of cellphones during treatment has both pros and cons. On the one hand, they can distract from the distance needed from the daily living activities and stressors that may have triggered either relapse or addiction in the first place. On the other hand, adults whose responsibilities lie with family and in professional careers may be more inclined to remain in treatment when communicating important messages and keeping tabs on family matters. Change your story. Change your life. Your safety and privacy are always protected. At Oceanfront Recovery, we are proud to offer various specialized services to facilitate individualized recovery and clinical detoxification for busy professionals and adults. Supporting your commitment to get clean, stay clean and discover healthy lifestyle alternatives, our modern, attractive facilities nestled in the laid-back community of Laguna Beach offer ample opportunity for you to restore your professional and family life. To learn more about entering treatment as a busy professional, call Oceanfront Recovery today at (877) 279-1777.
