Drugs possess life-saving powers. Used constructively, they can spread magic and make our beautiful planet disease-free. We are to blame if we misuse them.

Drug abuse or addiction is a slow process. To begin with, these substances seem to give the user much-needed relief from worries, and unusual pleasure. This is a sort of escapism from real-life challenges. Slowly but steadily, pleasure gives way to craving or desperation. Further, this becomes a permanent state of a persons mind, and by then he would have been completely enslaved by the drug. Lee Bickmore says, Comfort comes as a guest, lingers to become a host, and stays to enslave.

Drug treatments come in various packages and can be tailored to suit every patient. Most of the drug treatment centers offer the facility of inpatient, outpatient, or residential drug treatment centers. It is up to the patient to choose the most convenient and suitable for him or her.

Residential drug treatment centers require the patient to stay in the center for a specified period of time, which may be shortened or lengthened owing to the patients recovery.

Residential drug treatment programs are well designed and carried out in a phased manner. There are many advantages in undergoing a residential drug treatment program. First, the very surroundings of a residential drug treatment center are a welcome change for an addict. Indeed, there is no greater healer than Nature! The freshness and exuberance of Nature where the residential drug treatment center is located directly influences anyone, especially a patient. It rekindles the gentle human being within and encourages a patient to make sincere efforts to move away from drug addiction once and forever.

At the same time, a patient should feel at home in a residential drug treatment center. Only then will he react positively to the drug rehabilitation or recovery programs. He has to be constantly encouraged that all is not over for him. There will be light at the end of the tunnel. His entire trauma should be alleviated and he should be introduced to a new way of life.

A patient in a residential drug treatment center should not feel that he is staying away from home, in a secluded place. For this, he or she should be allowed to carry his mobile phone, computer, headphones, etc. so that he is able to live normally in the center. A drug treatment program should give the correct treatment at the correct time. Not only that, in a residential drug treatment center, there should be facilities for constantly monitoring a patient on a 24-7 basis.

When a patient leaves a residential drug treatment center, he or she should be a new person with a new lease of life, renewed energy, a positive attitude, and the determination to meet the challenges in life gamely. No more will he seek a drugs asylum during bad times. It seems like a rebirth for him. The best way to thank a residential drug treatment center is to ponder over this and act accordingly, The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials. (Lin Yutang)