The holiday celebrations sometimes help us reflect on our life, our self-destructing “habits” that have perhaps gotten out of control and taken over our life. A new year is also the perfect time to get help and change our life for the best. If you are dealing with substance abuse problems make the decision to take your life in a different direction, perhaps the guide you seek can be found in Costa Rica.

Whether it is alcohol, legal or illegal drugs, substance abuse will destroy your life and the lives of those that love you. Addiction continues to be a growing problem in the United States, and in 2016 and 2017 the life expectancy actually dropped in this country, something that hadn’t happen for more than fifty years, when the HIV/AIDS epidemic affected the US in the 1980-1990’s , the cause behind it? Illegal drug addiction and opioid addiction which is causing many deaths by overdose; just in 2016 a total of 63,000 people died due to drug overdose, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the USA, this number is 21% higher than the number registered in 2015 and three times higher than the number of deaths for this cause in 1999; in October 2017, President Donald Trump, declared the drug addiction crisis a public health emergency.

Although it may sound as a cliche, realizing that you are suffering from this illness, that you are not alone, and having the desire to change your situation are keys to beginning your recovery. It is important to act immediately when you make the decision to get help; trying to get better on your own is usually not effective.

According to Costa Rica Treatment Centre in Costa Rica, when seeking recovery from drug addiction a patient should evaluate different treatment options and centers since not every treatment works for everyone, but it is also important to consider that rehabilitation programs usually go beyond treating just the substance abuse, it involves comprehensive help and offers tools that give patients a much higher chance of success, it also allows to build a sober social network that provides the support needed to avoid a relapse.

Drug rehabilitation is a form of medical tourism, just as with many other dental or medical procedures, treatment in Costa Rica is more affordable and the country offers conditions that also promote a healthy lifestyle; being away from your comfort zone can also contribute to the process.

Costa Rica Treatment Centre, for example, is a rehab clinic that offers residential treatment or outpatient care; plans are available for 30, 60 and 90 days and include education about addiction and alcoholism, individual and group counseling, recovery skills, sober recreation, family program, behavior modification, relapse prevention planning, among many others.

Don’t let addiction take control of your life, make the change in this 2018.