Day Zero — arrival

The day you walk in. What actually happens.

You arrive with a suitcase. The first hour is administrative. You hand over things. The list, in roughly the order it happens.

  • Phone Most clinics take it on arrival. Some allow a daily fifteen-minute window. Some return it at week two. You will be told. If the rule is no phone, the rule is no phone.
  • Laptop, tablet, smart watch Same rule, usually.
  • Money Most clinics will hold large sums in a safe. Petty cash for cigarettes, vending, taxis to outside meetings, is signed in and out. You will not need much. More on this on the money in the room.
  • Bank cards Some clinics take them. Some do not. You will be told.
  • Medication All medication, prescription and over-the-counter, is handed in. It is logged, dispensed by the nurse on a round, and returned at discharge. Including the paracetamol.
  • Mouthwash, perfume, hand sanitiser, vanilla extract Anything containing alcohol is taken. Including the items you forgot contain alcohol. They are not punishing you. They are removing the chemistry.
  • Razors, lighters, sharps Depends on the clinic and depends on your assessment. Some clinics keep them at the desk and sign them out. Some do not.
  • Food Most clinics do not allow food in rooms. You will be told.

The first hour is paperwork. Consent forms. The treatment contract. Emergency contacts. Next-of-kin authorisations. A medical history that you will fill in three times over the next forty-eight hours because every department needs its own copy. Read what you sign, and if you do not understand what you are signing, that is a question for a solicitor rather than for the desk handing it to you.

Then the medical assessment. Blood pressure, blood draws, sometimes an ECG, the CIWA scale or equivalent if you are pre-detox, a urine sample, a breathalyser. The doctor sees you. The nurse sees you. A counsellor sees you. By the end of day zero you will have told your story to three or four strangers in a row, in slightly different versions, while exhausted.

You will be shown your room. It will be smaller than you expected if it is a country estate, and larger than you expected if it is a city clinic. The bed will be made. There will probably be a Bible or equivalent on the side table. There will be a kettle, sometimes. There will be a window. There will not be a minibar.

You will be given a printed schedule for the week.

Then dinner.

The first dinner is the hardest meal you will eat in the four weeks. You do not know anyone. They all know each other. They are watching the door for the new person, the same way you will be watching the door next week. Sit. Eat. Say your name when asked. Go to bed early. Day one starts at seven.

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