Alcohol is a depressant that slows down the brain’s activity and makes it more difficult to control your mood and thoughts. If you or a loved one are struggling with alcohol use disorder (AUD), consider going through alcohol detox at one of the Soba Recovery Centers.
The first step of treating your alcoholism is going through alcohol detox, which flushes all of the alcohol out of your system.
What Is Alcohol Detoxification?
Alcohol detoxification is a natural process when you stop consuming alcohol and let it flush out of your body. When you’ve been consuming large amounts of alcohol for long periods, alcohol detoxification can take longer, and there can be more side effects. Everyone experiences the effects of detox in different ways, so not all people will feel the same during detox.
What Happens During Detox?
Alcohol detoxification is the first step in getting the proper treatment for alcohol use disorder. You can detox at both in-patient and out-patient facilities. If you’re a heavier alcohol user, you should consider coming for in-patient meets so that you can be monitored, medically assisted, and supported during this challenging time. The process that your body goes through during alcohol detoxification can cause mild to severe effects.
After 6 to 8 Hours
Between 6-8 hours after you’ve had your last drink, you’ll begin feeling mild symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. During this time period, you may experience:
- Anxiety
- Body Tremors and Shakiness
- Nausea and Vomiting
- Profuse Sweating
- Hallucinations
- Heart Failure
After 12 to 24 Hours
The next stage of alcohol withdrawal is more severe than the first. At this point, the symptoms from the first stage have begun to let up, but you’ll begin to experience even more uncomfortable symptoms. At this point, you’ll experience:
- Fever and sweating
- Confusion and irritability
- High blood pressure
- Irregular heartbeat
Experiencing symptoms like this while alone can add an entirely different level of anxiety. Your body will be craving alcohol, and if you’re alone, feeling the intense pain and discomfort from being without can push you to use again. When you’re in a controlled environment where you can be cared for, it can be easier to go through the detoxification process.
After 48 to 72 Hours
The last stage of alcohol withdrawal is the most severe. This stage is especially severe because the side effects you might experience can be brought on without much warning. The most severe side effect is delirium tremens (DTS), which can be shaking, hallucinations, and high blood pressure that could be fatal. When you are monitored during your alcohol detoxification, these symptoms can be managed.
Other side effects of this stage are:
- Fever
- Seizures
- Agitation and confusion
Having someone with you can make the experience less daunting, which is why support is always essential during detoxification. For your safety, attending a professional treatment facility, such as Soba Recovery Center, is an excellent way for you to begin the detoxification process safely.
Effects of Abstaining from Alcohol
The detoxification process doesn’t end after the first few days of quitting alcohol. Your brain has to recuperate from the extensive use and regulate itself so that it can begin functioning normally again.
Once you’ve gone through the initial withdrawal symptoms, choosing not to take another drink will bring different kinds of symptoms to the forefront. It’s a tough decision to actively choose not to drink when friends, family, and coworkers make it such a normal part of their lives. When you decide to abstain from alcohol, you may experience:
- Anxiety and depression
- Restlessness and insomnia
- Intense mood swings
- High irritability
- No appetite
Your body and your loved ones thank you each day you choose not to drink alcohol. Finding support, whether through groups like Alcoholics Anonymous or within your community, will be critical in your success with detoxing from alcohol. Find people who want to support your journey and make it as easy as possible for you to succeed.
Why Can’t I Just Quit Cold Turkey?
While quitting cold turkey may seem like it’s the easiest way to end your alcohol-use disorder, it may not be the safest way for you to go about it. Quitting cold turkey means that you remove the substance entirely from your life and aim to simply not use it again. It’s understandable to think that cutting off the drug and the people associated with it would help when you’re having a difficult time with your alcohol use disorder. But there are risks associated with quitting abruptly.
The Risks of Quitting Cold Turkey
First and foremost, when you quit cold turkey, you put yourself at risk of overdosing if you relapse. When you wean yourself off of alcohol, you slowly allow your body to try to recuperate and learn to live with less. Quitting and not looking back can cause seizures, heart complications, and hallucinations. You will begin to feel very ill for several days when you try to quit without any digression.
If you relapse and start drinking again, your body can experience a different kind of shock to the system as it re-enters and begins to influence the functioning of your brain again.
How Long Will It Take To Detox?
Every person is different, as is everyone’s relationship with alcohol. You can begin to feel alcohol withdrawal symptoms as soon as two hours after your last drink, and it can take up to a week for your body to rid your system of all alcohol toxins. There is no exact timeline of when you’ll start to feel better after your detoxification process ends. The process may take a lot longer for heavy users, and some side effects such as depression and anxiety might linger.
After the detox process ends, it’s not necessarily over. You have to wake up every day and choose not to drink. In many ways, the healing process never ends. Luckily, with support and confidence, you can be successful in staying away from drinking alcohol.
Dangers of Detoxing Alone
Many things make detoxing alone dangerous for those who are suffering. It’s important to understand why coming into a treatment facility will be the safest option for you. This process is already hard, and if you’ve decided to make this change in your life, you deserve all the support you can get.
Many complications arise during detox, like nausea, vomiting, heart palpitations, and hallucinations. Having to go through these symptoms alone can intensify your anxiety. It might feel like your world is ending as your body craves alcohol, and sometimes these tough symptoms can lead to a person giving in and using alcohol to end the suffering.
If you’re alone, you cannot be helped if you begin to go into heart failure or have a seizure. Having someone medically trained to help you through the process should ease your anxiety and help you feel more confident as you are going in. You have to be prepared for the potential excruciating pain from detoxification, but you also have to realize that you are taking a huge step in the right direction for yourself and your loved ones.
The Emotional Part
When going through a detox and withdrawal symptoms, your emotions will be all over the place. You might feel euphoric one moment for not drinking and then desperate and angry the next. If you or a loved one are someone who uses alcohol to numb the emotional pain or trauma that you’ve had to undergo, then it is imperative to have a network of support behind you to support you both physically and emotionally.
Soba Recovery Centers offer group therapy which is a great way to check how things impact you emotionally. Having others who are used to similar emotions can be very impactful. Knowing you are not alone may seem cliché, but it’s true! Support is critical during this period.
The Possibility of Relapse
During the detox period, it’s common for people to relapse and start using again. The detoxification period is highly stressful and painful, and it can lead to extreme emotional distress and physical illness. While the relapse rates for those in recovery are already high, between 40 and 60%, when you try to detox alone, the numbers are even higher because there is a lack of support from people telling you to keep pushing onwards. Not to mention you have to deal with the pain of withdrawal on your own.
We here at Soba Recovery highly recommend that if you are going through the detoxification process, you come into our facility so that we can help to keep you safe and get you back to feeling like yourself.
Detox with Soba Recovery
Soba Recovery Centers offer several different programs to help you throughout your detoxification process. Not only do we offer a detoxification program to help you through the first few weeks of abstaining from alcohol, but we also offer intensive outpatient care, residential inpatient, partial hospitalization, and sober living. We want you to succeed and be alcohol-free, and we have the right program for each individual’s personal needs.
At Soba Recovery, we make sure you’re getting what you need to improve your health. Detox is often the first step, and it can be the most difficult. Knowing that your future will be alcohol-free can evoke mixed emotions, but knowing that getting your life back means you get to take part in the life you’ve been missing out on because of alcohol. You get to meet more people and maintain long-lasting relationships when alcohol is taken out of the equation. You can focus on being yourself again after detoxification. While it’s not the last step towards recovery, it opens the doors to possibilities you might not have deemed possible while struggling with alcohol use disorder.
Benefits of Soba Recovery’s Detox Program
At Soba, we make sure that our approach to care is completely individualized to get the proper treatment for your specific needs. We offer around-the-clock care and support so that you don’t have to go through a single step of it alone. Our detoxification program helps you to create a plan. Our staff knows how important it is to create a plan during detox so you can prepare for life afterward. Many temptations can lead you back to alcohol, so having support from trained professionals can give you that extra boost of confidence in your recovery journey.
After The Detoxification Process
Once you’ve gone through the detoxification process entirely, you might be wondering what comes next. Detoxification helps your body to recuperate and return to functioning normally. You’ve given your body some time to cleanse itself of the harmful toxins that alcohol can bring to you, but your addiction has not disappeared. Addiction doesn’t just go away, so the aftercare you do to ensure that you stay sober must be taken just as seriously as your detox.
Soba offers a variety of continuation programs to help you succeed in staying sober. Soba provides counseling and support from professionals to help you navigate your way through sobriety. There’s a plan created for you to stay on track and know where to go when you need help.
We offer sober living for those who are not comfortable going back to their homes. Sometimes this is because their home life does not nurture a life of sobriety but instead facilitates bad decisions. When you can stay with us in our sober living facilities, you’re surrounded by others who want the same thing as you do.
If you’re going to leave the facility and go home, you should make sure you surround yourself with positive support and network with others going through the same thing. It’s essential to work towards maintaining healthy relationships so that you can continue thriving.
In Summary
If you think that you could benefit from entering a detoxification program, you will. If you are serious about getting better or even unsure but willing, the best thing to do for yourself is to get involved with a local detoxification program. Soba Recovery Centers are located in Mesa, AZ, and San Antonia, TX, and are here to help.
Call today to talk with a member of our team to learn more about the detoxification process that Soba offers. We can discuss the most effective treatment plan for you and ensure the steps you take after detox lead you down the path to sober living. While it can be scary to take the first step, just know that you’ve got this. We’re here to help!
Sources:
Delirium Tremens – StatPearls | NCBI Bookshelf