Alcohol
Alcohol can have a wide range of effects on people’s brains, bodies, and behavior. Alcohol affects everyone differently depending on if you’re an occasional drinker or an alcoholic. However, it’s much more of a problem for the people who drink more often. They need alcohol detox to get rid of this addiction.
Despite being a legal drug, or the most socially acceptable drug, alcohol is ironically the most dangerous drug you can use. According to statistics provided by the Government Center for Disease Control (CDC), “Excessive alcohol use is responsible for more than 95,000 deaths in the United States each year”
Identifying Alcoholism
Alcoholism, now more commonly known as Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), is when someone has a psychological and physical need to drink alcohol, despite adverse effects on their life – leading many people around the world each year into harmful patterns of drinking that can quickly turn deadly.
If you’re addicted to alcohol, it can feel like there is no way out. Your thoughts of drinking become the focal point in your life and you begin to lose control of your own actions.
Symptoms of Alcohol Use Disorder
- Drinking secretively or alone
- Can’t stop drinking once you start
- Activities revolve around being able to drink
- Loss of interest in things you once enjoyed
- Cravings or intense urges to drink at random times
- Feeling irritable when you can’t drink
- Developing a tolerance and needing more alcohol the feel the effects
Alcohol Dependence
Alcohol dependence can be hard to diagnose because there are many symptoms that overlap with other conditions such as depression and anxiety. However, if you have been diagnosed with alcohol-based addiction it means your brain has adapted over time by changing chemicals in response to its use.
Dependence can change levels in the chemicals that control voluntary actions, so if you’ve been drinking long-term you won’t be able to stop regular drinking without experiencing withdrawal symptoms.
Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms
Alcohol dependence withdrawal symptoms can range from mildly intense to life-threatening. The longevity and severity of your alcohol use disorder (AUD) play a role in the types of severe physical reactions you will experience during detoxification, as well as how quickly you’ll experience them.
Alcohol withdrawal symptoms include:
- Anxiety
- Nausea
- Insomnia
- Head Ache
- Muscle Aches
- Irritability
- Depression
- Tremors
- Seizures
- Disorientation
- Heart Failure
- Delirium Tremens
Delirium
Delirium tremens or DT’s can be a life-threatening condition that develops after the individual stops drinking. The symptoms of these withdrawals include shaking and confusion along with high blood pressure, fever, and hallucinations among others.
In some cases, delirium tremens may not start until five days after your last drink so it’s important to be aware if this starts to happen in order to successfully avoid potentially fatal consequences.
Alcohol Use Disorder Treatment
When it comes to addiction, the desire for recovery is what ultimately drives you forward. No matter which rehabilitation center or treatment option that one chooses in order achieve sobriety; they must have enough willpower and motivation with them at all times during their stay there if they want any chance of success long term.
Detox
As alcohol is one of the most dangerous drugs to detox from, since you face potentially fatal withdrawal symptoms, it’s crucial to use an addiction treatment facility like The Right Time Recovery for medically assisted alcohol detox.
Alcohol detox is a medical procedure that helps people overcome physical and psychological dependence on alcohol. It combines medicines, counseling, as well other supportive measures such as nutrition to help heal their bodies from the damage caused by drinking, while also managing immediate withdrawal symptoms in order to achieve an alcohol-free state or manage any coexisting conditions like mental illness during this process.
Detoxing is the first step in treating alcohol addiction, but it’s just the beginning. Detoxification provides a comfortable environment to get through physical symptoms of dependence safely and help prepare you physically for what will come next: treating the mental aspects of addiction through counseling, medication, and other aftercare options designed specifically to fit your needs.
Residential Inpatient Treatment
Inpatient rehab is considered by many to be the most effective type of treatment for overcoming alcohol addiction and successfully managing withdrawal symptoms. A combination of medical assistance with therapeutic counseling will address root cause issues and equip you with tools to overcome obstacles when leaving the rehabilitation facility.
Usually, withdrawal symptoms subside within around one to two weeks after beginning detox. The process of alcohol rehabilitation may take longer depending on the nature and severity level for your addiction; however inpatient rehab programs generally offer 30-, 60- or 90 day stays with individualized care plans that combine medication, therapy, and other treatment options that will prepare you for a sober life outside of treatment.
