The goal of detoxification, also called “detox” or withdrawal therapy, is to enable you to stop taking the addicting drug as quickly and safely as possible. For some people, it may be safe to undergo withdrawal therapy on an outpatient basis. Others may need admission to a hospital or a residential treatment center. Substance addiction and withdrawal are challenging for those who use substances, as well as for those around them, including friends and family members. If you are someone you know is experiencing substance addiction or withdrawal, help is available. Reach out to a healthcare provider, such as a primary care practitioner, psychologist, or addiction specialist for support.
Preparing Entry Into Treatment
During detoxification at Discover Recovery, a top-rated drug detox center in Washington, a highly experienced and compassionate clinical team provides round-the-clock support and medical care. Healthcare providers prescribe a range of medications to ease your withdrawal symptoms and reduce drug cravings. Inpatient detoxification is a https://ecosoberhouse.com/ program during which a recovering addict stays at a residential rehab facility to undergo withdrawal from illicit drugs or alcohol. During this time at a drug detox center, clients receive round-the-clock medical supervision and support as they go through the physiologic adjustment when drugs and alcohol are removed from the body.
Withdrawal therapy
You also may not have the option of using medication to make the process easier. Not all of the medications doctors use for detox are available to take on your own at home. People who detox at home (and don’t follow it with an appropriate substance abuse treatment program) may be more likely to relapse. That’s because once the drugs are out of your system, your body won’t be able to tolerate the same amount as before. Effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation addresses addiction’s physical and psychological aspects. Medical detox addresses addiction’s physical consequences; thus, it can not alter the natural course of addiction.
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- This is precisely why drug addiction treatment programs at many detox centers offer dietary plans tailored to individual requirements.
- In general, the more risk factors a person has, the greater the chance that taking drugs will lead to drug use and addiction.
- Possibly the most important benefit of detoxing can be supporting your body in healing from the effects of dependency.
- An essential part of substance abuse treatment is taking a balanced diet.
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Many people use substances to help them cope with difficult feelings and fail to learn healthier emotional regulation strategies. As a result, anxiety and withdrawal can turn into a vicious loop that a patient may need professional help breaking during detox. During inpatient detox, clients receive round-the-clock medical supervision.
For diagnosis of a substance use disorder, most mental health professionals use criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association. People experiencing addiction and going through substance withdrawal can benefit from the support of friends and family. This support can help with both the physical symptoms of withdrawal and the psychological side of addiction. Coping with substance withdrawal and addiction can be a challenge. Support groups are available for addiction and even for addiction to specific substances such as alcohol, heroin, cocaine, and marijuana.
- The main benefit of an outpatient detox program is that you get to stay in your own home but still have professional support.
- The extent of supervision is different in inpatient and outpatient rehab.
- Experts believe that tackling the emotional residue of addiction—the guilt and shame—is fundamental to building a healthy life.
- Medically supervised detox is strongly recommended over attempting to detox at home due to the potential health risks involved.
- You may also experience challenges related to triggers to use again.
Shortly after substance use is stopped, people may experience withdrawal, the onset of unpleasant physical and psychological symptoms —from irritability to shakiness to nausea; delirium and seizures in severe cases. Behavioral therapies help people in drug addiction treatment modify their attitudes and behaviors related to drug use. As a result, patients are able to handle stressful situations and various triggers that might cause another relapse. Behavioral therapies can also enhance the effectiveness of medications and help people remain in treatment longer. Drug addiction, also called substance use disorder, is a disease that affects a person’s brain and behavior and leads to an inability to control the use of a legal or illegal drug or medicine. Substances such as alcohol, marijuana and nicotine also are considered drugs.
- The most dangerous form of alcohol withdrawal, delirium tremens, can be fatal without intervention.
- When detox is done under the care of medical professionals, the process can be completed in a safe and comfortable environment.
- When people enter treatment, addiction has often caused serious consequences in their lives, possibly disrupting their health and how they function in their family lives, at work, and in the community.
If you’re aware in advance of how the withdrawal could negatively affect you physically and emotionally, then you will be more likely to follow through on it and come out the other side. Most people who are in recovery have a more positive drug detox attitude and feel like they lead fuller, healthier lives. Patients who are deprived of alcohol or another substance to which their body has grown dependent will experience a range of withdrawal symptoms that vary in intensity.
Outpatient Detox
While relapse is a normal part of recovery, for some drugs, it can be very dangerous—even deadly. If a person uses as much of the drug as they did before quitting, they can easily overdose because their bodies are no longer adapted to their previous level of drug exposure. An overdose happens when the person uses enough of a drug to produce uncomfortable feelings, life-threatening symptoms, or death. Most drugs affect the brain’s “reward circuit,” causing euphoria as well as flooding it with the chemical messenger dopamine.
Depending on the specific drug, withdrawal symptoms can be severe, causing the individual great distress and even putting them in medical danger in some cases. As a result, individuals may relapse in an effort to relieve their symptoms and cravings for drugs. From start to completion, the total length of alcohol and drug detox will vary for everyone. Numerous factors are involved including the type of substance being used, how severe the person’s dependence is, their overall health, and how much they used the substance or for how long.