Alcohol Detox Treatment
Before a person can begin to treat
the psychological aspect of their addiction, they must undergo the
detoxification process. Detox is the physical removal of alcohol (or any
addictive substance) from the body. The purpose of detox is to eliminate the
body’s physical dependency before the patient proceeds on to the counseling
portion of alcohol treatment. Without treating the physical dependency,
the body continues to crave alcohol, making the remaining stages of treatment
extremely difficult if not impossible. Detox centers provide patients
with medical and therapeutic support while they go through detox and experience
withdrawal.
What Happens During Alcohol Detox Treatment?
When a person consumes a significant
amount of alcohol day after day for weeks, months or even years at a time, the
body develops a biochemical dependency on the alcohol. That is to say, the body
learns to function metabolically in the presence of excessive amounts of
alcohol. The longer a person has been addicted, the stronger the biochemical
dependency. Once the patients stop consuming alcohol, they are likely to
experience some or all of the following withdrawal symptoms.
- Restlessness
- Insomnia
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Mood swings
- Intense alcohol cravings
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Heart palpitations
- Shaking
Withdrawal is a physically demanding
process and addicts who try and stop using on their own often find they are
tempted to drink when they experience these symptoms. More severe withdrawal
symptoms include delirium, convulsions, and blackouts.
Some detox programs offer a medical
detox option, whereby patients take medications to supplement the presence of
alcohol in their system. They are gradually weaned off the medication as detox
goes on. The purpose of medical detox is to minimize or even eliminate
withdrawal symptoms. All patients who undergo detox, no matter what type
of alcohol program, should receive constant medical support and full access to
counselors throughout the process to help make their treatment a success.
How Long Does Alcohol Detox Treatment Take to Complete?
Detox treatment can take anywhere
from a couple of weeks to over a month to complete. In some patients with
multiple addictions, it can last even longer than that. After patients are
evaluated by the rehab facility’s staff and determined to have successfully
completed detox, they can move on to the counseling and rehabilitation phase of
treatment. Addicts who move on to counseling before their physical addiction is
treated are more likely to relapse at some point during treatment.
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