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Alcohol Detox FAQ

What is an Alcohol Detox?

Alcohol detox is a term that applies to the first part of alcohol addiction treatment, the initial phase that focuses on the body’s physical addiction to alcohol.

Alcohol detox—or the cessation of alcohol intake when addiction is in effect—should only be attempted in a medical facility or under the supervision of medical personal. If you have other co-occurring physical issues—and many alcoholics do develop medical problems during addiction without knowing it—you could have serious complications when you stop drinking and begin to experience withdrawal symptoms. Not an easy process on its own, alcohol detox is only made more difficult when there are other issues at play, which is why it is important that you have the attention of a doctor or other medical personnel so that you can get the help you need.

How Do I Know if I Need an Alcohol Detox?

Alcohol is the one drug of addiction that is legal without a prescription. The line that separates who can drink alcohol “normally” as opposed to those who are addicted and require alcohol detox and rehab can be somewhat blurred, especially if you’re trying to be objective about your own use. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to help determine whether or not you need alcohol detox:

• Do you choose to drink over other activities or choose activities based on whether or not you can drink while doing them?
• Do you routinely spend your money on alcohol rather than bills and expenses or give up other luxuries in favor of the bottle?
• Do you choose to drink knowing that it is wreaking havoc on your health and relationships?

Generally, when you prioritize your drug of addiction—in this case, alcohol—above all else despite the negative consequences, you are an addict. If you are addicted to alcohol, you need alcohol detox.

How Do I Choose an Alcohol Detox?

Choosing an alcohol detox will depend on what exactly you need from the experience. Do you require an outpatient alcohol detox that will allow you to return home every night or do you need the structure that an inpatient alcohol detox will provide? No matter which kind you choose, it is always better to follow up alcohol detox with alcohol addiction treatment. To make this easier, you may choose a facility that provides both with an option for sober living at the end of treatment to increase your chances of success.

What Can I Expect to Happen at an Alcohol Detox?

The focus is on you: your body and your addiction to alcohol. Your experience may be completely different from someone else who is undergoing the same process. You may experience different withdrawal symptoms or the same withdrawal symptoms but to a different degree. You may require medication to help assuage the physical discomfort and pain associated with alcohol detox, or you may need antidepressants to help balance out the chemicals that have been put out of wack by overuse of alcohol.

As your body begins to adjust and adapt to being without alcohol, you will be able to turn your focus to other aspects of alcohol rehab and recovery.

Alcohol Detox at Orchid Recovery Center

At Orchid Recovery Center, we provide an alcohol treatment center for women who are struggling with alcoholism. Call us at Orchid Recovery Center today for more information about how we can help you break your addiction to alcohol.

See how The Orchid changed their lives.