When an alcoholic goes into a rehabilitation or treatment center, detoxification will just be the beginning of a longer process. The detox process entails a cleansing of one’s system to remove all traces of alcohol. Generally, it will take around 7-10 days for most people but it also depends on how long and how much a person was drinking. During detox, there will likely be multiple symptoms a person will experience which are known as withdrawal symptoms. How bad these symptoms are will depend on the severity of the person’s addiction. The feelings can range from mild headaches to nausea and shaking & sweating or worse.
When detox is over, the really tough part begins. Because detox is just the first step, the next part is getting treatment. If you are going to inpatient rehabilitation, your stay can last up to 45 days. Detox will take away the body’s physical dependence on alcohol, but an alcoholic must also work through the psychological aspects of addiction as well. The person has to learn what things trigger their want for alcohol and learn how to cope and handle stress in other ways besides drinking. This is because even though detox removes alcohol from the body, the desire to drink alcohol will still remain.
After detox, a person with an alcohol dependency should also seek therapy. The person will need to learn what his or her strengths are which will help them fight their urge to drink alcohol. In order to face every day life again in a normal way and to function in the real world, there is a lot of work to be done. An alcoholic has to make many changes in order to avoid relapse, including finding new hobbies and friends who will be more in line with their goal to remain sober.
If an alcoholic does relapse, it isn’t that detox was not successful. It means that a psychological aspect of their addiction was not addressed and worked out to a point that the person could cope without drinking. If there is a relapse, detox must be done all over again. A second detox may not be as difficult as the first one however it still may take about the same amount of time. Detox is a very necessary part of getting sober and unless the person goes through the process, he or she will not really learn how to abstain from alcohol. Having willpower is not enough for some addicts which is the reason that inpatient treatment is often more successful than outpatient alcohol treatment. The inpatient treatment center provides a safe place, experienced staff members and helpful tools & regulated therapy sessions to help the addict deal with detox and rehabilitation.
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