Detox Bliss

A person desiring to leave a world of alcohol and drug abuse should be commended for this decision, but care must be taken when that person decides to undergo a detoxification process. As a corollary to the idea that kicking these bad habits start with the individual, detoxification, on the other hand, cannot be tackled by the dependent alone.

Alcohol and drug detox involves a 3-stage process which has to be supervised by professionals. This is because as harmful as drugs and alcohol are, quitting cold turkey and without the supervision of experts can result in several effects that can be harmful to the individual.

It is dangerous to undergo self-detoxification because of the withdrawal symptoms one would inevitably experience. These symptoms may be anything from seizures to hypertension. The drug or alcohol dependent may also start hallucinating and become nauseated and anxious when these harmful substances are suddenly wrested away from him.

The first stage in rehabilitating a dependent is alcohol and drug detox. This is the process of flushing out unwanted substances from the system, and the period required to rid the body of these toxins depends on the amount of harmful substances consumed.

Medical professionals take 3-5 days to a week in order to purge these harmful substances from a dependent’s body. In some severe cases, this stage may even take up to 2 weeks. Doctors provide the patient with medications that would help alleviate debilitating withdrawal symptoms.

This crucial stage of alcohol and drug detox is known as medical detoxification. The patient has to be closely supervised during this period as the reactions to the withdrawal can be quite severe, and most have to be alleviated to make it easier on the patient.

The second step is known as physical detoxification. This is the step in alcohol and drug detox during which the patient’s physical health is brought back to its normal state. As a person’s physical health deteriorates during dependence, the person must be brought back to good health during alcohol and drug detox.

One of the things that is given attention during this step is the diet. Only nutritious foods are provided and the diet should be so designed that the person’s weight is returned to normal. We know that alcohol or drug dependence may sometimes be accompanied by obesity or being severely underweight.

The last stage in an alcohol and drug detox program is emotional detoxification. There is a need to provide the patient with emotional support because most cases of dependence are rooted in psychological and emotional problems. Moreover, withdrawal from these substances also involve chemical imbalances which can affect a person’s emotional state.

Almost all detox centers have the facilities and the manpower to provide the first stage of treatment. In fact, with help from these professionals, the patient’s sleeping cycles return to normal in just a few days, and they do not feel as much pain during withdrawal as they would if they were not supervised during the detox process.

However, a successful first stage in alcohol and drug detox does not guarantee that the patient would stay away from alcohol and/or drugs forever. It is important for the emotional and psychological causes of dependence to be addressed to keep patients from returning to old habits, and this can only be achieved with the cooperation of friends and family.