If you begin to experience serious withdrawal symptoms, drink enough to make the symptoms subside. You may be able to detox at home and still attend outpatient therapy or support group meetings. The brain compensates for the depressive effects of alcohol by increasing its activity. When people who are dependent on alcohol drink, they feel normal. If you’re addicted to alcohol, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to recover without some form of addiction treatment. You may be able to detox at home and recover from alcoholism with the help of support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous.
Outpatient Detox: A Safe and Flexible Option
Treatment alcohol detox providers can connect you with programs that provide the tools to help you get and stay sober. We surveyed 2,136 American adults who either wanted to stop drinking alcohol or had already tried to quit (successfully or not). We asked them about their alcohol use, reasons for drinking, alcohol-related outcomes, health and more. It’s a good idea to talk with a medical professional before you begin a taper.
– Eat a balanced diet that includes healthy fruits and vegetables.
Some provide only detox services, while others provide comprehensive services that include ongoing care after detox. When someone drinks alcohol for a prolonged period of time and then stops, the body reacts to its absence. This is alcohol withdrawal, and it causes uncomfortable physical and emotional symptoms. There are an estimated 12 million alcoholics in the United States, many of whom need help quitting. An important step in getting sober is detoxification, or detox, a period of about a week when your body rids itself of all the alcohol in your system.
Additional Alcoholism Treatment Options
So far, there’s no consensus on the medical definition of recovery in alcohol treatment literature. Alcohol detox can occur safely and effectively through inpatient and outpatient treatment. At the end of the day, one of the most important tools you have at your disposal is self-compassion. Instead of criticizing yourself for having a hard time or slipping up and having a drink, remember that no one’s perfect. What matters most is your ability to maintain an open, curious outlook as you learn what does and doesn’t work for you. Satisfying hobbies can distract you from wanting to drink, but they also help you relax — something everyone needs to do.
- Your body will typically wholly rid itself of the drug 30 days after you stop using.
- Research shows that most people believe that drinking can make them feel better.
- A doctor can evaluate your overall health and alcohol abuse history to help you determine how likely it is that you’ll experience symptoms.
- Withdrawal symptoms can change quickly and aggressively, which is why it’s important to detox under the care of medical professionals.
- Drinking heavily causes the body to become used to the constant effects of alcohol.
Medical Supervision
In the short term, alcohol is processed through your liver in about an hour. Essentially, feeling “drunk” is when your liver https://ecosoberhouse.com/ becomes too overwhelmed to properly process alcohol, so it overflows temporarily into your bloodstream. This is what causes you to feel light-headed or tipsy after multiple alcoholic drinks. Of all your body’s organs, your liver takes the biggest hit when it comes to alcohol.
