Alcohol Detox and Rehab Programs: What to Expect and How to Choose

Exercise can reduce stress, improve mood, and bolster your immune system. Start a new hobby or plan a project to keep your mind off cravings and triggers. Emotionally, you may feel some anxiety or sadness about ending a chapter of your life and nervousness about the future. “You may learn things about yourself and about your relationship to this substance that you never even thought about,” he adds. You can become conditioned to reach for a drink when your environment offers up certain cues. You may also consider joining an online support group to help you feel less alone.

Most residential treatment programs include individual and group therapy, support groups, educational lectures, family involvement, and activity therapy. The amount of time it takes to detox from alcohol depends on several factors, including whether you’re detoxing at home or with medical supervision. Detoxing at home usually takes longer because you should be cautious to avoid serious complications. Before beginning a tapering schedule, speak with your doctor about the risks of detoxing at home. Tapering off alcohol may complicate other medical conditions or co-occurring mental health disorders. If you’re unable to reduce how much you drink, you may have a disease called alcoholism that requires professional addiction treatment.

The 4 Stages of Alcohol Recovery: A Path to Healing

People who only drink occasionally probably won’t notice any physical or psychological symptoms. People who have a severe reaction to quitting alcohol should seek emergency treatment. Alcohol withdrawal usually starts within 8 hours after the last drink but can occur days later. In a recent study, https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/alcohol-and-pills-what-are-the-effects-of-mixing/ 95% of people had symptoms that lasted between 2-8 days. Several factors like how long a person has been drinking, age or weight can also impact the length or severity of withdrawal symptoms. Some people avoid medically supervised rehab because they prefer natural remedies for alcohol withdrawal.

Laying it all out in black and white can take time and some serious self-examination. Understanding your habits and your motivations to quit drinking can help you understand the change you’re making in your life and reinforce why it’s important. Or maybe it’s a pregnancy that made you realize it’s time to stop drinking. Or maybe you’re just looking to improve your health, wake up hangover-free and give your liver (and your heart and brain) a break. In the short term, alcohol is processed through your liver in about an hour. Essentially, feeling “drunk” is when your liver becomes too overwhelmed to properly process alcohol, so it overflows temporarily into your bloodstream.

Alcohol Withdrawal Timeline

It is during this time that the most severe withdrawal symptoms can occur and be medically dealt with. Alcohol detoxification can be deadly if done outside of medical care. When you detox from alcohol, you may feel withdrawal symptoms, especially if you’ve become physically dependent on alcohol. A self-detox can be dangerous because you don’t have access to medical care for the most severe symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. Muscle spasms are one of the most common alcohol withdrawal symptoms and will usually start within a few hours of your last drink and last up to a few days. Because complications of AWS can be deadly, never try to wait out your tremor from AWS or manage it on your own.

Inpatient or outpatient treatment programs are available depending on the needs, abilities and goals of the patient. They also note that a person can experience Alcohol Detox alcohol withdrawal syndrome whether they have been drinking for weeks, months, or years. A program gives you support to guide you through the withdrawal.