What is Alcohol Detox?

Alcohol detox will help you overcome your addiction to alcohol.

Many people suffer from the extreme dependence on alcohol that results in severe difficulty in saying “No” to this dangerous and deadly substance.  For some, the withdrawal symptoms, cravings and physical illness associated with not drinking are far more difficult to cope with than for others.  Alcohol detox is the process of safely and effectively eliminating alcohol from the body usually in an effort to overcome alcohol addiction.

Alcohol detox provides a safe place where alcoholics can get the medical care and psychological support that they need to cope with the effects of not drinking another drop of alcohol.  Alcohol detox is the most difficult phase of any alcohol addiction treatment program but it’s also the most important.  With the help of a qualified alcohol detox center, even the most deadly addiction to alcohol can be effectively eliminated and overcome.

Withdrawal Symptoms during Alcohol Detox

Physically, withdrawal from alcohol can be one of the most difficult and deadly conditions to overcome.  During alcohol detox, many physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms may persist for days, weeks or in severe cases even months.  The most common withdrawal symptoms associated with alcohol detox include:

• DTs, shakes or tremors
• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Mood swings
• Depression
• Nightmares
• Cold Sweats
• Fever
• Chills
• Vomiting
• Nausea
• Loss of appetite
• Headaches
• Stomach cramping
• Paranoia
• Excessive sweating
• Nervousness
• Rapid heart rate

Why Alcohol Detox is Necessary?

Some people think they can stop drinking on their own, that it’s not a big deal, that they can get through it and be fine.  Unfortunately, alcohol detox is necessary because for millions of people, the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal are too complicated to overcome alone without medical treatment and care.  It is never recommended that an individual try to quit drinking alone because the physical and psychological symptoms of alcohol withdrawal can present some dangerous and even deadly consequences.

Alcohol detox is necessary because it is here, during alcohol detox, that the patient is given the medical care, psychotherapeutic counseling and stabilization necessary to promote long term, lasting recovery from alcohol addiction.  The goal of alcohol detox is to help the addict overcome physical dependence on alcohol and prepare for psychological counseling and therapy.  Alcohol detox effectively prepares the patient to continue moving forward with their addiction treatment.

Alcohol Detox is not Rehab

It’s important to understand that alcohol detox is not rehab.  Alcohol detox is the vital first step for any recovering addict to overcome the physical addiction on alcohol and prepare for psychological counseling and therapy.  Alcohol rehab is where counseling and therapy for alcohol addiction is provided, and while many rehab centers provide alcohol detox, alcohol rehab and alcohol detox are not the same.

Many alcohol detox programs are integrated into alcohol rehab but some rehab centers still prefer to have the patient go through an alcohol detox program prior to entering an inpatient or outpatient alcohol rehab program.  Regardless of whether alcohol detox takes place immediately preceding alcohol rehab or in conjunction with alcohol rehab, it’s important to understand that alcohol detox is NOT alcohol rehab, it’s an essential first step of alcohol rehab.