Drug or alcohol abuse treatment often starts with detox. But, how can someone know if they need detox before going to treatment? The body typically will send signals to indicate that the substance has a stronghold on it. Recognizing these symptoms may help in the decision of whether to go to detox. However, don’t stop there. After detox, the mental effects of the addiction need care, too, through a longer addiction recovery program.
Indications That You Need Alcohol or Drug Detox
Generally, many people need to go through detox when their body builds a tolerance or physical dependency on a substance. Signs of tolerance or physical reliance on a drug or alcohol include:
- Need for more of the substance
- Physical withdrawal symptoms when stopping use of the substance
- Mood changes when not able to use the substance
- Physical or mental changes when attempting to lower the number of drugs or alcohol used
- Inability to quit using the substance without help due to the above symptoms
The specific withdrawal symptoms that you feel when you quit drugs or alcohol may be the opposite of the effect the substance causes. For instance, those addicted to alcohol, which acts as a depressant, may feel shaky or have insomnia during detox.
What Happens During Detox?
Detox is a supervised environment where your body can safely and naturally process toxins from drug or alcohol use from its body. Since the body’s systems do much of the work of drug detox, the program simply ensures that you have no access to substances and a healthy environment.
However, in some instances, medical professionals may need to administer drugs to reduce the chances of severe side effects that could happen during detox. You may need supplementary medical support when quitting long-lasting opioids or alcohol.
Alcohol or drug detox typically ends when the body can function without using the substance. How much time this requires depends on several factors including duration of drug use, type of substance used, amount of substance used, and individual metabolism. Many people may only need a couple of weeks for alcohol or drug detox. However, this marks the end of only the first step in substance use addiction recovery.
Addiction Treatment After Detox
Going through drug detox is a good first step toward giving up substance use. However, anyone who finishes detox should also keep up the pace of recovery with addiction rehab. Though our treatment options at Clearhaven Recovery require more time, they address the psychological motivations for addiction. Therefore, we help participants to retrain their brains to handle emotions and thoughts that once would have triggered substance use. Our program helps to make it easier for many participants to stay sober after they leave our facility.
During recovery, participants may undergo one of several types of treatment or therapy to help with restoring their cognitive and physical capabilities. Some addiction recovery treatments and therapies we offer include:
- Family therapy
- Group therapy sessions
- Meditation and yoga
- Individual psychotherapy such as cognitive-behavioral therapy or motivational interviewing
- Life skills
At Clearhaven Recovery, we put a focus on how the family can help with recovery or hinder success. In fact, unlike other recovery programs, we do family outreaches with our therapy to help others understand their roles in helping a loved one with stopping the substance use.
Continuing Care at Clearhaven Recovery
If you or a loved one needs detox, you will also require recovery after.
For more information about Clearhaven Recovery near Boston, contact us by phone at 833.970.2054 or send us an online message. Our facility partners with detox sites in the surrounding area to ensure that everyone entering our program is physically ready for the process. Plus, we have a medical professional on-site to ensure the continued physical safety and health of all participants. We strive to put our mission into action, which is to help participants heal, thereby restoring their families.
