The first step on the path toward sobriety is detoxifying the body of drugs and alcohol. Healing can only begin once our system has been purged of any remnants of substances. The process can be overwhelming and painful. Without proper medical assistance through detoxification, it can cause an array of health risks or even death. Our brain chemistry changes during our time in active addiction. We become physiologically dependent on the substances we were putting into our bodies. Nearly everyone in active addiction notices that, overtime, it takes more and more of a substance to achieve the same effect as when we began using. The reward system in our brain gets hijacked by the substance, eventually requiring us to use drugs and alcohol just to feel normal. When the substance is removed, we enter into a state of withdrawal that carries with it a variety of discomforting and painful symptoms. Some people choose to kick their habit without assistance, unaware of the potentially life-threatening symptoms that can occur. Alcohol and benzodiazepine withdrawal, specifically, can be fatal without medical intervention. Withdrawal from either of these substances has the potential to cause seizures that can be lethal without proper detox medications. Opiate withdrawal, on the other hand, is not fatal, but the intensity of the symptoms often drives a person to relapse before getting through the process of detox. Home detox from drugs as addictive as opiates is almost always bound for failure. Without putting a recovery program in place following detox, relapse becomes extremely likely. In order to get through the detoxification process and maintain sobriety, it is recommended to enter a treatment center equipped with staff trained to safely support a client through the process of detox. Everyone’s detox is dependent upon their drug of choice, frequency of use, and route of administration. Properly trained clinicians are able to determine the most effective way to help a client through the process as comfortably as possible. The most important thing to remember is that detox does end and is a necessary, albeit uncomfortable, process to go through in order to find the joy of a sober life.
You can make the choice to change the story of your life. Oceanfront Recovery is a treatment center with a professional and compassionate staff of detoxification specialists dedicated to making the process as comfortable as possible. For more information about Drug and Alcohol Detox Programs or other treatment options, please call: (877) 279-1777
