Drinking alcohol is embedded in our culture. Alcohol is sold at restaurants, grocery stores, sporting events, and even amusement parks. For many people, drinking can be a fun and social activity, but for others, drinking gets out of control. There are many factors that have an effect on whether or not a person will have difficulty managing their alcohol intake: genetics, life circumstances, and things that they experienced growing up, just to name a few. Either way, though, if alcohol has become a disruption to your life, you may be considering seeking help from an alcohol detox program.
Learning more about these programs and how they can help you or a loved one quit drinking and get back to a healthy, happy life can empower you to make the best choices about your recovery care. Contact DetoxLA at 818.616.7341 today to learn more.
What Is an Alcohol Detox Program?
Alcohol detox programs are meant to assist people who want to quit drinking to do so safely and in a recovery-focused environment. In some cases, quitting alcohol suddenly can be dangerous, so being in a place where you can be monitored by medical and therapeutic staff can be a wise choice. During the process of quitting, clients can experience some distressing and uncomfortable symptoms. This is called ‘detoxing’ or ‘going through withdrawal.’ In a medical detox program, clients are given appropriate medications and treatments that can help make this process easier and more comfortable.
How Long Does an Alcohol Detox Program Take?
When a person’s body has become acclimated to the presence of alcohol, it makes changes to its functions and systems that help it deal with the alcohol. Then, when a person quits drinking, the body has to reverse all those changes, which can sometimes make a person feel sick or agitated. In order to achieve homeostasis or a state of balance, the body takes about 14 days. After those two weeks, the acute part of the withdrawal phase is complete. The client will usually transition to another level of recovery care designed to help them process their experience with addiction and navigate life going forward as a sober person.
Will an Alcohol Treatment Program Really Help?
For people who are in the midst of active addiction or for their loved ones, it may seem like things will never be normal again or that nothing will possibly help. It’s true that things will never return to how they were before, but that doesn’t mean that things won’t improve or even get better than they ever were. Research into addiction treatment has shown that people who participate in treatment programs have the best chances of maintaining their recovery over time, being able to return to work or school, and rejoining activities that they once enjoyed.
Alcohol addiction can cause many problems, but seeking help can lessen the impact of those problems and even remove some of them completely. Some of the issues that can be helped by treatment are:
- Health problems such as liver, kidney, and neurological issues
- Social and emotional problems that damage important relationships
- Psychological damage caused by trauma or the aftermath of addiction
- Unhealthy or negative thought and behavior patterns that may be encouraging drinking
DetoxLA Can Help with Alcohol Detox
Our treatment programs are designed to help our clients and their families heal from the damage caused by addiction. Each client works with our highly trained and knowledgeable clinicians to come up with a treatment plan that will work for their individual needs and goals. If you or someone you care about has been struggling to stop drinking, reach out to our caring staff today at 818.616.7341 or via DetoxLA’s online contact form.