How Can I Stop Drinking at Home?
If you’ve become over-reliant on alcohol to help you relax, fall asleep or manage complicated emotions, you might be wondering if you can stop drinking at home. Though the idea of at-home alcohol detox might sound appealing, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, trying to quit using any addictive substance on your own is highly risky.
A broad range of withdrawal symptoms can accompany quitting alcohol cold turkey. People who try detoxing from alcohol without the help of medical professionals could be jeopardizing their physical and mental well-being. Here are the top four reasons professionally managed detox is the safest and best way to start recovering from an alcohol addiction.
1. Detox Can Be Hazardous
When you stop drinking at home, you may experience mild withdrawal symptoms like irritability or trouble sleeping. However, more dangerous symptoms, like seizures and delirium tremens, are entirely possible with alcohol withdrawal. If your goal is to become physically and emotionally stable so you can smoothly transition into the next phase of recovery, it’s best to be in a clinical environment where medical professionals can quickly respond if these side effects threaten your health.
During at-home detox, intense withdrawal symptoms can lead to a swift relapse, despite your best intentions. In a clinically supervised environment, your treatment team can administer medications, as necessary, to help control cravings.
2. The Detox Process Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All
No two people experience addiction the same way, so it logically follows that your response to detoxification might not be identical to your neighbor’s. If you stop drinking at home, you won’t have access to a tailored treatment plan based on considerations such as the substances in your system when you enter detox, how long you have been drinking, your age and other factors, such as the presence of a dual diagnosis.
3. Withdrawal Symptoms Can Vary
Alcohol withdrawal can be a vastly different experience from weaning the body and mind off drugs like opioids or benzodiazepines. If polysubstance abuse has contributed to your addiction, it can further complicate your withdrawals and cravings. Instead of attempting at-home alcohol detox, you’ll be safer and happier completing the process under constant monitoring by a medical team that is trained to identify and treat the unique symptoms associated with each drug.
4. You May Need Additional Therapy
If you receive a diagnosis of a co-occurring disorder – which is the technical term for an addiction that develops alongside a mental health issue such as anxiety, depression or PTSD – our professional team of clinicians can develop a personalized approach to addressing your mental illness while you are undergoing your detoxification process.
Detoxification at Beach House
If your drinking problem is out of hand, at-home alcohol detox is not the answer. Instead, you can begin to free yourself from your substance use disorder with comfortable, safe detox at Beach House. While detox alone is not a “cure” for addiction, it will help you achieve the stability necessary to enter 12-step recovery and inpatient alcohol rehab.
Because our philosophy is that freedom from addiction comes from a place of love and compassion, we strive to treat every client with respect. We maintain an industry-leading 7-to-1 client-to-therapist ratio at our beautifully appointed beachfront facility, where we equip you with the tools to manage all the unique factors contributing to your addiction.
At Beach House, we emphasize the connection between each client and their therapist – what we call the “therapeutic alliance.” We believe it’s possible for people to thrive in addiction recovery because we’ve seen it happen time and time again. Those who try to stop drinking at home won’t have access to all the benefits we can offer at our accredited facility, including on-site massage therapy and an in-house nutritionist and chef. To learn more about starting your recovery here and verify your insurance coverage, we encourage you to reach out to us today.