Alcohol and Drug Withdrawal in Portland, OR

  When people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol try to quit cold turkey, they often end up using or drinking quickly due to alcohol and drug withdrawal. Simply put, alcohol and drug withdrawal is what happens to your mind and body when you stop using a substance that you’ve become addicted to or you consume way less than you ordinarily do. Because alcohol and drug withdrawal can greatly interfere with one’s ability to recover from addiction, addressing the symptoms is typically the first step in effective treatment for substance abuse.

How Alcohol and Drug Withdrawal Happens

Alcohol and drugs affect the mind and body. When you repeatedly abuse alcohol or drugs, the body slowly begins to change to adapt to the continued presence of the substance in your body.

After a while, the substance must be present for your body and mind to work properly. When this occurs, you are said to be physically dependent on drugs or alcohol. Should you stop using drugs or alcohol or drastically cut down on drinking or drug use, your body starts to change back to how it was before; however, the change back occurs at a much faster pace than the initial changes. It’s this rapid reversion to a normal state that produces alcohol and drug withdrawal symptoms.

Medical Detox for Withdrawal    

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration recommends detox treatment performed under the supervision of medical professionals for individuals who are physically dependent on alcohol and drugs. Detox is the process of ridding your body of substances rapidly in a controlled, comfortable environment.

Natural remedies and medications are used to manage the symptoms of drug and alcohol withdrawal, so that you can move through the process as safely and quickly as possible. The specific interventions used during medical detox depend on a number of factors, including what your overall mental and physical health is like, what substance you have been using and how much you used on a regular basis.

The Start of Recovery

The National Institute on Drug Abuse states that while medical detox is highly effective at addressing symptoms of drug and alcohol withdrawal, it is not typically a successful standalone treatment for addiction. This is because addiction is complex, containing physical, mental and spiritual components. Detox deals with the physical element, but other treatments are needed to address the other aspects of the disease. In other words, medical detoxification is just the start of long-term recovery.

Here at drugdetoxcentersportland.com, we begin rehab with medical detox and then transition those dealing with addiction to holistic treatment programs that help them discover the role the past played in their addiction and develop strategies and coping methods to avoid drug and alcohol use in the future. At the end of treatment, aftercare plans are used to make the shift back to daily life seamless and more successful.

To find out more about our drug and alcohol rehab services in Portland, Oregon, call Drug Detox Centers Portland.