Combating an alcohol addiction or dependency can feel isolating. Therefore, the first step in your recovery journey is to remove alcohol consumption from your daily life and detox. Detoxing is cleansing your body of toxins and removing all traces of alcohol from your system.
When determining whether you should start a detox treatment, you must first confront whether you have an addiction to alcohol or/and an alcohol dependency. Figuring this out can be stressful and bring on feelings of shame, but you are not alone.
What Is Considered an Alcohol Addiction and Dependency?
Understanding what an alcohol dependency is and how to determine if you have one? The general definition is building up a tolerance to a substance and needing larger amounts to achieve the same effects produced initially. This can also closely relate to alcohol addiction as well. Often it can start with alcohol addiction, and due to the constant consumption, a tolerance is built, leading to a dependency.
So, what are the signs of alcohol addiction and dependency? Some early symptoms include cravings for alcohol or the inability to control consumption.
Along with cravings, some of the warning signs can also include:
- Drinking in the morning or at all points of the day
- Extreme consumption
- Loss of interest in other activities that do not involve drinking
- Behavioral changes
- Needing higher quantities to achieve the same effect
- Fast onset withdrawal symptoms when not drinking
- Feelings of guilt
If you are still trying to figure out if you have an alcohol addiction, Healing Pines Recovery provides an online quiz. The quiz provides you with questions to ask yourself as well as in-depth explanations of the warning signs listed below.
Often, people feel shameful about having an addiction or dependency. Alcohol is one of the most common substances people build an addiction or dependence on. According to an article published by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, in 2019, 14.5 million people ages 12 and up reported having an alcohol use disorder (AUD).
How Alcohol Affects Your Body and Mind in Active Addiction and During Detox
Alcohol is considered a psychoactive substance classified as a central nervous system (CNS) depressant. It is a CNS substance because it inhibits your central nervous system activity. This can include speech, coordination, and reaction time.
Active Addiction
In active addiction, alcohol can significantly impair your motor functions, speech, vision, reaction time, and much more. It can also affect your decision-making and lead you to partake in higher-risk activities that you usually wouldn’t. These side effects can be hazardous not only to yourself but others as well. Alcohol consumption can also lead to many other health risks.
In a statistics article published by the CDC, there are two categories of health risks. Short-term and long-term health risks can apply to those who are heavy drinkers or have alcohol use disorder.
The short-term health risks include:
- Injuries, such as vehicle crashes, falling, drownings, and burns
- Violence, including homicide, suicide, and intimate partner violence
- Alcohol poisoning
The long-term health risks include:
- High blood pressure
- Cancer
- Weakening of the immune system
- Learning and memory problems
- Social problems
- Alcohol use disorder
These are just some of the physical risks that alcohol can cause. There are also mental health risks that alcohol can cause as well. Some of these can include:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Irritability
- Mood Swings
Not only does heavy consumption of alcohol affect the physical body but the mind as well. At Healing Pines Recovery, we treat both areas affected by alcohol. While Healing Pines Recovery does not offer a detox program, we provide support and transportation to and from partnered detox centers. We also offer holistic treatment options to help build coping skills to combat negative emotions and behaviors.
Detox
While many of the mental risks of active addiction can apply to detox, there are a few changes. For example, mental health disorders like depression can sometimes worsen while detoxing. This can be due to the lack of and want for alcohol. As well as an increase in depression, it can cause other emotions to feel uncontrollable.
The physical tolls alcohol can cause during detox are withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms vary per person based on how much you consumed in active addiction and how often you were consuming. Some of these symptoms can include:
- Cold sweats or chills
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Dizziness
- Shaking
These symptoms can occur because of the lack of substance in your system when you have become accustomed to it. Your body is also processing the toxins and cleansing your system.
Managing Cravings While Detoxing
During the detox process, many people will experience intense feelings of craving. This is common and nothing to be concerned with so long as you have the proper support and treatment. Healing Pines Recovery offers many treatment options with detoxing that allow you to build coping skills and combat these feelings. Along with traditional treatment options, we also provide holistic options as well, such as:
- Meditation and mindfulness
- Physical fitness
- Outdoor experiential therapy
- Yoga and Tai Chi
Healing Pines Recovery allows you to build a completely personalized treatment plan by providing each individual with many different treatment options. These treatment options can help you build healthy coping methods to manage your feelings and combat negative thoughts of cravings.
Detoxing from alcohol can be difficult, but with the proper treatment and support, it can be manageable. Each person will experience a different set of difficulties with detox. Healing Pines Recovery is here to help you through this time of your life. With a personalized treatment plan, you can be assured that you are getting the proper care and support.
Alcohol addiction is a common form of substance use disorder. Being surrounded by it constantly through tv, social media, and in public can trigger those trying to abstain. The first step is to detox your body from alcohol.
There are many ways to do this, and each person will respond differently. Along with detoxing is combating feelings of relapse and cravings that come from withdrawal. At Healing Pines Recovery, we offer many different treatment programs to help you move forward in your recovery journey.
We provide support and transportation to partnered detox clinics. If you are struggling with alcohol addiction and identify as male, don’t hesitate to call Healing Pines Recovery today at (720) 575-2621.
