Do you suspect that you’re dealing with an addiction to alcohol? Do you suffer from mild alcohol withdrawal symptoms when you haven’t had a drink for eight hours? You might have a dependence problem. What would happen if you kept on going and decided to quit drinking altogether?
Overcoming a Physical Dependence on Alcohol
You’d start by checking into a detox facility for a medically supervised withdrawal. Typically, it takes between three to seven days to break the physical hold alcohol has on you. The severity of withdrawal symptoms depends on your health as well as the length of time you’ve been drinking. The amount of alcohol you usually consume also contributes to withdrawal severity.
Mild alcohol withdrawal symptoms include stomach pain, gastrointestinal upset, nausea, insomnia, and fatigue. You may encounter blood pressure changes, start sweating profusely and feel your hands shaking. Depression, anxiety, and mood swings are further aspects of withdrawing from alcohol. Because a small number of people with alcoholism also encounter delirium tremens (DTs), going through medically supervised withdrawal is critical.
After Alcohol Withdrawal Comes Rehab
Toward the end of the seven-day period, you’re starting to feel better. The mood swings even out and you’ll notice that most of the physical symptoms disappear. But you’re not yet done, drug and alcohol rehab picks up where detox leaves off.
Drug and alcohol rehab tackles the psychological addiction that creates the urges to drink even though your body no longer signals you to. Rehab facilities offer a number of treatment paths including:
- Residential treatment that allows you to live at the facility
- Intensive outpatient treatment for individuals with moderate addiction problems and stable living situations
- 90-Day treatment for people who’ve not had success with 30-day or 60-day programs
- Active aftercare program for participants ready to transition back home after rehab
The ideal program will treat you as a whole person and not merely focus on the addiction to alcohol. In so doing, the therapy succeeds in getting your buy-in on a personal level. It also helps you change your life and alter the way you feel about using once you’re ready to go home.
Another important focus is the availability of 12-step meetings. They support the formation of a peer group and help participants break out of isolation. These experiences also assist with the development of self-esteem. By training yourself to accept accountability early on in rehab, you’ll set yourself up for successful relapse prevention.
Therapy After Alcohol Withdrawal
One major method used after treating alcohol withdrawal is therapy. Addiction therapy is a follow-up to detox, which heals the body. Psychotherapy instead focuses on healing the mind, tackling the roots of addictive behaviors. Therapy also handles co-occurring mental disorders through dual diagnosis treatment. The types of therapy used after treating alcohol withdrawal can be split into the holistic approach and evidence-based modalities.
At San Antonio Recovery Center, therapies used after treating alcohol withdrawal include:
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Animal Assisted Therapy
- Art Therapy
- Behavioral Therapy
- EMDR Therapy
- Exercise Therapy
- Experiential Therapy
- Family Therapy
- Holistic Therapy
- Individual Therapy
- Meditation Therapy
- Mindfulness Training
- Motivational Enhancement Therapy
- Music Therapy
- Nutritional Therapy
- Outdoor Therapy
- Recreational Therapy
- Trauma Therapy
- Yoga Therapy
Getting Help for an Addiction to Alcohol
It’s never too late to pull the plug on an alcohol addiction. You don’t have to continue living under the label of an alcohol use disorder. Don’t let fear of withdrawal symptoms keep you from reaching out for help. When you contact the friendly therapists at San Antonio Recovery Center by dialing 866.957.7885 today, we’ll get you started!
