Alcohol detoxification can be a vital part of the addiction recovery journey and helps wipe the slate clean ahead of your rehab programme. Detoxing from alcohol is a way of medically withdrawing from alcohol, under supervision, to remove alcohol safely from your system, whilst minimising or preventing completely unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. Once you’ve stabilised in your physical detox process, you can benefit fully from psychological rehab treatment, which will equip you with recovery insights, tools and strategies to sustain your recovery long term.
What is an alcohol detox?
Alcohol detox is a medically supervised programme to stop physical reliance on alcohol. When we become physically dependent on a substance, such as alcohol, the brain and body adapts to it – meaning that it becomes incredibly difficult and even unsafe to stop drinking on your own, due to the withdrawal process. With a medical alcohol detox, you will be weaned off alcohol, typically over the course of 7 to 10 days, though it can be longer in complex cases or if you’re using other drugs too. The detox process gives your brain and body the chance to adapt safely and comfortably back to an alcohol-free state.
Who is an alcohol detox for?
Alcohol detox is for those who are physically reliant on alcohol and will not be able to stop drinking safely without medical support. Before a detox, an assessment will be carried out that looks at your physical and mental health, as well as your life circumstances, to determine whether or not a physical alcohol detox is needed, and if so, what is the right detox option for you. The detox will be planned and supervised by medical professionals, meaning that you will not be on your own in this journey.
It is not recommended that you stop alcohol suddenly without help, nor undertake a detox unsupervised, as there may be withdrawal symptoms and even fatalities, if it is not carried out in a controlled and supervised manner.
Why is an alcohol detox important?
Alcohol detox is sometimes the only way to start your addiction recovery. If a person has become dependent on the substance, then this is the only solution to start that journey in safety and comfort. Asking for help with detox, and being supported all the way through it, will give a better chance to benefit from psychological treatment that follows. This only improves your chances of achieving and sustaining long-term recovery.
Another way of looking at a medically-assisted alcohol detox is that it offers you the chance to press reset safely on your brain and body. Whilst the detox won’t address your psychological relationship with alcohol, it will clear your system of alcohol without you having to suffer unnecessarily, or come to harm. While it is certainly not a magic solution, detox offers better chances of recovery because you can be supported and prepared for entering a rehab programme or specialist counselling. A managed alcohol detox is designed to prevent or minimise alcohol withdrawal symptoms, so it really is the kindest and safest thing to do if you’re physically dependent on alcohol.
Detox is not a substitute for psychological rehab for addiction, and it is the precursor to an effective therapeutic treatment programme. Rehab will give you the strategies and tools you need to take recovery into the real world, as well as the insights into the nature of your addiction. With intensive support, the emotional and psychological effects of alcohol dependence get treated, and over time, the cravings to use become more manageable, or they stop altogether. Recovery works, if you see it through day by day, with professional and peer support.
Where to find an alcohol detox
Finding a London detox that works for you can be an overwhelming task. We have a wealth of experience and connections to help you find the right detox programme for you. If you would like to explore the options, we can do a free assessment of your needs, and point you in the right direction. You can explore more here.
At Help Me Stop, most of our team are in long-term recovery from addiction. We have walked in your shoes, and we know how much of a step this is, so we will be here for you all the way.
Once you have completed your detox, we can get you started on a therapeutic rehab programme that will help you deal with the psychological addiction, and success long term.
Help Me Stop
Help Me Stop offers non-residential Dayhab treatment for addiction throughout London, in Winchester, and in our Online Rehab. Dayhab is a new kind of rehab model that is not centred on live-in treatment, meaning that you can integrate recovery into your daily life, without the need to take time away from family. We also have treatment options that work very well for working people, where you can continue working part-time or even full-time right the way through. It’s rehab that fits around your life, not the other way around.
Residential rehab is traditionally expensive, inaccessible, and often unattainable to working people, parents/carers, and anyone with regular life commitments; that is why we created the Dayhab model to offer affordable and achievable recovery to more people.
Our programmes are tailored to the individual, incorporating the 12-step approach to addiction treatment, person-centred therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), family therapy, recovery workshops and more. We work mainly in group sessions because the evidence shows that this increases recovery outcomes, but we also provide a weekly one-to-one counselling session to all our Dayhab clients (face-to-face and online).
Our rehab programmes are designed with you in mind, and our London rehab and Winchester rehab locations offer flexible times and sessions to work around your day and commitments. Our online programme is even more flexible and it can be completed from anywhere in the world, with morning and evening streams – live sessions with an experienced therapist in group sessions.
At Help Me Stop, most of the team are in long-term recovery from addiction. You won’t get any judgement from us. We are here to support you on this journey.
If you would like to find out more about how Help me Stop can support you, call us on +44 (0)208 191 9191 or email us at enquiries@helpmestop.org.uk.
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