If you live in the Ozark State, ask any reliable St. Louis rehab center and you’ll know that one of the foremost steps in the recovery process after addiction─ whether it be for drugs or alcohol─ is detoxification. However, most medical professionals advise against following do-it-yourself detox programs, and instead advocate that you have nothing less than professional supervision guiding you.
Withdrawal Dangers
The first step to recovery, of course, is to stop whatever it is that you’re addicted to in the first place. However, many people tend to underestimate just how much the withdrawal can lash back against their bodies. Withdrawal symptoms can vary depending on various conditions, too, so no one person can accurately predict how it will affect him.
Quitting Cold Turkey
Withdrawal symptoms are typically at their worst when the dependent quits abruptly and completely, also referred to as quitting cold turkey. However, it is estimated that less than 1 in 10 people who take this road actually succeed in permanently overcoming their addiction. This is because even if you can muster up the courage to discipline (to the point of punishing) yourself, this process is nearly impossible to turn into a permanent routine.
Professional Detox
In the Psych Central blog, David Sack, M.D., discusses how a professional detox system is the best way to go:
So what does professional detox provide that home detox doesn’t? In professional drug detox, the entire process is closely monitored by nurses, physicians and other health care providers with specialized training in drug detox. A physician can prescribe safe, well-researched medications […] which minimize withdrawal symptoms and drug cravings and make detox more comfortable. The medical team may also recommend nutritional supplements, pain relievers and non-addictive medication to address body aches and other complaints.
Long Term
In the end, the key to transcending addiction is not through a rigorous, often harmful discipline that borders on physical and psychological self-torture. Rather, it’s all about making baby steps to changing one’s lifestyle until the sufferer is no longer inclined to return to his old habits. Indeed, long term recovery cannot be achieved by sheer punishment.
So, even if you or your loved ones choose to go with a St. Louis outpatient rehab service, you should still religiously follow what your therapist recommends for you. DIY detox might seem like a quick fix, but the problem with taking the easy way out is that it often comes with an easy way to go back inside.
(Source: Home Detox: What’s The Worst That Could Happen?, Psych Central)
