Before recovery from any type of substance addiction can occur, there is the need to engage in a process known as drug detox. The purpose of the detox is to rid the system of the substances that are at the heart of the ongoing addiction. There are several options for this process, requiring that the patient and the medical professionals who are overseeing the recovery effort determine which one will provide the most benefits.
The Withdrawal Phase
As part of the drug detox, the patient may receive increasingly smaller amounts of the substance involved as a means of weaning off the drug. At other times, those doses are composed of medication that is less addictive but helps to partially calm the cravings for the patient’s current addiction. The doses are carefully measured and are spaced at specifically timed intervals. In between those doses, the patient is likely to begin experiencing withdrawal symptoms. These can include extreme irritability, emotional outbursts, mood swings that include manic laughter and crying jags, and even a strong sense of being about to die. Those first hours and days of the withdrawal process must be monitored closely to ensure that the patient does not engage in any type of self-harm, and that no vital systems begin to shut down.
The Culmination of the Detox
Slowly, the patient will find that it is easier to get by without receiving additional dosages. Even so, the cravings are not gone completely, even if the drug is no longer present in the system. At this point, the patient is still far too unstable to consider the work done. With the detox complete, the professionals at Ranch Creek Recovery will move on to the recovery process. This will mean using a combination of strategies that are customized to the needs of the patient. Depending on the severity of the addiction, the overall process can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months. Detox should never be viewed as a cure. What it does accomplish is paving the way for equipping the patient with the tools needed to control the addiction and once again enjoy life. Once that recovery process is complete, the patient stands a much better chance of reclaiming the best elements of the past and using them to build a bright and happy future.
