Addiction to drugs. Therapy Without Detox Never Works. Don’t waste your time or your suffering.
Too many people mistakenly believe that treatment ends after a physical addiction is overcome and a period of abstinence from drugs or alcohol is finished. As a result, a disproportionate number of people must repeatedly go through the uncomfortable process of detoxification.
What exactly is detox?
Although the time required for this can vary depending on the drug of abuse, between a few days and a week is long enough for the majority of symptoms to subside for most dugs. To detox is to rid the body of the leftover physical residues of the drug of abuse. Real detox actually lasts for months as the body gradually heals from addiction and restores its damaged systems. Certain withdrawal and detox symptoms may remain throughout this time (Detox symptoms of common drugs).
Nevertheless, detox is not treatment, and in reality, very few people are in any genuine condition to learn the kinds of things that need to be absorbed for any meaningful chance at recovery during the days of detox.
Why detoxing is never enough
Although alcohol treatment centers in arizona is a physical process, treatment is primarily mental and spiritual. To have any real chance of maintaining abstinence and sobriety, recovering addicts must understand why they abuse drugs, what risk factors cause them to crave drugs or alcohol, and have strategies and tools ready to fight these temptations and cravings when they inevitably do arise.
Detox is a crucial first step to sobriety, and completing detox without using drugs or alcohol is a great accomplishment. However, it’s only after detox that recovering addicts are prepared to begin attending peer support groups, working with therapists to create relapse prevention plans, and taking part in cognitive educational seminars that equip them with the skills to recognise situations that could lead to temptation and know what to do when it does.
Detox is always best carried out under close medical supervision with the prescription of the necessary medications for safety. Additionally, because detox is accompanied by discomfort as well as intense cravings for use and abuse, it is far more likely to be successful if it takes place in a facility with limited access to drugs or alcohol.
Alcoholics and drug addicts fear the days of detox and physical pain, and while overcoming the initial stage of physical addiction is an accomplishment, it is only the beginning of a long road to sobriety. Those who refuse real treatment after detox also deny themselves the best chance at success and sobriety.