Strategies to Help You Through a Detox Program

Introduction

Substance abuse is not a matter of joke!

Along with an individual’s will, serious medical support is needed to treat the addiction. Most of us do not have a basic idea about substance abuse and its recovery procedure.

Perhaps, this is why most people still think that addiction is a non-curable disease. Fortunately, that is not the case. Instead, addiction is considered a chronic disease that is, in fact, curable.

Drug Detox treatment is the first step in moving forward with the addiction recovery process. This process stands common in every addiction treatment department. This treatment ensures all the toxic substances can be weaned off from inside the body.

Drug detox programs aid people in overcoming their substance use disorder effectively.

What Is Drug Detox?

The term Detox or Detoxification refers to chemical withdrawal from inside the body. During this process, the person is kept away from the addiction element, and the detox center ensures toxins are extracted from the body.

No, this treatment is not a mental health treatment. It is a simple process where patients stop taking in any addictive substance and excrete all the toxins through natural callings.

Detox is often considered the first step towards the addiction recovery process. The detox center comes with supportive team members who offer their helping hand while you are in their treatment facility.

While some people in detox treatment experience mild withdrawal symptoms, some face more serious issues.

Here is how withdrawal symptoms look like.

• Insomnia.
• Depression.
• Anxiety.
• Trembling.
• Seizures.
• Muscles ache.
• Cravings.
• Suicidal ideation.

The intensity of each withdrawal symptom varies from person to person and the severity of the addiction.

What To Expect During Detox?

It is important that you have a clear understanding that medical detox is only the first step towards addiction treatment.

Hence, having too much expectation from one process is a big NO!

In addition, completion of medical detox doesn’t mean your addiction treatment is over.

That being said, the Detox process comprises the following three basic components.

• Evaluation: The evaluation phase is more about knowing the patients than conducting any treatment. Treatment cannot start without knowing the patients. This phase includes examination and going through medical history.

Once the report is prepared, it is handed down to the physician to plan tailor-made treatment programs.

• Stabilization: Medical staff assists the patients throughout the medical detox process. It is the staff that stabilizes the patients when withdrawal symptoms rampage.

• Preparation To Begin Addiction Treatment: after the medical detox process is complete, the inpatient is encouraged to enter the next addiction treatment program. This includes therapies, counseling sessions, and medication.

Five Strategies To Get You Through The Detox Program

Now that you know what a detox program is all about and what its components are, it is time to know about a few strategies that can revamp your medical detox treatment program.

The medical detox program lasts for a couple of days. However, if there are serious cases, medical detox can sometimes take weeks or two.

Fortunately, there are a few strategies that can help you make medical detox more effective and efficient.

1. Look For Certified Detox center

Quitting substance use on your own can be a difficult task to complete. After all, there is no one to push you to your limits. Who knows, you may have a promising start but lose your will to continue.

In times like these, you need support. Look for local; medical detox centers and rehab centers that can offer their helping hand.

In addition, medical detox centers will have professionals who will provide the right medication to cope with the withdrawal symptoms.

2. Increase Your Water Intake

Water helps you flush out toxins faster from your body. Plus, your organs need fluids to maintain their normal function. Hence, you need to keep refilling your body with water frequently.

Ensure that you are drinking 100 ounces or almost 12 cups of water daily. This will keep your body hydrated.

3. Keep Yourself Physically Active

You might think, just how hard can a detox process be to endure. Well, only patients who have been through the nightmare can give you the answer.

Medical detox programs are hard to bear. Even the manliest of them all curled up in a fetal position and cried. Regular, low-intensity workouts can prepare your body to cope with the detox treatment.

Go for a walk, swim a few laps, play some friendly games with other patients, or just do some swats. Do anything you like. Just don’t sit around.

4. Eat Nutritious Diet

Drug withdrawal can throw your whole digestive system off while you are going through the medical detox process. You might feel nauseous, throw up, or have diarrhea. Even if you do not feel hungry, keep giving your body healthy food.

When your body goes through the withdrawal process, it becomes weak. Hence, you must keep your body replenished with all the necessary vitamins, minerals to endure the detox process.

5. Practice Breathing Exercise

Your lungs have stretch receptors. When you exhale, it breathes out toxins and piled-up stress. In fact, breathing exercises catch more oxygen for your blood, which boosts the detox process.

Take a deep breath. Hold your breath for 10 seconds. And slowly push the air out. Practice this for 10 minutes daily. You will start noticing changes.

Conclusion

Every individual has different needs when it comes down to detoxification. Hence, consider your needs before choosing a detoxification program.

If you have co-occurring issues such as depression and anxiety, you need mental health therapy along with medical detox. However, if you live alone and there is no one to take care of you, you need a medical center that can care for you 24×7.

There are no shortcuts to finding the right detox program for yourself. Contact the most promising centers and ask them whether they can fulfill your needs.

About Theresa Duncan

Originally from Detroit, MI, Theresa has been offering health and fitness advice for the last 30 years while working as an engineer. She decided to turn her passion into a profession, and finds nothing more satisfying than helping others reach their health and fitness goals.