If you’ve ever thought about how to get sober from alcohol, you are not alone. In fact, nearly 15 million American adults suffered from alcohol use disorder (AUD) in 2019. But where do you go for help? And what type of help is available? Getting started on your sobriety journey can feel confusing, and the unlimited amount of information available on the internet can be overwhelming. That’s why we thought it important to discuss the different treatment options offered at our South Florida location.
Below, you will learn how to get sober from alcohol with the help of an addiction treatment center. In particular, effective addiction treatment centers offer support for both the physical and mental aspects of addiction.
How to Get Sober from Alcohol
When Googling “how to get sober from alcohol,” you may be imagining trying an at-home detox to quit drinking. However, at-home detoxes rarely work and often lead a person to relapse. To fully understand the dangers of attempting an alcohol detox at home, it’s important to familiarize yourself with all the possible withdrawal symptoms you might encounter during detox.
It’s true that some of the alcohol withdrawal symptoms you might feel are mild. However, other symptoms can be life-threatening if left untreated. In some cases, an individual will only experience mild alcohol withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea or vomiting, which usually makes them believe they are safe to detox at home. However, doctors and addiction specialists generally recommend undergoing a medical detox program to quit drinking.
This is because, should you crave a drink to make yourself feel better or experience any of the more dangerous symptoms, a medical professional will be able to help at a moment’s notice. For example, detoxing from alcohol increases the chance of having a seizure, which occurs in around two to five percent of alcohol withdrawal cases.
Furthermore, having an undiagnosed or untreated mental illness like depression can make it harder to quit drinking alcohol. This is because you’ve learned unhealthy coping mechanisms and have relied on alcohol to ease your depression symptoms. So, when you start feeling sad, you’re tempted to reach for a drink.
For all of these reasons, the first step in how to quit drinking is undergoing a medical detox where you can have 24/7 professional support.
Medical Detox
Detoxification is the first step you should take on your journey to sobriety. If you’re wondering how to get sober from alcohol, participating in a medical detox program at an accredited addiction treatment center, like the one at The Willough at Naples, is a good place to start.
When you’re addicted to alcohol, you need to drink more of it to feel the same way you initially did when you started consuming the substance. When this happens, you’ve built up a tolerance and will most likely need help dealing with any negative withdrawal symptoms you might encounter during the detox process.
Detoxing at The Willough at Naples can help you stop drinking safely, as you will be under 24/7 supervision by highly qualified medical professionals. In addition, our center will help keep you comfortable while experiencing any unpleasant alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Withdrawal symptoms occur after drinking alcohol for a prolonged period and quitting suddenly. If you’ve ever attempted an at-home detox, you know it can be hard to stop drinking without professional help. Additionally, home detoxes typically fail because of the severity of some of the withdrawal symptoms that arise when you quit drinking.
While withdrawal symptoms vary depending on the substance you’re detoxing from, common alcohol withdrawal symptoms include:
- Nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain
- Headaches, muscle aches, and body cramps
- Insomnia and fatigue
- Sweating, chills, and fever
- Rapid heart rate and high blood pressure
- Anxiety, depression, and irritability
- Cravings and a strong desire to use the substance again
- Tremors and seizures
If you think a medical detox program is needed but are still hesitant to take the leap, know that our team of doctors, nurses, and addiction specialists are here to make this phase of the process as comfortable as possible.
Dual Diagnosis
While a medical detox helps you eliminate toxic substances from your body, it does not address any underlying mental health disorders that may be contributing to your drinking. In fact, one of the most common reasons for relapse involves a misdiagnosed or undiagnosed psychiatric illness. So, if you don’t get to the root of your addiction, you might be unable to stay sober from drugs or alcohol.
If you want to know how to get sober from alcohol and stay sober for life, The Willough at Naples can help. Our drug and alcohol addiction treatment center features an inpatient and outpatient dual diagnosis program for individuals with co-occurring disorders.
This program is specifically designed to help individuals who have been diagnosed with a co-occurring disorder. Also known as a dual diagnosis, a co-occurring disorder is a condition where a person has both an addiction and mental health disorder simultaneously. It’s common for these conditions to interact with each other, which can make getting help extremely challenging.
In fact, around half of the people living with substance use disorders also have a mental illness, which further proves that dual diagnosis treatment is a crucial part of addiction recovery. For this reason, The Willough at Naples encourages patients to participate in our dual diagnosis program, which offers treatment for both substance abuse and mental health disorders. During this process, patients will move into an on-site suite to spend their time completely enveloped in the recovery process.
Every day, you will find our center filled with helpful therapeutic activities to help you learn how to get sober. The peaceful and supportive atmosphere at our treatment center, in combination with our care and services, helps patients recover from addiction and mental health issues.
Get Alcohol Addiction Treatment Today
The Willough at Naples is here to help you learn how to get sober from alcohol. We will be by your side if you need a safe place to detox or want to know more about the therapeutic activities included in our dual diagnosis program. Begin your journey to recovery now by contacting our admissions team. You can call us at 800-722-0100 or fill out a confidential contact form to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help you whenever you are ready. It’s important to remember that alcohol doesn’t have to rule your life. The staff at The Willough at Naples are here to teach you how to get sober from alcohol and remain sober for years to come.