When Alcohol Withdrawal Can Be Dangerous
If you are a California resident who is thinking about quitting drinking once and for all, it’s important to understand that withdrawal symptoms have the possibility of becoming dangerous to your health. It’s almost always recommended to quit drinking inside a safe medical Simi Valley alcohol detox center for this reason.
Alcohol is part of a category of substances known as central nervous system depressants, which slow down the function of the nervous system, including your breathing rate. Initially, alcohol stimulates the production of GABA, the brain chemical responsible for feelings of calm. At the same time, it inhibits the action of glutamate, the brain chemical responsible for feelings of excitement. Over time, however, your brain function changes to account for the frequent presence of alcohol. When the alcohol intake stops, your brain’s chemical activity rebounds, causing GABA to decrease (producing feelings of anxiety rather than calm) and glutamate to increase (further compounding feelings of anxiety.)
This rebounding of brain chemicals causes symptoms like rapid heartbeat, sweating, shaking, a high temperature, nausea, and other symptoms. The longer you’ve been drinking—and the more alcohol you have in your system during detox, the more severe these symptoms may be. In some cases, these symptoms can cause dangerous shifts in blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature, which require immediate medical attention.
Because nobody can predict what kinds of symptoms they’ll have during detox, quitting alcohol cold turkey is always best done in a clinical Simi Vally alcohol detox facility.
What is Alcohol Detox?
Alcohol detox is the process the body goes through to flush the alcohol from the body and allow brain function to begin to readjust to “normal.” Detox is the first step in treating an alcohol use disorder. It takes some time for your system to readjust, with the most intense symptoms subsiding after 1-2 weeks. Each person’s experience is unique and can range from mild symptoms and discomfort to serious and aggressive withdrawal symptoms, including hallucinations, pain, anxiety, and even seizures. Some people—especially those who are heavy drinkers or who have been through alcohol withdrawal before—may also develop delirium tremens (also known as DTs,) a life-threatening condition that may include severe hallucinations, tremors, seizures, stroke, heart attack, or death.
Many people feel nervous about quitting drinking because of the looming threat of withdrawal symptoms, but when you enter a Simi Valley alcohol detox center like Muse, you will be kept safe by medical professionals with plenty of experience with the effects of alcohol use disorder.
Simi Valley Alcohol Detox Center: Who Should Go?
Anyone who experiences withdrawal symptoms when they stop drinking alcohol should go to an alcohol detox center when they decide to stop drinking. It’s important to understand that detox is only designed to help you through the physical withdrawal process of quitting drinking. Detox and treatment are not the same things, but detox is an important first step for those who have developed a physical dependence on alcohol and an addiction to it.
5 Benefits of Treatment at Alcohol Detox Centers
Checking into a Simi Valley alcohol detox center like Muse has many benefits, like:
- A full physical and mental health assessment to help your care team provide personalized treatments
- 24-hour monitoring by clinical staff to ensure your safety
- An encouraging environment that includes individual and group counseling
- Complementary therapies and/or medications to help reduce the symptoms of withdrawal and produce feelings of wellbeing
- Healthy food, optimal hydration, and supplements as needed to help restore your health
How to Choose an Alcohol Detox Center in Simi Valley
In California, there are numerous detox centers to choose from, and finding the right one for you is easy if you know what to look for. Most importantly, find a center that is accredited by The Joint Commission or the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), which is a sign that the center has high standards for safety, cleanliness, and client care and ensures that the doctors, therapists, and counselors at the treatment center are licensed and have the proper credentials. Ideally, you’ll find a center that accepts your insurance policy or offers financing or financial aid.
What’s the Next Step After Alcohol Detox?
After the alcohol detox is complete, the next essential step is to enter a treatment program. Treatment is a structured program to help you end an addiction to alcohol through individual and group therapy and recovery-focused activities.
Inpatient alcohol addiction treatment involves living in a facility full-time, while a partial hospitalization program, or PHP, involves sleeping at home and attending treatment program services 7 days per week. An intensive outpatient program is usually 3 hours a day for 3 or more days a week, allowing you to return to work, school, and other responsibilities as needed. Muse treatment programs are evidence-based and offer treatments like cognitive-behavioral therapy, trauma therapies like dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to address the complex needs behind the alcohol use disorder.
A substance use disorder is a complex disease that affects the whole person, including their mental health and overall wellness. A treatment plan incorporating nutrition, psychiatric care, and even spiritual or holistic healing will provide you with better value.
Complementary therapies like spa days, art therapy, yoga, and meditation offer a whole-person approach to healing and are excellent additions to a well-rounded treatment plan—but treatment should always be science-forward to improve your chances of long-term recovery.
Simi Valley Alcohol Detox Center: Muse Is a Top Alcohol Detox Center for Simi Valley Residents
Muse provides safe, customized medical detox plans for every patient, administering medications as needed to help mitigate symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. This may include short-term prescriptions for medications like Valium or Xanax to help with anxiety and insomnia, along with relief from pain and nausea and preventative treatments if the risk of seizures is present.
Our team of licensed and accredited medical professionals will take care of you in a tailored interdisciplinary program designed to keep you safe and comfortable as your body adjusts. Because mental health is closely tied to addiction, we also incorporate therapy and behavioral health treatments into our patients’ programs, depending on their needs.
Once you are ready to move forward from your detox program, Muse provides options for inpatient and outpatient treatment that will provide relapse prevention strategies, therapy, groups, exercise and nutrition, educational programs, and opportunities to develop your sober community, including alumni gatherings and 12-step program integration. We offer the full continuum of care and can help you create a program that suits your needs and your budget.
Please contact us today to learn more about Muse and how we can help you achieve long-lasting recovery. We can help you verify insurance coverage or answer any questions you may have about detox and rehab so you have everything you need to make an informed decision as you decide on the Simi Valley alcohol detox center that is right for you. We have sober living specialists standing by, so you can call any time at (800) 426-1818. You may also send us a confidential message or verify your insurance through our website’s fillable forms and text function. When you are ready, we are here to help you.
