Author: Charles Frank
How to Quit Drinking Cold Turkey
Another approach is medical detoxification, which involves professionally-supervised withdrawal from alcohol. It uses medication to manage withdrawal symptoms, nutritional support, and counseling. This method is typically conducted in a specialized facility like Pacific Crest Trail Detox to ensure a safer and more comfortable withdrawal process.
Mary is an experienced Client Care Manager with 20+ years in customer service. She excels at problem-solving and takes pride in delivering tailored solutions. Mary builds strong client relationships, ensuring satisfaction with each interaction. Her attention to detail and communication skills are valuable assets.
Is It Safe To Go Cold Turkey on Alcohol?
Being born and raised in Gaithersburg, Maryland, it was always a dream for James to start a program where he began his own recovery journey. Having faced addiction in his own life, and having worked through recovery, James truly understands what it takes to get sober and stay sober. James now has the opportunity to do what he loves and help others achieve long-term recovery. James works alongside the clinical director and administrative team to help ensure that every client benefits from a customized treatment plan and holistic approach that offers freedom from the grips of addiction.
Luckily, getting the right alcohol treatment is just a phone call away. In most other cases, you could consider detoxing from alcohol at home, although it’s worth consulting with your healthcare provider first for advice. As well as the possibility of seizures, DTs can also trigger cardiac arrhythmias and hyperthermia, as well as inflaming co-occurring mental health or medical disorders. Our goal today, then, is to help you establish whether you fit the criteria for a home detox and recovery, or whether you would find it safer and more comfortable with some professional support in place.
- Prior to entering the substance abuse and mental health field, Erin was a Special Education Teacher for 10 years.
- With more than 3 million sufferers in the U.S. every year, it is the most common form of substance abuse.
- This means cutting back on the amount you drink slowly and systematically over time so your body can adjust to the decreasing levels of alcohol.
- Whether he’s leading groups or providing individual and family therapy, Kevin’s passion for serving those suffering from substance use disorders is always on display.
You may want to talk with a loved one or therapist about why it happened and what you can do differently next time. Keep it interesting and varied with sparkling water, virgin cocktails (also known as mocktails), fruit juices, low-fat milk, or kombucha. You can ask questions about our program, the admissions process, and more.
Finding Help for Alcohol Addiction
Vanessa also holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Behavioral and Social Sciences from the University of Maryland, College Park and a Master’s of Business Administration-Human Resource Management from Columbia Southern University. Quitting cold turkey means you stop using alcohol all at once without any period of adjustment or replacement therapy. Symptoms of alcohol withdrawal include nausea, vomiting, shaking, headaches, and insomnia. Engaging with a counselor or therapist could also give you an extra edge in your attempt to quit drinking cold turkey at home. During medical detox, medical professionals obverse the side effects of withdrawal and can help provide the support and guidance you need to continue your recovery process.
This can be family members, friends, or others who have decided to explore quitting drinking. Dietary guidelines recommend that if you drink, men limit daily drinking to two drinks or less per day and women limit their drinking to one drink or less per day. Consuming more than that can lead to liver damage and heart disease, and increase your risk for some cancers. We all know that abusing alcohol can cause ruinous health effects, including heart attack and an increased risk of some cancers.
Medical Director
This experience allowed him to learn the inner workings of almost any aspect of a company. It also taught him the value of building meaningful relationships with clients and having a strong ethical framework. Substance abuse and addiction affect millions in the US and worldwide, but relatively few receive the help they need. So, if you are looking into drug or alcohol rehabilitation programs, you may be wondering about the differences between inpatient and outpatient… It can take different people varying amounts of time to taper off alcohol.
take back your life from alcohol
If you only drink two to three drinks per week, you can easily quit cold turkey without experiencing major withdrawal symptoms. However, tapering off may be the way to go if you drink heavily or have more than six drinks per week. Before we plunge into the nitty-gritty of quitting alcohol abruptly, we must understand what alcohol dependence is. This term refers to a compelling urge to consume alcohol, despite knowing its harmful consequences. It often affects one’s physical and mental health, relationships, and social obligations.
Physical and Psychological Dependence on Alcohol
If you feel you have a drinking problem but you are determined to detox cold turkey at home, you should make sure you have a solid support team around you. Try to formulate a tapering schedule you are confident you can stick with, and then commit fully to executing that plan. Don’t get caught in a rut of repeatedly trying and failing, though. Many people find willpower alone is inadequate and you should rethink seeking and obtaining the right professional treatment if you can’t go it alone.
You can change your relationship with alcohol without shame or stigma. There’s no perfect way to quit drinking, but we can help you get started. Avoid people who may encourage you to drink alcohol or may not support your decision to stop. It may be easier on your rehabilitation to skip visits with “drinking buddies” or avoid gatherings with a focus on drinking.
Remove all alcohol from your home or ask a friend or family member to do it for you. This includes beer, wine, and liquor, as well as products that contain alcohol such as rubbing alcohol and vanilla extract. Keep a list of emergency phone numbers on hand that includes contact info for your doctor, the police, a nearby hospital, and someone you trust. We’ll highlight now some of the most common physical effects you can expect to encounter when withdrawing from an alcohol cold.
Quitting cold turkey is another option, but it isn’t always safe or practical for everyone – cold turkey is not recommended for people with a dependence on alcohol or who have a history of alcohol withdrawal. Because tapering can be tricky and alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous, you should never start a taper before talking to your doctor. Addiction experts have not conducted many studies on alcohol tapering, as tapering is not considered the ideal way to quit alcohol. As a result, little information is available regarding the best way to taper. That said, some independent groups have stepped in, publishing sample tapering schedules to guide people trying to cut back on drinking.
Failing to detox in a professional medical environment can lead to more severe withdrawal symptoms such as seizures, delirium tremens, coma, and in some severe cases, death. You may feel that tapering over the course of a few weeks or even months gives you the strongest chance of quitting alcohol for good. Creating a tapering schedule could help to ease the intensity of the withdrawal symptoms and cravings you experience during alcohol detox. Judy is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in the State of Maryland, and a National Certified Counselor. She earned her Master’s Degree in Clinical Counseling from Johns Hopkins University with an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Maryland.