Withdrawal from any addictive substance can provide a variety of challenges to overcome, as well as being potentially life-threatening in extreme cases. Alcohol withdrawal is definitely one of the more severe types of withdrawal, and requires immense physical and psychological support to get through.
The symptoms of alcohol withdrawal include:
Tremors – Predominantly in the hands but can be throughout the body
Anxiety – Towards any and everything
Digestive symptoms – Nausea and vomiting are common, as well as loss of appetite
Headaches – Common in the early stages of withdrawal, often accompanied by other aches
Tachycardia (rapid heart rate) – Often worsened by anxiety
Sweating – The body’s way of rejecting toxins that have been subsisting at skin level
Neurological symptoms – This can be insomnia, irritability, confusion, aggression or a range of other outbursts or regressions.
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Early Stages Of Support
To ease patients into the recovery process, physicians can often prescribe medication alongside psychotherapy. Most commonly used in dampening withdrawals are benzodiazepines, which are prescribed in small doses to compensate for the absence of alcohol.
Therapy, specifically psychotherapy, often involves the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), Rational Emotional Behavior Therapy (REBT), and Dialectic Behavioral Therapy (DBT) in order to reprioritize healthier thought patterns and to change preconceived ideas of addiction and recovery. Although this is not necessary for every patient with many actively seeking to change their mentality to better suit their recovery, also these processes are not standardized and some patients may benefit from the omission or emphasis of specific types of therapy.
Washington DC – Alcohol Problems And Detox Centers
It’s widely known that Philadelphia is reporting some of the higher levels of alcohol abuse throughout the US, and in an attempt to counter this many alcohol treatment centers in Washington DC have been opened.
Virginia – Substance Abuse And Detox Centers
A phenomenal 69,000 patients were admitted to hospitals in 2015 due to substance abuse issues, with many of these cases attributed to alcohol abuse, and over 13,000 of these cases weren’t first time admissions.
Along with Maryland, Virginia has also implemented numerous detox centers in an attempt to encourage people to get sober and stop hurting themselves and those around them.
Northern Virginia – Drug Abuse And Detox Centers
North Virginia like Washington also suffers from high rates of recreational drug abuse, and like the others their local government has launched several detox programs and continues to increase funding for detox centers to help citizens with addiction problems.
Thankfully, these efforts have not been in vain since the city is already seeing some improvement in the numbers year by year.
Conclusion
Alcohol withdrawal syndrome or any withdrawals can seem like an uphill battle for both the patient and their physician. The ways in which it manifests is extremely diverse and not specific to one organ or system, which makes treating the symptoms even more difficult.
Thankfully, with the steady rise of detox centers across the US and new medications and techniques being discovered, people with addiction difficulties are better prepared to face the path of recovery.
To find alcohol detox centers near you, if you live in Washington DC, search Google for “washington dc alcohol detox” for example.