What is a Medical Detox?

Medical drug detox is an integral part of comprehensive drug addiction rehab. It is not the end all of treatment – it is the first step on a journey toward recovery. By signing into a medical detox facility the person is leaving behind an environment filled with temptations and the risk of relapse when things feel tough. At the drug rehab center, the person will be able to focus entirely on disengaging him/herself from the chains of drug or alcohol addiction.

The National Library of Medicine (part of the National Institutes of Health) defines detox as the interventions which are designed to manage severe intoxication and withdrawal. Similarly, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) explains detox as the point at which the person ceases to abuse the substance of their choice. The first thing a person must do is stop abusing the substance and allow their body to become completely substance-free.

Medical Detox Process

This process can take days/weeks and may involve physical and emotional discomfort as the body cries out for the substance which it feels it has become a dependent. While a person is ridding their body of toxins, the fears and discomforts will be fewer while under the medical supervision of a highly trained and sympathetic staff. More and more often the detox process is being incorporated into the full-blown rehab program.

Getting rid of the substance from your body’s system (detox) is step one. After that, the staff at the detox/rehab facility will help you do several things. To begin with you will be able to meet individually with a counselor who will help you uncover why you began abusing your substance in the first place along with what triggered your continued use. After you have made this self-discovery, the counselor will teach you practical steps for dealing with the emotions behind your use and how to deal with those past issues. You will also gain strategies for gaining victory when trigger situations and emotions present themselves as you return to normal daily life.

Therapies During Medical Drug or Alcohol Detox

One-one talk therapy and behavioral therapies are buttressed with group support sessions. These groups are composed of others, who like yourself, are wanting to break free from addiction and rebuild their lives. Meeting together with others who are feeling what you feel and who face similar problems is a great way to overcome the negative thinking which insists that you are alone and that recovery is too hard. Support groups are so effective in combating these sorts of things, that most continue to seek out similar group settings post-detox.

Substance abuse, even alcohol abuse was once viewed only through the prism of criminal behavior. Today, society recognizes that there are many factors which contribute to a person’s enslavement to a substance. Recent decades have seen an emphasis on research and treatment for those whose lives have been derailed through addiction. Great strides have been made in uncovering and addressing the causes of addiction as well as strategies for overcoming its chains. Medical detox offers the optimal environment for facing and defeating those things which once defeated you.