Deciding to go to a detox center is an important decision that only you can make. Substance abuse exacts a painful toll, including on families and our society. It’s when you realize the negative impact of substance use, and call out for help, where detox comes into the picture.
Detox is typically the first step on the road to recovery. It helps you stabilize your physical and mental health to orient you to the next phases of treatment. But detox isn’t easy. It requires commitment as your body will go through a series of potentially wrenching changes. If you’re asking yourself if you should go to a detox center or not, it’s quite likely you’re ready for those challenges.
Should I Go to a Detox Center?
The answer is: it depends on where you are in your journey. Substance abuse is a great disrupter and it’s not only when you reach rock bottom that are you able to understand that you need help. One big signal that you need to go to a drug and alcohol detox center deals with the onset of withdrawal symptoms.
The more you abuse drugs and alcohol, the more you have reprogrammed your brain to expect that additional drug or drink. When you then deny your body that fix, it responds by sending a message. The message comes out loud in clear in the form of withdrawal symptoms, which can be mild or severe and include:
- Nausea or vomiting
- Dizzy spells
- Stomach problems
- Night sweats
- Insomnia
- Agitation or anxiety
The worse the withdrawal, the worse your life becomes. And it’s then when you can find the benefits from a medical detox center.
Detox Data
When it comes to drug detox, information from the National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that between 40 to 60 percent of people who complete rehab will suffer a relapse in the first year. That sounds high, but it’s actually lower than some other common diseases. Hypertension and asthma patients both relapse at a rate of about 50 to 70 percent in 12 months, NIDA says.
You might then ask, why should I go to a detox center if I will just end up back where I started? It’s a fair question but you have to look at a couple of factors. First, the overall cost of drug addiction is staggering — estimated at $600 billion to $700 billion annually. Successful treatment holds those costs down. So even with the high relapse rate, you can easily see how treatment can help make a dent in costs.
Remember that every individual is different. So your answer to attend a detox center is going to include your own personalized set of factors. Overall, the longer and more active you are in recovery programs, the less likely you are to relapse.
Next Phases of Treatment
While detox is one of the most important steps in treatment, it’s not the only one. You have additional stages to complete in order to consider yourself recovered. It’s helpful to understand what those stages are. They include:
- Intake assessment and exam, to establish a baseline for your emotional and physical health.
- Individual and group counseling or other types of counseling
- Aftercare, or resources designed to help curb the risk of relapse.
It’s important to understand these phases, as they may well bear on when you decide to go to a detox center.
Stopping Substance Abuse
If you are debating going to a detox center or not, you can definitely find more benefits to attending a professional drug detox center. Detox is a process that orients you to the future — it gets the drugs or alcohol out of your system and prepares you for the next phases of recovery.
Let Midwest Detox Center become your partner in a brighter future. Our experts provide detox and other support through facilities such as our residential addiction treatment program.
Don’t go through this battle alone. Contact us at 833.647.0392 today, before another day goes by, for a confidential consultation.
