Substance abuse is a huge health risk that changes the way your brain is wired. When done routinely, substance abuse triggers a physical and psychological dependency that renders the drug a primary source of pleasure. This is why quitting can be difficult; why quitting cold turkey is rarely ever a good idea. Without professional substance abuse treatment, the withdrawal that comes with the cold turkey detox method is excruciating and can even be dangerous.

What Makes Substance Abuse Treatment Different?

Unlike the cold turkey detox method, detoxification allows for a natural purge that rids the patient’s system of its physical craving for the addictive substance. Proper substance abuse treatment ensures that the patient is given a safe, controlled environment to recover, away from controlled substances, and anyone who might try to supply them. Additionally, help is always available in the event that the patient suffers painful withdrawal symptoms.

The Dangers of Quitting Cold Turkey

Quitting cold turkey means to abruptly stop something. It is a method that can sometimes be successfully applied for vices like smoking, gambling, compulsive eating, and other minor bad habits or addictive behavior. However, people who suffer from more serious health issues like drug addiction and alcoholism shouldn’t use this method. The effects of unsupervised withdrawal heavily influence the probability of relapsing. The withdrawal symptoms brought about by quitting cold turkey can include the following:

• Aches and pains
• Profuse sweating
• Chills and shivers
• Nausea
• Insomnia
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Agitation
• Mood swings

These symptoms aren’t even the biggest risk in cold turkey detox. Substance abusers who quit cold turkey can start off feeling fine, but once withdrawal sets in, they’ll usually relapse just to feel better. Even worse, when substance abusers try to recover without help, they put themselves at risk of hospitalization or even death.

It is suspected even today that a failed cold turkey detox may have caused the death of famous British singer Amy Winehouse is back in July of 2011. The New York Times reported the circumstances surrounding her untimely death, insisting that unsupervised withdrawal and self-detox is a dangerous and sometimes fatal complication in substance abuse recovery.

The Benefits of Receiving Professional Help

The most important aspect of recovery is the patient’s safety. With substance abuse treatment, the doctors and detox staff are there to ensure that even the most severe withdrawal symptoms don’t compromise the patient’s recovery process. Furthermore, there is no chance of opting out of the detox. The confines of a treatment facility keep alcohol and drugs out of the patient’s reach.

These factors emphasize why detoxing in a professional setting is necessary for the patient’s best chance at detox and recovery. Suffering through withdrawals alone at home, surrounded by people who may feed the addiction just to make the symptoms go away, is no way to recover. The fact of the matter is, any patient undergoing detox without substance abuse treatment has a higher chance of relapsing, hurting themselves, and succumbing to major health complications that may result in death.

The Programs We Offer

As hard as the detox process is, a patient undergoing substance abuse treatment will be monitored and supervised by professionals who will see the process through to its natural conclusion: a complete purge of the substance. Then, once the patient is completely free of the physical need for drugs or alcohol, he or she will be ready for the next stage of recovery. if you or someone close to you is struggling with substance addiction and would like more information about the detox programs we offer, please call Wellness Retreat Recovery Center at 888-821-0238.