Addiction Withdrawal
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Addiction withdrawal has a fair number of unpleasant symptoms. These symptoms are often the reason why so many people fail to quit. Understanding addiction withdrawal should help make the detox process easier, at least because it shows a better picture of the goal: once it passes, you’re clean.
What is Physical Addiction?
Physical addiction is the activity of continuously consuming a certain substance (i.e., drugs or alcohol) and finding yourself in an inability to stop. You’ll know you are an addict to that substance when you can’t stop taking it without going through withdrawal.
The more you ingest the substance, the more tolerance you’ll end up building. This will cause you to consume more of the substance, increasing the dosage until you get the same “high.” Physical addiction occurs when you can no longer go by your day without the substance, while possibly affecting your performance as well.
The Stages of Withdrawal
Understanding the stages of drug withdrawal will help you stay on course. When going through symptoms of withdrawal, it might be difficult to make sense of the stages or perceive them. This is why you need to get help – from professionals or close people – to ensure you don’t slip back into consumption.
Here are the main stages of withdrawal:
1. Deciding to Quit
If you’ve been experiencing a stronger flow during your periods or haven’t been consuming enough food with iron in it, your terrible feeling could be anemic. In other words, you have a low red blood cell count of delivering oxygen to your whole body. Without enough oxygen, simple tasks like getting up from bed or climbing a flight of stairs could feel extraordinarily difficult.
When you are too busy with work or life in general, you might forget to get enough nutrients from your meals. But anemia symptoms often showing up when you’re already on an extended run of iron-deficit diets.
2. Beginning of The Withdrawal Symptoms
The second stage is where the withdrawal symptoms begin. The timeframe varies from person to person, and from drug to drug. You may experience withdrawal symptoms a couple of hours later, or you may get them a full day later. It will depend on when you were supposed to take the next dose.
3. Intensity Increase of Symptoms
Usually, this stage happens around 24 hours after the last dose. Some people compare this stage to a case of bad flu, packed with muscle aches, temperature spikes, headaches, and other symptoms. It is not a pleasant stage, but people can generally power through it.
4. Peaking Symptoms Followed by Intensity Decline
This is where many people actually give up, as the symptoms of withdrawal increase even more in their intensity. At the same time, it also tells people that the detox is almost over. Patients often feel the most discomfort after this, but soon enough the intensity will begin to decline.
5. Withdrawal Ends - Possible PAWS
In most cases, at this stage, you are done. However, there is a chance you may go through PAWS – meaning post-acute withdrawal syndrome. It appears a week or two after recovery and it may cause strong cravings. Support groups and strong willpower can get you through PAWS.
Different Types of Drug Withdrawals
Depending on the drug that you take, you may experience different types of withdrawal symptoms. There are different types of drug withdrawals you can go through, including the following:
Alcohol Withdrawal
Not every person who drinks alcohol may have withdrawal symptoms. Consumed in moderation (i.e., a glass of wine occasionally at dinner), there should be no withdrawal symptoms once the alcohol gets out of your system. However, if consumed in large quantities over an extended period, you will eventually go through a series of alcohol withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches or nausea.
Nicotine Withdrawal
No one has the same symptoms when it comes to nicotine withdrawal. Although a milder drug-like substance, it still causes significant addiction. For some people, it might be easier to give up cigarettes compared to others. The usual withdrawal symptoms may be irritability, trouble sleeping, urges to take out a pack and smoke, and feeling constantly hungry.
Heroin Withdrawal
People who abuse chemical substances such as heroin may go through a series of intense symptoms during withdrawal. Aside from the craving, people might experience nausea, abdominal pain, shaking, sweating, muscle spasm, and more. Depending on the severity of the abuse, hallucinations may also appear during this type of withdrawal.
Prescription Medication Withdrawal
Certain prescription meds such as the ones with oxycodone or opioids in it can also cause withdrawal. If the medication was taken for a short period and as directed, the chances of withdrawal symptoms are low. However, if taken in dosages higher than recommended and over an extended period, there is a high chance that withdrawal symptoms will occur.
How to Get Help
Controlling physical addiction may be challenging, especially when you are dealing with cravings and the associated physical symptoms. In order to get past the withdrawal symptoms, you might want to get specialized help from a detox facility.
Depending on the severity, you might have to go through residential treatment – in other words, rehab. In this case, a team of trained specialists will offer you their support so that you can get over your symptoms. Depending on the circumstances, rehab may last for one week, or several months.
Therapy and medication treatment might also be necessary. This can help prevent a potential relapse. For long-term sobriety, one might want to try getting involved with support groups as well. Even as the withdrawal symptoms subside, it can be very easy to relapse without the right support around you. Finding long-term recovery from addiction is possible. You just have to get past the hard part first.
Getting Clean at Real Deal
Withdrawal symptoms may be challenging to go through on your own, which is why you may need professional help. Real Deal Therapy may offer you the support that you need to get over your addiction. If you or your loved ones are going through an addiction, give us a call and we can help you with the withdrawal.
So, contact us right now so that you can get your life back!