6 Steps To Start Your Addiction Withdrawal And Recovery

For people who’ve been deep into substance use addiction, one of the most difficult things to do would be to admit that they’re already addicted to what they’re taking. Some of them even think they’re not yet addicted and they’re part of those exceptional people who can get out of their addiction anytime they will it. Oftentimes, though, the reality is that getting out of an addiction is one of the most challenging decisions to make.

But getting out of an addiction isn’t impossible. A lot of people have successfully shown it can be done. Some of them did it cold turkey but there are also success stories of those who kept quitting after several relapses. They just decided to do everything it took to get out of it. If you’re looking for a place where people can help you quit your addiction, Jacksonhouserehab.com and other similar sites are some of the options you can look into.

Here are a few suggested steps on how you can start your withdrawal and recovery from addiction:

1. Recognize Your Addiction Then Decide To Change

The first step towards being able to withdraw from your addiction is to admit and recognize, at least in private, that you have indeed become addicted. Addiction isn’t limited to being addicted to dangerous drugs and prohibited substances. People can be addicted to other things such as drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes or marijuana, excessive eating, and many others.

Withdrawal starts at the moment you recognize you’re already addicted. The moment you decide to quit your addiction and withdraw, that’s when the willingness to change begins. But those two things must happen. The addicted person has to admit and recognize he or she has become addicted. Also, the addicted person has to decide to quit.

Once you’ve made the decision, you’re going to start making changes in your behavior, activities, routines, and daily habits. It doesn’t mean you’ll be able to quit your addiction overnight and never go back again. There are stories of people who were able to do it that way, but it won’t be like that for everybody else. The important thing is you’ve made the decision to quit. It’s a good start.

You don’t have to decide right away on how you’re going to do it. Maybe you’ll decide to go cold turkey, or perhaps you’ll do it slowly until you’re completely clean. But do know that there’s no one solution or approach. There’s also no magic wand that can suddenly make your addiction disappear.

If you’re addicted to more than one thing like substance abuse, cigarettes, and alcoholic drinks all at the same time, you also have to decide which ones you’re going to quit. You might decide to quit all of them or just the substance abuse for now, and go on with the rest. It’d be good if you quit all your addictions, but if you could just remove the most harmful to your health and wellness, then that’d be a step in the right direction.

2. Plan Your Withdrawal And Recovery

The second step in your path is to lay out a plan on how you can withdraw and recover from what you’ve gone through. There are circumstances in your life that made your addiction worse. These are things, events, persons, or circumstances in your life which fed and nurtured your addiction, making it more difficult for you each day to quit and walk away.

Once you’ve already made up your mind to quit, you’ll have to make a few preparations for the big change. One of these is you have to remove anything that gives you access to or connects you with whatever thing it is you’re addicted to. You have to remove from your home any of those addictive substances to which you’ve been hooked.

You have to refrain from going to those places where you used to get the addictive stuff. If you used to go to a certain neighborhood to buy them, then you probably should avoid going there again. If you get it whenever you go to a friend’s house around the block, you probably should turn them down whenever they invite you over. If you get it every time you go to a bar on Friday nights, you shouldn’t go there anymore.

One of the hardest things to do when quitting an addiction is to distance yourself from the people with whom you take the addictive substance. They’ve most likely formed close connections and relationships with you based on your common addiction to substance abuse. It doesn’t mean you have healthy or deep relationships with these people. It just means you feel you have a bond with them because you do something together, which feeds your addiction.

If you’re going to do this, it might be a good idea to tell them straight that you won’t be going to their sessions anymore and you won’t be able to join them in what they’re doing. You don’t have to say it in a judgmental way. After all, whatever they do with their lives is their concern. But it’d help to put it straight to them that you’re trying to go clean this time.

It’d also help if you can talk to your family and friends about what you’re planning to do as most of them will likely be supportive of your decision. Take the time to have those conversations with them. You can tell them you’re going to do your best and that you hope they won’t be disappointed if you relapse from time to time.

3. Quit Your Addiction

After you’ve made up your mind and have done your planning and preparations on how to go about it, you should quit your addiction. Yes, sometimes, it’s just like that. You just stop doing that addictive thing you’ve been doing.

Now, people have different experiences and varying responses and reactions when it comes to quitting an addiction. There are people who experience a different kind of freedom and some say even exhilarating feeling when they quit. Some say they feel suddenly light and free.

By contrast, there are also those who feel depression or extreme feelings of sadness the moment they quit. They’d say the suddenness of not taking something, which gives them the numbness they need to escape their problems and worries, creates pangs of emptiness.

There are also instances of people who say they suddenly feel a rush of anxiety and unexplained worry over many things the moment they quit. They’d say they’re suddenly flooded by a lot of mundane concerns and worries, which they’re able to forget when they’re still taking those addictive substances.

If it’s possible to quit cold turkey, then well and good. But understand that even the most emotionally strong people have experienced relapsing into their past addictions. If it does happen, don’t make it a reason not to go forward with your decision to quit. If you relapse, then strive to quit again, and again, and again, until it works for you and until you take it out of your entire system.

4. Get Some Help

Not everybody would be capable of quitting just by going cold turkey and not even little by little without some intervention by medical professionals. There will be those who’d need to get some form of treatment one way or the other so they can completely quit. Especially for those who’ve experienced the consequences of substance abuse to their health and wellness, they’d most likely have to go through some treatment or therapy.

There are numerous kinds of treatments to help people overcome their addiction to substance abuse. Some of these include medical treatments, mental health treatments, and even psychological and psycho-social interventions. Here are some of the treatments given to people striving to quit their addiction:

• Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is a kind of therapy that helps people process their worries, thoughts, concerns, feelings, emotions, tendencies, urges, and behaviors. This is intended more for those who are experiencing issues with themselves while they’re in the process of quitting and withdrawing.
• With the rising use of online communication tools and video conferencing apps, some medical professionals and rehabilitation experts have come up with online therapy programs.
• There are a variety of other treatments such as counseling sessions, family therapy, and neurotherapy. But it’d be best for you to consult a doctor or psychologist before you go on with any of these therapies.

5. Manage Withdrawal Symptoms

Different people experience withdrawal symptoms in a wide variety. One kind of symptom which can be easily felt by those who are experiencing withdrawal symptoms is the physiological aspect.

These physiological symptoms can vary from minor symptoms to life-threatening ones in severe cases. In some cases, they just feel a bit of discomfort. It could just be like common colds or persistent cough. There are also those who could go down with bad flu once their bodies feel the physiological absence of the chemicals they get from addictive substances. But there are also those who had to be rushed to the hospital for immediate and intensive care.

The good thing is that in most cases, the acute withdrawal symptoms often go away after a week or two from the time they quit. Again, people have varying experiences and responses. Some people say they felt the symptoms for quite some time. They thought the withdrawal symptoms would just go on and on and that they’ll never go away. There’s what is called a post-acute withdrawal symptom. There are cases when this went on for months or years in extreme cases.

It wouldn’t be a good idea to try to go back to the addiction when experiencing withdrawal symptoms. During withdrawals, tolerance for the drug’s effects tends to become lower for most people. If a person in withdrawal suddenly goes back to substance abuse, there’s a higher risk of dying from an overdose. In fact, the risk is extremely high if they’ve been past the withdrawal phase. There are those who died of cardiac arrest due to overdose. 

6. Strive To Prevent Relapse

The reality is that quitting substance use can be one of the most difficult things to do. Addiction involves several things at the same time. There’s the physiological aspect of addiction. The body has become so used to substance intake that its physiology looks for and even demands to be fed by the substance. This is one of those things that make it difficult for anyone to quit. Their bodies would produce strong urges to take the addictive substance again.

The other aspect which makes it difficult to quit addiction is the psychological aspect. For many, substance addiction gives them some sort of escape from reality. It provides them a pleasure zone where they can forget their everyday problems and concerns, even for just a little while.

What leads most people to experience relapse are strong cravings and urges. This can be because of the physiological cravings they experience. They just feel this almost overpowering craving to have some of what they used to take. And in moments when the cravings and urges are just so strong, some people give in.

For others, they relapse when they’re going through extreme pressure in their homes or jobs, or some emotional stress caused by a conflict with their loved ones. Another common cause of relapse is when people go to an event where there’s a lot of drinking and smoking. It usually starts with just one drink or one stick of cigarette. And before they know it, they’re drunk, and people in the party are bringing out the substance they quit from.

Quitters Of Addiction Win

If you know anyone who’s striving to get rid of substance use or addiction, or you’re in the process of quitting and withdrawing, you should never hesitate to ask for help. Some of the steps discussed here could help you in your decision to quit. Rest assured that you’ve made the right decision. When it comes to substance use addiction, quitters win.