Safe Alcohol Detox

Is it possible to do a safe alcohol detox on your own at home? Well, generally speaking, with mild alcohol dependency a very strong-willed person can safely detoxify themselves at home. It's not easy but it can be done, and it can be done safely. There are many online videos and books you can buy which talk about the 30-Day Challenge - that is to say, going for 30-days without taking a drink. Easier said than done, and if it is really easy for you, you may not have an alcohol dependency problem. If you do, it's a real struggle even for those in the beginning stages of dependency.

In later stages of alcohol dependency, even with a strong support system of family and friends behind you, it becomes much more difficult. It might not be safe to do it on your own. First, you are setting yourself up for failure, which will make it harder next time you try to detox. Secondly, it can be dangerous, which we'll explain in a bit. Consider that those who are the most committed Alcoholics Anonymous participants often find themselves 'falling off the wagon' and then have to start all over again.

What's that joke?

One gentleman says to another at an AA meeting;

"Well, I finally quit smoking," and his friend says; "That's nothing, I quit drinking 147 times!"

Indeed, alcoholism is no joking matter, and perhaps why everyone chuckles at that one, because it hits home, and is so close to the truth (cite: 1).

It isn't uncommon for someone with severe alcohol dependency to have seizures during alcohol withdrawal periods. It's also not uncommon for an alcoholic with a severe dependency to eventually die during one of these seizures, especially when their health has deteriorated over time. If someone is having delirium tremors from alcohol withdrawal, about the only thing that can stop it is to take another drink, or take a drug that tricks the body into thinking it has taken more alcohol aboard. Still, this is only a temporary fix. In later stages of alcohol dependency, it's much safer to let the experts handle your safe alcohol detox program (cite: 2).

References:

1.) "Doubled over in laughter: Humor and the construction of selves in Alcoholics Anonymous," by Pollner, M., & Stein, J. (2001). In J. F. Gubrium & J. A. Holstein (Eds.), Institutional selves: Troubled identities in a postmodern world (pp. 46-63). New York, NY, US: Oxford University Press.

2.) "Alcohol withdrawal and delirium tremens in the critically ill: a systematic review and commentary," by Don-Kelena Awissi, Genevieve Lebrun, Douglas B. Coursin, and Richard R. Riker & Yoanna Skrobik. Intensive Care Medicine, ISSN 0342-4642, Volume 39, Number 1, Intensive Care Med. (2012) 39:16-30. DOI 10.1007/s00134-012-2758.