Alcohol abuse takes a toll on your physical and mental health and can keep you from taking care of your basic needs. Your relationships may suffer, and you may find yourself facing serious legal, financial, or medical problems.
Alcohol abuse treatment can give you the support, care, and guidance you need to regain control over your drinking and teach you how to live a healthy, sober lifestyle. But the road to recovery may not always be straightforward. Alcohol abuse changes the way your body functions, making it very difficult to stop drinking on your own.
For many, the first step of recovery is participating in a medically-supported detox program. If you are looking for an alcohol detox in the Boston area, you likely have a lot of options. We’ve put together a guide to help you understand what will happen during detox and help you make an informed choice about your care.
How Much Alcohol is Too Much?
Moderate drinking is not associated with any known, long-term harm to a person’s health. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) defines moderate drinking as one or fewer alcoholic drinks per day for women and two or fewer daily drinks for men. The CDC guidelines for what counts as an alcoholic drink are as follows:
- 5 ounces of wine
- 12 ounces of beer
- 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits like vodka, whiskey, or gin
- 8 ounces of malt liquor
The CDC defines heavy drinking as drinking more than recommended during a week. For women, this means having more than seven alcoholic drinks weekly. For men, consuming 15 or more drinks is considered heavy drinking.
Regularly engaging in heavy drinking may lead to tolerance–needing to drink more alcohol to get the same effects. Tolerance is one of the benchmarks for addiction and indicates you may need help to stop drinking safely.
As your tolerance increases, you may begin drinking more. Drinking larger amounts more frequently can lead to the development of physical dependence on alcohol, resulting in symptoms of withdrawal if you abruptly quit drinking. If you experience withdrawal symptoms if you go periods of time without alcohol, it’s time to seek help from an alcohol detox center near you.
Do I Need the Support of an Alcohol Detox in Massachusetts?
If you are in Massachusetts and live with alcoholism, you may require treatment in an alcohol detox program to manage withdrawal safely.
Recognizing the signs of an unhealthy relationship with alcohol is the first step toward getting the help you need to recover. Some of the signs of alcohol abuse or addiction include:
- Drinking to manage physical pain or difficult emotions, such as boredom, sadness, anxiety, or anger
- Needing to drink more and more to get the same effects
- Being involved in an accident, injuring yourself or others, or experiencing health problems related to your drinking
- Experiencing legal or financial trouble due to your drinking
- Isolating or only spending time with others who drink
- Regularly drinking more than you meant to
- Wanting to stop drinking but finding that you can’t
- Having withdrawal symptoms when you stop drinking
- Neglecting your relationships and responsibilities at home, work, or school
- Spending a lot of time thinking about drinking, getting alcohol, and recovering from drinking
Alcohol addiction means a total loss of control over your drinking because your body is dependent on alcohol to function. But there are many ways to have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. It’s crucial to get the help you need before facing the serious, sometimes life-threatening consequences of alcohol addiction.
What Happens During Alcohol Detox?
If you’ve been drinking heavily or frequently for a period, you will likely experience withdrawal symptoms when you stop. Uncomfortable physical and emotional symptoms can begin to develop within just a few hours of your last drink and include:
- Anxiety
- Sweating
- Headache
- Insomnia
- Tremors/shaking
- Nausea, vomiting, upset stomach
- Cravings for alcohol
These symptoms are often so uncomfortable that many people relapse before having a complete detox. Withdrawal symptoms can last for days or weeks, making them vulnerable to relapse for a long time.
Receiving treatment from an alcohol detox center in the Boston area, you will have round-the-clock care and supervision from a team of medical and support specialists. Your treatment team will assess and treat you for withdrawal symptoms by providing medications, emotional support, and holistic therapies that support overall healing. This care and support will help you achieve a safe, complete detox and keep you comfortable throughout the process.
Alcohol Detox Near Me: Finding an Alcohol Detox in the Boston Area
It’s crucial to find a high-quality alcohol detox center that can give you the support you need to overcome the physical, emotional, and behavioral aspects of addiction. Some of the signs of a high-quality detox program include:
- Safe, clean, calm environment
- Staff are licensed to provide detox services
- The program and center are accredited
- The center offers multiple levels of care to accommodate your unique needs
- The program utilizes evidence-based therapies and treatments
Get The Care You Need and Deserve
Woburn Addiction Treatment is a leader in the addiction treatment field, with proven success in facilitating long-term recovery. Our team of top clinical & medical experts specializes in treating addiction coupled with mental illness, ensuring that each person receives individualized care. Call us – we’re available 24/day, 7 days/week.
The staff at our alcohol and drug rehab in Massachusetts is dedicated to helping clients who need detox find a high-quality, effective alcohol detox in the Boston area. Whether Massachusetts is home for you or you want to travel for first-rate treatment, our admissions staff would be happy to tell you more about the available programs and help you get started.
Find a Top-Rated Alcohol Detox Center Near Boston, Massachusetts Today
If you or someone you love require addiction treatment or are looking for a detox program in Massachusetts, reach out to the Woburn Addiction Treatment specialists today to get started on your recovery journey.
