Why a History of Successful Quitting Does Not Make Cold Turkey a Viable Alcohol Rehab Option

There is a lot of debate surrounding the viability of going cold turkey as an effective alcohol treatment option. The consensus from those in the rehab industry is this is a terrible idea. You are potentially risking your life by attempting to quit in this manner. Unfortunately, thousands of alcoholics continue to attempt this year after year – often with disastrous consequences.

One myth is that quitting previously with only minor withdrawal symptoms means your body is able to cope with the complete removal of alcohol. In this article, we are going to discuss why this is not the case.

Where Does the Myth Come From?

The myth comes from the face alcohol rehab clinics frequently talk about the risk of seizures and delirium during the cold turkey process. If someone attempts to go cold turkey and they manage to avoid these withdrawal symptoms, they begin to get the idea that their body is strong and it is more than capable of handling this extreme form of alcohol treatment.

What Does Science Say?

What many alcoholics find shocking is the fact that there is a direct correlation between experiencing alcoholic seizures and the number of times someone has attempted a Detox. In other words, the more times you attempt to quit, the more likely you are to suffer from these extreme symptoms health professionals often talk about.

There is absolutely no correlation between going cold turkey in the past and a reduced risk of experiencing major withdrawal symptoms in the future. In fact, it is often the exact opposite. You are more likely to experience them.

A Lottery

Scientists do not have a concrete answer as to why it works how it does. The current theory is that it depends entirely on the context in which the patient attempted to quit the last time. For example, they may have been in the early stages of alcohol addiction. At this point, their bodies had not become dependent on it. This meant that the risk of experiencing seizures was already low.

Moreover, sometimes it is just a lottery. Going cold turkey does not mean you are automatically going to have to deal with extreme withdrawal symptoms. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t. Some alcoholics will never have these issues, whereas other alcoholics will experience them to a great degree.

The Clinical Environment

What this article should show you is that you need medical professionals surrounding you when you do go cold turkey. Most rehabilitation programmes will eventually remove alcohol from your system entirely. The difference is you’re surrounded by doctors and various prescription medications. If something does go wrong, you will have the help of an expert in a matter of minutes.

That is a safe way of going cold turkey. Someone who lives alone is most at risk because there is no guarantee they will receive help until it is too late.

In conclusion, if you are about to embark on the recovery process, do not start drinking until you

start the programme. Continue to drink in the meantime and don’t attempt to make any changes to your daily routine.