Alcohol is one of the most easily-available, yet most dangerous substance a person can abuse. While the argument is still out whether social drinking can be contained and can remain healthy, unhealthy drinking habits are most assuredly a problem for your physical and mental health.
How Do I Know If I Should Quit Drinking?
You can take an alcohol assessment test to see if you are an alcoholic, but many of these tests are difficult for people to relate-to in 2025. Really, you just need to ask yourself a few questions:
- Am I drinking to self medicate?
- Self medication is when you use drugs or alcohol to make you feel better, change your mood, or “deal with” life stressors.
- Does Alcohol Get “In The Way” of life?
- Sure, there are fun times that can be had while drinking with friends; but, does drinking continue to bring negatives into your life that you have to deal with?
- Do I Have Bad Self Esteem or a Negative Image of Myself?
- Am I Unhappy In Life?
Answering “Yes” to any of the above would be a good indicator that drinking is not making things better. You may not be an alcoholic or a very problematic drinker currently, but you certainly are not headed on a positive path where alcohol is making things better.
Alcoholism Is Sneaky
All drug addictions and chemical dependencies sneak up on you and become a full-blown problem before you even realize it; but alcohol is much worse with this, and tends to be the sneakiest trickster of all of the addictive substances.
By the time most people realize they have a serious problem with alcohol, they are already chemically-dependent on alcohol, and usually drink every day or every 1-3 days. The mantra ” I can quit anytime I want” is prevalent in alcohol abuse, and even though many say this, the truth is they likely have not gone more than 7 days without alcohol in years. Alcohol withdrawals usually start after 7-14 days without alcohol.
Alcohol Withdrawals When Quitting Drinking On Your Own
Many alcoholics find out they are addicted to alcohol the first time they try and quit drinking for a week or more. Alcohol withdrawals start off feeling like a bad hangover with shakiness, and increase in intensity the longer you stay away from alcohol. As the withdrawals get more intense, the symptoms also become more serious. Seizures, vomiting, heart palpitations, and other serious withdrawal symptoms can turn deadly if a person is not under medical care.
Do I Need to Go To Alcohol Detox?
If you are having serious alcohol withdrawal symptoms; yes, you should go to detox if you are trying to quit alcohol. Most alcohol abusers will not have the serious and deadly withdrawal symptoms that alcoholics suffer-from, but you won’t know until you are detoxing from alcohol. This is why we suggest to detox in a medical detox environment. Even if you do not suffer from dangerous withdrawal symptoms, it will be a much more pleasant experience — as doctors help ease the symptoms using medications.
Can I Detox From Alcohol Alone?
We would not suggest being alone while detoxing from alcohol. The most serious risk is the risk of death during alcohol detox. The most common deaths from alcohol withdrawals are when a person detoxing has a seizure or other medical event and a medical professional is not present.
Can I “Step Down” My Drinking to Quit Alcohol
Yes, it is suggested that everyone decrease their alcohol intake only in steps. Slowly decreasing the amount you drink per day, week. month, etc. Not only does this help ease withdrawal symptoms, it can help make quitting easier. For those that cannot decrease their drinking, a traditional residential alcohol rehab environment would be suggested.
Can You Die From Alcohol Withdrawal?
Yes, alcohol withdrawals are the most deadly form of substance withdrawal — even more deadly than heroin and opioids. This is why we so seriously suggest medically supervised alcohol detox — not only for the supervision (as falls, head injuries, and seizures are the common form of death during alcohol detox).
Anti-seizure medication is administered during detox that not only act as anti-anxiety medications, but can prevent seizures as well.
What Is Alcohol Detox Like?
Like waiting in a hospital or medical clinic… You are constantly under supervision from the medical professionals, but all you have to do is sit back, relax, and let the alcohol slowly remove itself from your body. Doctors and nurses will ask you questions about how you feel, and may give you medications to adjust your mood and anxiety levels. You can watch TV or other simple activities while the detox happens.
Do I Need to Go To Rehab After Alcohol Detox?
This all depends on if you can never drink again after detox. Do you have the willpower to just never drink again now that alcohol is safely out of your system? Alcoholism starts again right where it left off if you drink again after detox. It does not reset to the way you were when you first started drinking.
If you cannot stay away from alcohol, situations with alcohol, and cannot say no to drinks, then you probably need to go to rehab to figure our why you have an obsessive-compulsive relationship with alcohol.
How Do I Start Alcohol Detox In Arizona?
The first thing you need to do is find a medically supervised detox facility. Active Recovery Care offers medically supervised detox from alcohol in our Mesa, AZ office.
