Situations Where An Outpatient Detox Might Be Your Better Option

Treating an addiction requires more than just willpower when your body has developed a physical dependency to drugs or alcohol. While you may have heard many different things about the detox process, you should understand that it is different for everyone. Multiple factors affect how your body responds to ending your addiction. For instance, someone who is addicted to alcohol may have a vastly different detox process compared to someone who has used prescription painkillers for years.

During detox, you may experience mild symptoms such as fatigue and mood swings. Alternatively, you could deal with serious symptoms such as seizures, severe pain and vomiting. When you are not sure how your body will respond to the sudden cessation of using drugs or alcohol, supervised detox helps you make sure that you remain safe throughout the process. Keep in mind, however, that you don’t always have to stay in a residential facility to detox. Instead, you may find that outpatient detox is your better option if any of these situations apply.

You Cannot Take Time Off From Work or School

Addiction treatment is a long process that may involve weeks of counseling, and most residential detox programs require you to stay at the facility 24-hours a day for at least a week. Unfortunately, this kind of time is not available for everyone, and you may have responsibilities that do not permit you to simply step out of your current life for a while. With outpatient care, you have the ability to continue to follow your normal routine. You can keep going to work and school. You can also continue to care for your kids, aging parent or ill loved ones.

Although you shouldn’t be made to feel ashamed of treating your addiction, this option can help you to have more control over who knows about your struggles. Since you do not have to take weeks off of work or school, most people won’t notice that you are receiving treatment for your addiction. For many people, outpatient care is easier financially since they can continue to earn an income throughout their treatment.

Outpatient detox also has the advantage of helping you to continue with other types of treatment that you have already set up. For this reason, you may choose outpatient care for your detox if you have recently had a mild relapse. Having help getting off of drugs or alcohol again while you keep up with your other recovery strategies makes it easier to overcome the withdrawal symptoms that make you get off track.

You Prefer Not to Rush the Process

Several methods can be used to end an addiction. While some detox programs go cold turkey, you may find that this leads to severe withdrawal symptoms that make it harder to beat your cravings. Certain drugs are known for causing these severe symptoms, and you may need to choose an outpatient drug detox program that allows you to slowly wean off of the substances if you deal with any of these addictions.

• Alcohol
• Methamphetamines
• Prescription pain medications
• Heroin

Taking it slow with these types of addictions allows your treatment team to provide you with options that ease withdrawal symptoms. For instance, you may be able to wean off of the drugs using special medications or adjusting your lifestyle habits. If you choose medically-assisted outpatient detox, then certain medications are prescribed that help reduce withdrawal symptoms over time. These types of care should always be done with professional supervision, and you cannot just stop using certain types of medication abruptly or they can cause withdrawal symptoms. Outpatient programs help you avoid a sudden disruption in your treatment that could be caused by a need to go home immediately if you were in a residential facility.

While this is effective, you may be concerned about how long your insurance will cover the treatment. Typically, health insurance companies cover outpatient treatment longer than residential stays since the costs are lower. This option could allow you to extend your treatment for several weeks so that you feel stronger when you leave the program. Taking it slow and easy helps you adjust physically and psychologically to the changes that occur when you finally end your addiction.

You Know That You Can Stick to the Program

At first glance, outpatient detox may look easy since you can still continue to live your normal life. However, this type of program is not for everyone since you must be able to stick to the prescribed treatment regimen. By staying in your home, you are still exposed to the same people and environment that may have led to your addiction. For this reason, you must be sure that you can cut all ties to the people and places that you connect with your drug or alcohol habits.

While staying at home may have its temptations, there are also benefits to recovering while continuing your normal lifestyle. For instance, learning how to deal with your daily stresses as they come eliminates some of the transitional issues that happen after a residential stay. Since you never take a long break from your life, easing into sobriety is a smoother transition.

You should also be willing to continue with other types of treatment after the detox process is over. For example, you may need to see a professional counselor who can help you learn how to deal with the underlying reasons for your addiction. Alternatively, you may need to join a support group where you can meet other people who have made it through detox and learned to live without using drugs or alcohol. When you choose an outpatient treatment program, make sure that the counseling team helps you find ways to build a network of support at home that keeps you on the right track for sobriety.

Have you been looking for a way to end your addiction with minimal disruptions to your life? Contact a member of our team and get started on making progress in our outpatient detox program today. Call 866-754-9113