Tampa Medical Detox

Tampa medical detox can help you end a dependence on drugs or alcohol so that you can focus on recovering from the addiction.

Addiction causes myriad problems in your life, from relationship and financial troubles to legal and health problems. Ending an addiction almost always requires professional help, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. That’s because addiction is a highly complex disease that has underlying issues that must be addressed for successful recovery. If you’re also dependent on drugs or alcohol, the first step of addiction treatment will be detox. Tampa medical detox centers help ensure comfort and safety during withdrawal.

How Dependence Develops

Addiction and dependence are not the same thing, although these terms are commonly used interchangeably. Addiction is characterized by compulsive drug use despite the problems it causes in your life. Dependence is characterized by withdrawal symptoms that set in when you stop using cold-turkey.

Dependence is the result of brain changes that occur when you heavily abuse drugs or alcohol. To compensate for the presence of the substance and the brain changes it causes, the brain alters its function to compensate. For example, alcohol initially increases the activity of GABA, a brain chemical, or neurotransmitter, that’s associated with calm and relaxation. At the same time, it reduces the activity of the neurotransmitter glutamate, which is associated with feelings of excitability. With heavy alcohol use, the brain will reduce the activity of GABA and increase the activity of glutamate in an attempt to normalize its function.

These brain changes lead to tolerance, which means that you need larger doses of a drug to get the usual effects. But as you increase your use, the brain continues to change the way it functions. At some point, the brain may begin to operate more comfortably when drugs are present than when they’re not. Then, when you stop using suddenly, normal neurotransmitter function rebounds, and this causes the physical symptoms of withdrawal. Tampa medical detox ends dependence on drugs so that brain function can begin to return to normal.

Why Tampa Medical Detox is Essential

Drug and alcohol withdrawal can be excruciating, but it can also be dangerous. Alcohol and benzodiazepines like Valium or Klonopin can produce withdrawal symptoms that are dangerous or even deadly, including seizures and problematic shifts in blood pressure and heart rate.

In addition to the dangers of withdrawing on your own, the severity of withdrawal symptoms makes medical detox such as suboxone detox essential for successful recovery. Many people who try to withdraw on their own will return to using very quickly simply to end the discomfort.

How Tampa Medical Detox Works

Medical detox is supervised by medical and mental health professionals who provide medication as needed to reduce the severity of withdrawal symptoms, prevent dangerous symptoms from occurring, and shorten the duration of detox. How long medical detox lasts depends on a number of factors, including the severity of the dependence, how much of the drug is in the body at the time of detox, and your general state of physical and mental health.

Once you enter treatment, Tampa rehab and detox centers conduct a comprehensive assessment that guides the development of a personalized treatment plan. But treatment for the addiction can’t begin until all traces of the drug are out of your body and your brain is beginning to function more normally.

The best drug detox centers offer a holistic approach to detox that involves medication, psychotherapy, and complementary therapies like restorative yoga, massage, acupuncture, and meditation. These therapies improve feelings of wellbeing and help motivate individuals to stay in treatment for its duration.

Tampa Medical Detox is Not Addiction Treatment

According to research, detox alone does very little to treat the addiction, which is far more complex than dependence. Tampa rehab and detox centers follow detox with addiction treatment, which involves a variety of traditional and complementary therapies to help end the addiction once and for all. Through these therapies, individuals change destructive thought and behavior patterns, develop essential coping skills, and work through underlying issues behind the addiction, which often include chronic stress, mental illness, or a history of trauma.

If you’re addicted and dependent, WhiteSands Treatment can help. One of the best drug detox centers in Tampa, WhiteSands offers holistic detox and comprehensive addiction treatment that help you end your addiction to drugs or alcohol once and for all for a happier, healthier life.

If you or a loved one needs help with abuse and/or treatment, please call the WhiteSands Treatment at (877) 855-3470. Our addiction specialists can assess your recovery needs and help you get the addiction treatment that provides the best chance for your long-term recovery.