Quitting Alcohol Cold Turkey Doesn’t Work: Rehab Does

Quitting Alcohol Cold Turkey vs. Rehab: Does Going Cold Turkey Work? | Call 24/7 and Let Our Skilled Staff Guide You Toward Sobriety

If you’ve admitted that you are an alcoholic and need to stop drinking, that is a great first step, but now, you have to decide how you are going to quit drinking. You may be tempted to go cold turkey, to just stop immediately on your own. Before you take that step, however, you should be aware of all of your rehab options. Quitting alcohol cold turkey rarely works, and you will have a far better chance of staying clean and sober if you choose professional alcohol addiction rehabilitation.

Cold Turkey Basics

From one perspective, going cold turkey does not seem all that difficult. After all, what is required is to just stop drinking. But while that may sound easy, if you are an alcoholic, you probably already have an idea about how hard it actually is. If you are like other addicts, you have probably already tried to quit but have not been successful. Your body has developed a craving for alcohol that is not easily overcome. When you quit drinking cold turkey, your body does not have a chance to adjust to not having alcohol in your system, and that is when problems can start.

Challenges of Going Cold Turkey

Quitting alcohol cold turkey rarely works because all it takes is one significant stressor for many recovering alcoholics to go right back to the bottle. When you go cold turkey, you never really deal with the underlying issues that led to the addiction in the first place. Many people become addicts because they have never learned how to deal with stress in a healthy way, so quitting alcohol cold turkey without addiction counseling is just setting them up for a relapse. Without being prepared to deal with stress and other problems rightly, it is all too easy to go back to drinking. Professional alcohol addiction treatment will give you the tools to deal with stress and minimize your chances of relapse.

If you have been an alcoholic for some time, going cold turkey will also likely be incredibly uncomfortable. Your body has developed a tolerance for alcohol and a dependence on it for functioning in a way that feels normal. When you quit drinking cold turkey, your body has no chance to adjust to the absence of alcohol, and many uncomfortable and potentially dangerous withdrawal symptoms can ensue. If you choose professional rehab treatment, however, you will receive high-quality medical care in a safe facility that can help you manage your withdrawal symptoms and reduce your cravings.

There’s a Better Way

At Tampa Drug Treatment Center, we see many men and women who have tried to quit cold turkey but have been unsuccessful. Whether that is you or you have never tried quitting before, we are here to help. Our fully accredited facility in the Tampa Bay area is staffed by highly trained personnel, and we customize a treatment for each addict. Free clinical assessments are available: Call today or fill out our form for more information on how we can help you.