Are You Worried About The Drug Detoxification Stage Of Your Addiction Recovery? 5 Factors That Affect Your Symptoms

The road to recovery doesn't always start out smooth. Once you've made your decision to quit using drugs, you must then figure out a safe way to help your body end its dependency upon the substances. If you've been around people who use drugs long enough, then you may have also heard about the difficult withdrawal symptoms that they suffered from in the beginning. You might have even felt a touch of these symptoms if you had to go without your drugs for a period of time. 

Professional assistance is available to help you through drug detoxification, and it is likely that you need some type of medical supervision if you fit these factors that signify a potential for severe withdrawal symptoms.

How Long Have You Been Using the Drug?

There is no hard and fast rule for this one, but people who have been using drugs for a long time tend to have strong withdrawal reactions. This is because your body has had longer to become dependent upon the substance. You may have also developed a tolerance that requires you to take high doses, and your body will feel the loss of the drugs strongly.

Do You Use Other Drugs or Alcohol?

Many people mix substances. When you have multiple chemicals flowing through your body's systems, the withdrawal process can be more intense or prolonged. Essentially, you must detox from each one of these chemicals, and this can sometimes require intervention from someone who specializes in drug addiction recovery.

What Type of Substances Are You Using?

Different drugs stay in your body for differing amounts of time. Drugs with a short half-life, such as heroin, tend to generate withdrawal symptoms much faster. Although these can be intense, they are usually expected and will go away faster as well. Other drugs stay in your body for longer, which can delay your withdrawal symptoms.

How High of a Dose Do You Normally Take?

Taking higher doses of a drug increases the level of dependency that your body develops. Sometimes, people choose to have one last party before they go to their recovery center. This often results in temporarily more intense withdrawal symptoms that could be avoided by not going overboard before entering rehab.

Do You Have Coexisting Mental or Mood Disorders?

Many drug detox symptoms are similar to what you feel with mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety. In some cases, detoxing from a drug can cause you to feel depressed even if you've never been diagnosed with this condition. If you have coexisting mental disorders, then work with a detox team that understands how to address both issues at the same time so that you feel better faster.