Alcohol dependence affects your brain and body in numerous ways. When you seek treatment in an alcohol rehab center, you begin to overcome these effects. One of the most challenging phases of your early recovery will probably be withdrawal. You can expect to enter this phase not long after you stop drinking.
How can you tell when it starts? Certain types of outward signs of withdrawal mark the process. Alcohol withdrawal is also characterized by internal symptoms that only you can notice. Reach out to Evoke Waltham today to learn more about the signs of alcohol withdrawal and our addiction treatment programs.
The Most Common Signs of Alcohol Withdrawal
Some signs of alcohol withdrawal are more common than others. The effects you’re most likely to experience the following:
- Outbursts of irritability
- Rapid changes in your mood
- Lethargy or fatigue
- Cloudy or indecisive thinking
- Insomnia
In addition, others may notice that you seem unusually jumpy, jittery, nervous, anxious, or depressed.
Additional Possible Withdrawal Signs
Other outward signs of withdrawal can also appear as alcohol leaves your system. These signs include such things as excessive sweating and clammy skin. They also include vomiting, dilated pupils, and trembling hands. In addition, your skin may look unusually pale. You may also lose your appetite.
The Most Common Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms
Unless you tell someone or get checked by a doctor, some withdrawal effects are not always so obvious to other people. These kinds of internal effects are technically classified as symptoms, not signs. Nightmares are the most common symptom of alcohol withdrawal.
Additional Possible Withdrawal Symptoms
You may also experience other alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Headaches and nausea are two such symptoms. So is an unusually rapid heartbeat.
Potential Signs and Symptoms of Alcohol Withdrawal Complications
Most people who go through withdrawal experience no major complications. However, a small percentage of those withdrawing from alcohol suffer serious problems. Typically, that includes people who have been drinking excessively for years. What sorts of withdrawal complications are possible? The list of potential issues includes:
- Seizures
- Delirium tremens (the DTs)
- Alcoholic hallucinosis
Unfortunately, most alcohol withdrawal seizures are major. These seizures trigger stiffening of your body, unconsciousness, and rapid, rhythmic jerking of your muscles. You may also experience seizures if you develop delirium tremens. Other possible signs and symptoms of DTs include hallucinations, elevated heart rate and blood pressure, and extreme agitation and disorientation. People with alcohol hallucinosis experience auditory, tactile, and visual hallucinations.
How Alcohol Rehab Centers Can Help
The effects of alcohol withdrawal can potentially derail your recovery. An alcohol rehab center that offers detox services can help you make it through the withdrawal process. Everyone in detox receives basic care that supports their general well-being. There’s also a good chance that you will receive a sedative or some other withdrawal medication. In addition, you may need nutritional support or IV treatments for dehydration.
Alcohol rehab centers also respond promptly to any withdrawal complications you may experience. This speedy action is necessary because such complications have the potential to endanger your life. During your time in detox, you also prepare to continue your recovery in an alcohol treatment program.
Get More Information on the Signs of Alcohol Withdrawal at Evoke Waltham
Want to learn more about the effects of alcohol withdrawal on your mind and body? Turn to the specialists at Evoke Waltham for guidance and advice. With our help, you can better understand how the withdrawal process may affect you. Evoke Waltham features state-of-the-art alcohol detox services. Our goal is to limit the negative impacts of withdrawal as much as possible. In this way, we support your short- and long-term recovery success. Contact us today at 866.276.1920 or complete our online contact form.
