If you’re thinking of ending your drug use, you might wonder if it’s safe to do so on your own. In fact, stopping drugs by yourself can cause dangerous symptoms such as organ damage, seizures, and possibly even death. Before making a decision, it can be important to talk to a medical professional about what’s best for you. Read on to gain a clearer understanding of if you’ll be able to get off drugs without help.
Risks of Quitting Drugs on Your Own
Although you may want to get off drugs quickly, the dangers are so severe that this should be enough to give you patience. Drug addiction alters the way your brain behaves and functions by changing its chemical composition. This also means the parts of your brain that deal with memory, self-control, and decision-making are altered in a negative way. You may even believe you can control your drug use but it’s highly likely the drugs are controlling you more than you think.
During the first 24 hours after stopping drug use, you can experience flu-like symptoms, tremors, heart palpitations, sweating, vivid dreams, chills and/or fever, muscle pain, nausea, and intense cravings. Other problems you may have include depression, anxiety, violent mood swings, and psychological withdrawal symptoms. Other withdrawal symptoms are:
- Insomnia
- Chronic muscle tension
- Seizures
- Pain throughout the whole body
Why You Need Help to Quit Drugs
Once you quit a drug, the symptoms you’ll experience can be severe and life-threatening. While you’re going through this, you may not even be capable of taking care of yourself on your own. A professional has years of experience and knows what to do in these types of situations. They can monitor your behavior to make sure you’re safe and well. Besides this, not having proper treatment can lead to a relapse. Not only this but going cold turkey can weaken one’s tolerance to drugs. This means you could stop using drugs for many days. Then you could start taking them again and the dose could be fatal.
Quitting Drugs Takes Time
Despite the fact you may want to end your drug use as soon as possible, this is an unrealistic expectation. Rushing will only make your problems even worse. After prolonged drug use, your body is stressed. To reach full recovery, it will need to be restored, hydrated, and nourished. Your mind and body will need to regain strength. This means you’ll need a long-term treatment plan and medical supervision. By committing to sobriety, you’ll be able to return to normal habits.
Overcoming Drug Addiction is Possible
If you’re ready to deal with drug addiction, professionals can teach you to handle relapse, cope with cravings, and overcome drug abuse. Although it could be the most difficult problem you’ve ever faced, telling yourself you have a problem now could save you from having worse issues in the future. Thinking about change can alter your future for the better. Your life is important and you deserve to put drug abuse in the past. Thinking about the reasons you’d want to change can motivate you. This could be your family, pets, friends, or something else.
Seek Support
If you have a drug problem, stopping on your own is dangerous. Putting yourself at risk of harmful symptoms and possible death should never be an option. On the bright side, you have the power to make an informed decision to seek help from professionals. A treatment center can be a place full of supportive people who want to help you heal.
This can be a comfortable environment where there are others who are experiencing similar problems to yours. Choosing to take care of yourself in a healthy way could be the best decision you ever made. All things considered, getting off drugs without help could have extremely dangerous consequences. Instead of putting your health or even your life at risk, asking a professional for advice can be a lot safer. Not only can this put your mind at ease, but you can feel better knowing you did what’s best for your health and well-being. Our counselors are available 24 hours a day. Call 855-334-6120.