Detoxing and Letting Go of Alcohol Addictions
by Ask a Healer.
Related Mental Health Articles:
Addiction and Self Esteem
What is PTSD?
How to Help Your Body Release Alcohol Toxicity
Question I received about healing alcohol addiction:
I have been abusing alcohol. I am trying to quit. The withdrawal symptoms have gotten so terrible that I don’t know if I can stand it. I don’t want to resort to drugs to stop because I feel like that is just replacing one toxic ingredient with another one. I am not seeing a doctor either because I’m afraid they will make me go into a rehab center.
I need to keep working but the past few days, I have hardly left the house. Can you help with the symptoms of detoxing from alcohol?
Healing Facilitation Response:
Alcohol withdrawal can be fatal, particularly if the person has been abusing alcohol for a number of years.cIf this is the case with your friend, I’d definitely suggest seeing a doctor and getting some liver function tests done as well as looking into at least a temporary stay in an alcohol rehab center so that, if dangerous blood pressure levels or other physical symptoms get out of hand, there will be medical help available to quickly restore physical balance.
I know you said you are not seeing a doctor and as you may read elsewhere on this site, I'm not a big fan of the western medicine myself but it might be wise to at least get some medical tests done and also, you could ask your doctor to refer a nutritionist. There’s a lot that can naturally be done to help the body stabilize during alcohol detox.
Nutritionally, if it were me in your position, I would add a good B-Complex immediately and in particular, extra Thiamine in the better absorbed Benfotamine form. Alcohol consumption depletes B-Vitamins in general and Thiamine, especially. Alcohol depletes magnesium too so taking natural calm can be helpful.
Antioxidants also very important since the breakdown of alcohol creates free radicals which then can affect immune function and the body’s ability to release the toxicity and restore balance during detoxing from alcohol.
Vitamin C is a wonderful antioxidant as well as just being a basic nutritional help to the body in healing. If it were me, and I were in your situation, I’d be taking a large dose of buffered Vitamin C. There are buffered forms of vitamin c that help one to avoid stomach irritation when large doses are indicated. Vitamin C, at therapeutic doses, can be very helpful with alcohol detox.
And I’d most definitely be on a strong probiotic formula. I've personally used several but what matters is that you get a good formula, not a cheapie. Nutritionally, you can add prebiotics and probiotics by eating sauerkraut, kimchi or other fermented foods, or by eating organic yogurt. I really suggest probiotics as a general health supplement because so much of our immune function begins in the colon. Keeping the digestive and eliminatory systems healthy is vital to healing. Not only will probiotics keep your immune system functioning at a higher level during healing, it will also help you retain more nutrition from the foods and supplements you take.
If medical testing indicates reduced liver function, and based on how severe that might be, you could also counsel with a nutritionist or natural health provider on whether or not a detox specifically targeted to cleanse the liver might be needed, and when. Milk thistle helps the body naturally produce more glutathione, which is an important detox ingredient for the liver. Liposomal gluathione can also be taken but the best ones really taste nasty so I suggest mixing with juice.
Caution about detoxing when withdrawing:
When you are withdrawing from alcohol, your body will already be quite stressed. Doing an intense cleanse when your body is in a weakened state may only make matters worse. Seek the help of someone who can guide you thru the steps of healing safely. However, one detox strategy that is almost always indicated is drinking more purified water. Keep good water handy throughout the day and by the bed at night. Also, almost universally advisable is being sure to get adequate sleep. If withdrawal symptoms are keeping you awake, consider a natural sleep aid (valerian is a good one but may need to take for a week or so before it helps you sleep all night) to help you rest until the symptoms abate. Sleep aids are available in herbal remedies, herbal teas, homeopathic preparations, essential oil blends and nutritional blends. Unlike prescription sleep aids which have side effects, natural remedies for better sleep are not addictive.
Emotional and Mental Components to Withdrawal:
Alcohol is not really the problem when a person is using alcohol to the point of considering themselves alcoholic. Almost always, there are preceding emotional or mental imbalances or struggles that have led to drinking more alcohol than is healthy for the body. This is one reason quitting is so tough.
There are physical withdrawal symptoms and, in addition to the challenge those pose, the emotional and mental withdrawal may be even worse.
Alcohol is like an emotional mute button for many, silencing emotional, mental, spiritual or other physical concerns, complaints or patterns.
When a person stops drinking, the unsettling, troubling or distressful aspects that alcohol was blunting are no longer muted and covered up so they may surface, raw and demanding to be silenced once more, when alcohol is absent. They may demand to be quieted with a drink or two, or ten.
Regardless of whether you seek help through conventional means (by medical testing, prescription drugs like prometa and rehab centers) natural and nutritional supplementation, or some combination of those two approaches, neglecting the emotional and mental state is unwise. Here are some approaches and actions that may be helpful to try when you stop drinking or decide that you want to stop:
Counseling.strong>
Mental health counseling is excellent, provided you can find a counselor with whom you feel safe and secure. Being able to open up to a kind and skilled stranger about things that can be more difficult to discuss with family and loved ones may be very important to the healing process around addiction. Since a lot of our issues stem from family dynamics and/or our closest relationships, it's good to have an objective ear.
Healing Facilitation.
Energetic healing work (Reiki or other forms of hands on healing) may also be very beneficial as may therapeutic massage. In fact, weekly massage and healing facilitation sessions could help ease the body trauma or alcohol withdrawal as well as help you get more in touch with the mental and emotional reasons addiction occurred in your life. Healing work with a good energy facilitator may stablize the energy field, balance the chakras and allow for easier detox as well as lessen withdrawal symptoms. Energetic healing facilitation also may help bring emotional clearing about. Healthy emotional release can help the whole body to relax and reset. Seeing a low-force or no-force chiropractor is another great option. Both massage and chiro can help the body release tension that has unknowingly been held, sometimes for a long time.
N=Mother Nature.
Nature is a wonderful healing presence so getting out in nature, being quiet and still in nature, may provide a healing balm to the senses during the withdrawal process as well. The sound of running water can be quite soothing and, if weather permits, getting in the water even more so. A walk on the beach or by a forest stream can be balancing and healing. If you don't have water close by, try a recording with ocean waves or the sounds of a babbling brook.
Meditation and Prayer
Joining a spiritually based prayer group may provide additional support for easing alcohol withdrawal symptoms and help you reconnect with your joyful purpose. While prayer is a time of communicating with God, mediation is a time of clearing the mind and letting your life speak to you from a calm and center vantage point within. Both are important in healing. Starting to meditate can be as simple as just taking five minutes to sit while noticing your breathing and learning to let thoughts go when they arise. Even five minutes can help.
Mental Health Disclaimer: None of the information posted in the Wellness Library, whether by me or guest writers, is represented as any type of replacement for any needed mental health or medical evaluation, testing or treatment a person may need.
