Published June 18, 2020 · Reviewed by Sergey Litvinov, MD · ~1208 words

If you have chosen to get sober, that is amazing. So many people live their entire lives and never even admit they have an alcohol addiction. You are already on the right path, and you should be extremely proud of yourself for this decision. Now that you have made this decision, you can decide to detox with an outpatient detox program, inpatient detox program, or detox on your own at home.

With this being said, there are some things that you need to think about when deciding where you are going to detox. You need to consider your safety, the comfort of getting sober, and your alcohol misuse history. You should also consider your past, current, and future health. While considering these things, it is helpful to know some of the reasons why you shouldn’t detox from alcohol on your own.

At-Home Detox Puts Your Safety at Risk

One of the things that you should consider when deciding where you are going to detox from alcohol is your safety. For some people, the alcohol detox process is quite unpredictable. If you have been drinking alcohol for a long time, 3 years or more, for instance, you may have a more difficult time getting sober. In addition, if you have been misusing drugs along with alcohol, you may have additional troubles when getting sober. Some people do have seizures or lose consciousness when getting sober. This isn’t meant to scare you. It is just important that you realize that if you attend an alcohol detox program, instead of detoxing on your own at home, you can get the medical assistance you need while detoxing.

You won’t have experienced professionals in your home to help take care of you during the detox process. However, if you choose to go to a detox facility, you can get medications to help with withdrawal symptoms. You will also have around-the-clock medical support if and when it is needed.

While you may be worried about the withdrawal symptoms, if you choose to get help from a detox facility, you can be made to feel more comfortable during the detox process.

DIY Detox Doesn’t Provide Comfort

If you have decided to detox from alcohol, it is important to know that doing this on your own at home will probably be quite uncomfortable. You won’t have the professional help that you would get from a detox facility. There won’t be medications in your home that can help you with the symptoms of withdrawal. At an alcohol detox facility, the staff members can help make you more comfortable through therapy and medications.

In addition, if you try detoxing at home, you have to worry about other people hindering your process. However, if you detox in a professional facility, you can get some peace and quiet during this process, as well as removing enablers and familiar using partners from your life.

If you live in a home where others are misusing alcohol or drugs, this could make it very uncomfortable for you to detox. When you choose an alcohol detox facility to detox at, you won’t be around anyone else who is drinking or doing drugs. Everyone who is there is either detoxing or helping people to detox.

Professional Detox Lowers Your Relapse Risk

If you are trying to detox at home on your own, your risk of relapsing will be much higher than detoxing at a professional alcohol detox facility. There are numerous reasons why this is the case.

One of the reasons why you will have a higher risk of relapsing when trying to detox at home because you are more likely to drink again if things feel difficult. For instance, if you start feeling withdrawal symptoms at home, you are much more likely to pick up that bottle of alcohol again. If you experience withdrawal symptoms in an alcohol detox facility, you will have the support and help you need from the medical team to get through it all. You still may have the cravings and urge to drink again, but you won’t be able to when you are in an alcohol detox facility.

You may have a higher risk of relapsing when detoxing at home because you don’t have the support system you would have while in an alcohol detox facility. Maybe your family members and friends aren’t as supportive of your sobriety and recovery journey as you would like them to be. This can make it quite difficult to get and stay sober. However, if you detox in an alcohol detox facility, you can get the support you need from others who are detoxing and from the team of professionals in the facility. After getting that support and the resources you need to stay sober after leaving the facility, you will be less likely to relapse.

Medically Supervised Detox Provides Peace of Mind

Trying to detox from alcohol at home can be extremely difficult. You may have the worries of continuing to care for your children, handling all the household errands, and much more. These worries can distract you from your sobriety. However, if you choose to detox with the help of an alcohol detox facility, you can have peace of mind. You will be surrounded by people who are focused entirely on your sobriety. They want to see you get sober, and they are there to help. You won’t be distracted about taking care of everyone else.

RELATED CONTENT

• Alcohol detox program
• Benzo detox program
• Cocaine detox program
• Heroin detox program
• Opioid detox program
• Meth detox program
• Methadone detox program
• Prescription drug detox program
• Suboxone detox program