Understanding Alcohol Withdrawal and What Happens When You Stop Drinking Alcohol
What Is Alcohol Withdrawal?
Alcohol withdrawal is the body’s reaction when you stop drinking after regular or heavy alcohol consumption.
Prolonged heavy drinking and substance abuse can affect the nervous system and lead the body and brain to expect alcohol, with drinking feeling like a normal or necessary part of daily life. However, when a person decides to stop drinking alcohol, the body can react in drastic ways to this sudden change. How intense the symptoms of withdrawal are will depend on how long a person has been drinking, how heavy their use was, and various other risk factors like underlying health conditions.
What Are the Symptoms of Alcohol Withdrawal?
Symptoms can include anxiety, sweating, nausea, shaking, high blood pressure, cravings, and, in severe cases, delirium tremens.
A heavy drinker may also experience other intense effects of alcohol withdrawal, such as irritability, mood swings, hallucinations, depression, or confusion, with insomnia, nightmares, and more also being possible. However, the most intense form of alcohol withdrawal is still delirium tremens, or DT. This is a life-threatening form of alcohol withdrawal that demands medical professionals to help stabilize and overcome its effects.
If you or a loved one is concerned about substance use, alcohol addiction, or alcohol withdrawal, understanding the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal can help you explore professional detox services and seek medical advice when beginning healing.
When Should You Seek Medical Help?
Seek medical help if you have severe symptoms like confusion, seizures, or a rapid heart rate.
However, even mild withdrawal symptoms can still present many challenges, and both long-time and short-term alcohol use can lead to intense withdrawal, depending on how much a person used and how often. Medical help to address withdrawal, especially if a person engaged in heavy drinking, attempted to decrease or cease the use of alcohol in the past on their own, or who feels they do not have access to other support, may be necessary to prevent early relapse.
Physical Changes After You Stop Drinking
How Does Stopping Alcohol Affect Blood Pressure and Heart Health?
Quitting alcohol can lower blood pressure, improve heart rate, and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Stopping the use of alcohol can improve overall health, helping the body return to a normal homeostasis. Lowered blood pressure and improved circulation can be important physical changes when stopping alcohol, while also reducing the risk of heart attack or stroke as a person maintains their sobriety.
Likewise, sobriety can help alleviate symptoms of heartburn, which can be common alongside heavy drinking. Alcohol can damage the stomach lining and increase the production of acids in the body, leading to irritation in the esophagus and feelings of heartburn.
How Does the Liver Heal After Quitting Alcohol?
Liver function can improve within weeks, and the risks of liver disease and cirrhosis decrease over time.
Alcohol affects every part of a person’s health, but the liver can be the most directly impacted, as it is tasked with processing the toxins in alcohol, from beer and liquor to a glass of wine. Heavy drinking can lead to fatty liver and inflammation. Stopping the use of alcohol can help to alleviate these challenges while giving the liver a chance to heal, with these symptoms beginning to reverse within a few weeks of sobriety.
However, quitting alcohol is just the beginning, and maintaining a healthy abstinence from the substance is necessary to prevent these challenges from coming back.
Can Quitting Alcohol Help With Weight Loss?
Yes, eliminating empty calories from alcohol supports weight loss and overall wellness.
Fewer empty calories in a person’s diet and decreased sugar intake can lead to improved metabolism, with many of those engaging in detox and committing to a life of sobriety noticing weight loss as a result of the absence of these alcoholic drinks. Weight loss in sobriety, physical exercise, nutritional support, and emotional healing can improve overall health.
Mental and Emotional Benefits
How Does Sobriety Improve Mental Health?
Stopping alcohol can reduce anxiety and depression and improve overall emotional well-being.
Ceasing the use of alcohol can help the brain return to a stable state, readjusting brain chemistry to accommodate previously disrupted neurotransmitters that may have affected daily life. Lessened feelings of anxiety, depression, and mood swings are common in sobriety. While many of these mental health challenges can be incredibly prevalent during detox and withdrawal, they do improve with time, with professional support and education being crucial to benefiting from treatment.
Sobriety can also aid in the restoration of healthy brain function. Alcohol can make it difficult to form or recall memories, and even feel like a “fog” is hanging overhead. Embracing a sober lifestyle comes with increased focus, memory, and decision-making that can lead to further successes in a sober life.
Improved self-esteem, confidence, and agency are also common, further supporting mental health and emotional healing as part of each person’s sobriety journey.
Will Alcohol Cravings Go Away?
Cravings often decrease over time with treatment, support groups, and healthy coping skills.
While cravings decrease over time and as a person reaches new milestones in their recovery, they may not go away entirely. However, they get easier to manage. Working with professionals to update coping skills, grounding strategies, and address personal triggers can ensure that each person has a plan to navigate cravings when they do occur to maintain a healthy sobriety, improving resilience and relapse prevention for a fulfilling and long-lasting sober life.
Likewise, simply experiencing a craving does not mean that a person has failed or that they are beyond recovery. Rather, how a person responds to a craving is more important. Successfully navigating these challenges, even as a long-time sober alumnus, is still worth celebrating and highlights a person’s ongoing commitment to themselves and loved ones.
How Does Quitting Alcohol Affect Sleep and Mood?
Quality of sleep and mood regulation often improve after the last drink.
Alcohol addiction can compromise sleep schedules, leading to inconsistent sleep, insomnia, and even nightmares, affecting the quality of sleep. Quitting alcohol can allow improved regulation and improve sleep quality.
Timeline of Changes After Quitting Alcohol
What Happens in the First 24-72 Hours?
Withdrawal symptoms may begin, ranging from mild hangover-like effects to severe detox symptoms.
This is when many withdrawal symptoms are at their most intense. It is common for those just beginning their sober journey to relapse during this time, even if they know it would set back their sober journey, due to these effects. Professional support during these first few days is essential to navigate withdrawal and effectively address unexpected symptoms, challenges, and needs that may arise during this time.
However, after about 72 hours, these symptoms will subside, becoming easier to manage and leading to improved physical health, mood, and overall well-being.
What Happens After Weeks of Sobriety?
Energy levels rise, the immune system strengthens, and blood pressure and liver function improve.
After a few weeks, many physical and emotional healings may become apparent. With increased energy and wellness, new opportunities can arise in sobriety that can further healing, from physical exercise to improved mood and stability.
What Are the Long-Term Benefits of Quitting Alcohol?
Long-term sobriety reduces the risk of cancer and heart disease and supports a longer, healthier life.
In addition to these important benefits, quitting alcohol can also lead to improved emotional health, decreased anxiety, and improved personal relationships with friends, family, and loved ones.
Just as alcohol addiction can affect every part of daily life, from personal health to relationships, finances, and professional life, quitting alcohol can have benefits in each of these areas as well, leading to a wholly transformed approach to daily quality of life, goals, and triumphs in sobriety.
Treatment and Support for Quitting Alcohol
What Are the Treatment Options for Alcohol Use Disorder?
Options include inpatient or outpatient detox, counseling, medications, and support groups.
Harmony Grove Behavioral Health is a dedicated outpatient treatment facility, connecting those in recovery from alcohol addiction to peers and professionals across Houston and creating a sober community. With treatment options like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), trauma-informed care, and dual-diagnosis programs, there are many options to explore.
Likewise, each journey to sobriety is different. Having personalized options, as well as the ability to pivot to new strategies depending on what is most effective, can ensure that each person is making the most of their time with dedicated healing professionals and peers.
From detox and residential treatment to ongoing outpatient care, and from evidence-based treatment modalities to holistic and community healing options, each person is empowered to carve their own path to sobriety while benefitting from the support, education, and resources of dedicated professionals guiding them through each step.
Calling individual treatment facilities to learn more about their treatment options, methods, and philosophy can be a great way for each person to find the treatment options and facility that works best in their healing journey.
What Medications Help With Alcohol Withdrawal?
Benzodiazepines and other FDA-approved medications may be used under medical supervision.
However, no medication will “fix” or “cure” addiction without personal dedication and care. Some medications can help address specific challenges or symptoms while facilitating engagement in individual and group therapy, holistic healing options, and personalized coping strategies for an effective approach to lasting and comprehensive change.
How Can Loved Ones Support Recovery?
Loved ones can encourage treatment, join family therapy, and support alcohol-free living.
Addiction affects entire families. However, families can also be instrumental in long-term sobriety.
Some other ways that loved ones can support sober healing include:
- Educate oneself about addiction as a disease
- Create a judgement-free space to discuss challenges and change at home
- Be an understanding ear, even if a person may not fully understand these challenges
- Provide resources to attend recovery, such as transportation, or help create a schedule
- Commit to change at home alongside those in recovery
- Establish a sober household, both through removing alcohol and potential reminders or triggers of past use
- Celebrate milestones and accomplishments
- Model healthy and effective daily routines and self-care
- Establish healthy boundaries for personal healing and rest
- Work with those in recovery through family counseling to develop communication strategies, understanding, and forgiveness
- Be patient
Recovery takes time and dedication, and healing is rarely a straight line. There will be ups and downs throughout the process. Continuing to educate oneself, attending support groups, and celebrating accomplishments can all be instrumental in creating a culture and atmosphere of support and healing at home.
FAQs About Stopping Alcohol Use
Is It Dangerous to Quit Drinking Cold Turkey?
Yes, quitting suddenly can be life-threatening for heavy drinkers—medical supervision is recommended.
Dedicated medical detox programs are crucial for addressing difficult withdrawal symptoms and providing care when quitting cold turkey. Attempting to detox on one’s own can not only be dangerous, but also lead to unnecessary risk of relapse in healing.
There is no replacement for professional detox programs or treatment, with detox being just the first step and empowering those in recovery to transition to further care, such as residential or outpatient care.
How Long Does It Take to Feel Better After Quitting?
Many people notice improvements in health and well-being within days to weeks of quitting.
However, that doesn’t mean that there won’t still be challenges, with ongoing care after these initial parts of recovery being necessary to maintain sober change.
Does Quitting Alcohol Help Prevent Cancer?
Yes, reducing alcohol consumption lowers the risk of several alcohol-related types of cancer.
How Do I Know if a Loved One Is Living With Alcohol Addiction?
Strong urges to drink, compromised personal hygiene and responsibilities, and continuing to drink despite negative consequences can all be symptoms of alcohol use disorder (AUD).
However, nobody is ever beyond healing. Noticing these symptoms can be a reason to call a treatment facility to learn more about alcohol addiction and to explore potential healing options.
How Long Does Recovery Last?
There is no “end date” to recovery, as healing from alcohol addiction is a lifelong journey.
While detox programs typically last about a week or two, and inpatient programs last approximately one to three months, there is no definite amount of time in each of these programs.
Graduating from detox, residential, or even Harmony Grove Behavioral Health’s outpatient program doesn’t mean that a person’s journey in recovery is over. Rather, continuing to engage in community healing, attend alumni hangouts, and commit to a sober life is part of the healing journey.
Sobriety is much more than the lack of alcohol – it is an entire lifestyle dedicated to pursuing personal goals and healing.
What Is the Difference Between Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Addiction?
Alcohol abuse is the dangerous use of alcohol, such as binge drinking or heavy drinking in social situations or isolation, typically resulting in hangovers or other consequences. In contrast, alcohol addiction is a chronic disease where a person feels out of control of their drinking, finding it difficult to stop even if they want to.
Do I Need Dual Diagnosis Treatment?
Dual diagnosis is when a person is living with a substance use disorder, like alcohol addiction, and a mental health disorder, such as anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Mental health disorders and addiction are intimately linked, with one often informing the other. Treating addiction without addressing underlying mental health needs can lead to incomplete coping strategies and an increased risk of relapse, while treating mental health disorders without acknowledging the impact that substances play can make recovery difficult.
Dedicated dual diagnosis programs can be necessary for addressing these challenges in tandem, while exploring the ongoing, cyclic effect they can have on each other. Talking to a professional about each person’s needs in treatment, underlying mental health conditions, and more can empower each person to explore dual diagnosis in their healing journey for a holistic approach to change.
Can I Detox from Alcohol at Home?
Quitting alcohol can be risky and comes with many withdrawal effects and challenges. Attempting to detox at home can be dangerous.
There is no replacement for the educated and dedicated care of a medical professional when quitting alcohol. Not only can professionals help a person address withdrawal and the initial challenges of quitting alcohol, but they can also help each person transition to other levels of care most pertinent to their journey, supporting lasting change.
Each person’s journey quitting alcohol is also unique, and just because one person did not experience as intense withdrawal symptoms does not mean that a person’s own journey won’t have many personal challenges to overcome. Recovery is always personal, and having access to professionals to adjust to individual needs is paramount, whether during detox or throughout ongoing inpatient or outpatient care.
There are a lot of mental, emotional, and psychological changes that occur when you stop drinking alcohol, especially for those living with addiction. Harmony Grove Behavioral Health can help you overcome these challenges to facilitate healing and lasting change, celebrating your first step toward an alcohol-free life. To learn more about our outpatient programs, call (713) 564-6468.