I will say it again. Quitting drinking or other drugs cold turkey can be a dangerous thing. Most people go through it fine with some shaking, sweating, and vivid dreams. But others can have seizures, massive hallucinations, and even die.
Please ask a doctor or detox center before you start sobriety, especially if you are drinking hard booze every day or are taking benzos like Xanax. Those two are the most dangerous to quit.
There are things to know about the body as you enter recovery. Some of them are obvious, but I wish I was told. For one, your body is probably used to taking in a large amount of fluids. So, keep up with your water.
Secondly, alcohol turns to sugar in your body, so you most likely have a wonderful sugar addiction too. Mine is pretty bad as I write this, but slightly improving. I might have to abstain some day just like with alcohol, but I wouldn’t suggest that for early sobriety.
It’s helpful for you to have around some juice, soda, or sports drinks. The best thing I found was to water down Gatorade half and half. I would also drink shots of Pepsi so I wouldn’t overload on soda! Many cravings that make people relapse early in recovery can be stopped with some sugary fluids.
There can be a lot of strange physical symptoms when we quit drinking too. Here are some from my first week of sobriety. I would alternate between feeling too hot, then too cold. My feet sweated a lot, which I was not expecting. I would have full body shakes at times, but they were not very strong.
I was pretty restless, going from the bed to the shower, out for a walk, into some light stretching and then some yoga. My cat got a lot of attention when I just felt like lying there. Through the first few months of early recovery I attended at least two meetings a day. I read from the AA book when cravings popped up, which worked great. I forced myself to eat well with salads, fruits, and small meals. Of course, there was lots of ice cream.
My sleep was pretty rough for a couple of weeks, mainly from a racing mind and jittery body. I actually enjoyed the dream hallucinations since I was comparing them to years of endless nightmares. There were a few night terrors and sleep paralysis, but those were also familiar to me, so no big deal.
We each have a unique detox experience. I see it as a rite of passage where we transfer into a sober life. Good luck with yours. You only have to go through it once if you stay with us in recovery and do your steps!
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