How Long Does Alcohol Recovery Take?

Across the UK there are over 600,000 people struggling with alcohol dependence, and around 9,000 people a year will succumb to their addiction. Sadly, only 18% of alcohol-dependent people are receiving treatment, but the good news is that people are seeking treatment, and even better, the available private treatment to choose from is getting better. 

NHS recovery programmes are strained, sadly, but the quality of private alcohol recovery programmes is so much higher than it used to be. Now, you can literally recover in luxury if you need to, with A* accommodation available for inpatients. There is also dayhab and online treatment for the psychological aspect of the dependency, although with alcohol dependency, some medically supervised detoxing is necessary. 

Why You Need Extra Support To Become Sober From Alcohol Dependency

Alcohol dependency is not something that can be stopped suddenly. To do so could be dangerous, and even fatal. It has to be done with supervision, even if you think you’re going to be safe stopping because your consumption is low. Even if you can detox at home, you have to have a professional to speak to in case there are problems. 

 The reason it is so dangerous is that alcohol depresses the central nervous system and the longer the body adapts to those effects, the more over-stimulated the nervous system gets when you take away that depressant (IE when you go into recovery). The symptoms of withdrawal can start as soon as a few hours after your last drink, and can include: 

• Sweating
• Headache
• Restlessness
• Struggling to sleep
• Shaking
• Anxiousness 
• Nausea
• High temperature
• Rapid breathing
• Pupil dilation
• High blood pressure

In some cases, more extreme symptoms may appear, such as; 

• Seizures
• Hallucinations
• Delirium Tremens (DT’s)
• Alcohol Related Brain Damage

Delirium tremens affects 3-5% of people recovering from alcohol dependency and is the most serious symptom of alcohol withdrawal. It can, unfortunately, lead to death, so it’s highly important you have medical supervision to reduce the potential for this happening and to get quick help in the event that it does happen. 

When it comes to the timeline of your recovery from alcohol dependency, everybody is different because several factors impact your individual response to removing alcohol from your system. Your age, weight, health status, consumption amount, routine, and other factors come into play. However, as a general guideline, the following can be expected when alcohol recovery begins: 

• Minor detox symptoms after about 2-6 hours after your last drink
• Minor symptoms peak after 1-3 days for drinkers who consume less than heavier drinkers
• 1-2 weeks of symptoms for heavier drinkers, which can, on some occasions, last a month or more

As a rough guideline, you should consider that alcohol dependency can take a month or more in cases of heavy dependency, but it depends on your individual factors, and it can be milder, or more extreme for different people. 

It’s also important to acknowledge that psychological recovery from alcohol dependency is a much longer game. With programmes offered by professional addiction recovery services like Infinity Addiction Solutions, there is a focus on a multi-faceted approach to recovery. This can include 1-2-1 therapy, group therapy, educational lectures, family interventions and more. At the heart of long-term recovery from alcohol dependency is understanding the root cause of your condition. When done with professional support and encouragement, this brave and challenging aspect of recovery is often what will determine whether you have long-term success or not.