Is it Dangerous to Stop Drinking Cold Turkey?
The use of alcohol has become such a popular pastime in many cultures that we often fail to recognize how much we consume daily or weekly. For many people, alcohol enables them to relax, feel more comfortable socially, and even celebrate victories and life’s meaningful milestones. For those who consume alcohol safely and in moderation — approximately one drink or less daily for women and two drinks or less daily for men — alcohol poses few risks. But for the 14.5 million people ages 12 and older in the U.S. with an alcohol use disorder, what once was merely an innocent way to take the edge off or revel in joy can become a legitimate threat to their health.
It takes courage for a person to realize that alcohol is negatively impacting their life and make the decision to stop drinking. Those who recognize they have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol and opt to make a change have many options at their disposal, including abruptly discontinuing use without gradually weaning themselves off alcohol — a strategy known as quitting “cold turkey.” However, suddenly ceasing alcohol use can be dangerous and it is important a person understands why before deciding to take that path.
What is an Alcohol Use Disorder?
To better understand the dangers of cold turkey alcohol cessation, you should first know how an alcohol use disorder is defined. Though the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism describes an alcohol use disorder as “a medical condition characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health consequences,” there is a set of criteria that helps to define it.
Healthcare professionals will use a set of 11 questions provided by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), to assess if a person has an alcohol use disorder. The number of “yes” answers to questions like those below will help a doctor diagnose the severity of the condition:
In the past year, have you:
- Had times when you drank more or longer than you intended?
- Frequently wanted to cut down or stop drinking but couldn’t?
- Spent a lot of time drinking, feeling sick, or getting over other aftereffects?
Why Do We Become Addicted to Alcohol?
Even though alcohol is legal for those over a certain age — and is readily available at any number of brick-and-mortar or online retailers, restaurants, and bars — it is still a drug. And like other drugs that cause addiction, alcohol “appeals to the pleasure centers of the brain.”
Alcohol releases the chemical dopamine, which links positive emotions with drinking. In turn, those chemically induced sensations motivate you to want more. However, as with other drugs, you can develop a tolerance — which means you’ll need to drink more than before to achieve the desired effects. In time, you begin to feel bad when alcohol is not in your system, and regaining a feeling of normalcy can only be achieved by drinking.
Is Quitting Drinking Cold Turkey Dangerous?
We want to point out that everyone’s body reacts differently to consuming — and quitting — alcohol. That said, it certainly can be dangerous to stop using alcohol cold turkey. It can even lead to potentially life-threatening withdrawal symptoms.
For someone with a severe alcohol use disorder, withdrawal symptoms usually begin between 12 and 24 hours after their last drink. During this period, they may experience intense anxiety, depression, agitation, and mood swings, in addition to physical symptoms like vomiting, fatigue, sweating, diarrhea, and an increased heart rate.
In extreme cases of alcohol withdrawal following quitting cold turkey, a severe condition called delirium tremens, also known as DTs, can set in. DTs can be deadly, with symptoms including shaking, seizures, hallucinations, extreme confusion, and sensitivity to light. While anyone can experience DTs, they’re more prevalent in alcohol users with a history of attempting to quit cold turkey and those abusing alcohol for many years.
Another potentially dangerous outcome to quitting alcohol use cold turkey is ketoacidosis, a condition not unlike what those who battle Type 1 diabetes face. With alcoholic ketoacidosis, the pancreas may stop producing insulin thanks to prolonged, rampant alcohol use. When that happens, the person may develop metabolic problems, cardio issues, and excessive thirst that becomes exacerbated when they stop drinking.
How to Safely Stop Drinking Alcohol
Not only is quitting drinking cold turkey dangerous to your health but there’s also a high rate of failure. Studies show that giving up alcohol without professional help is risky because withdrawal symptoms can be hard to manage, and the cravings are too tempting to resist. Additionally, even if you can stop drinking cold turkey in the short-term, many people who go this route eventually relapse.
And although DTs or ketoacidosis occur in a relatively small percentage of those withdrawing from alcohol, either can be deadly. A much safer and more effective route is completing a medical alcohol detox program under the watchful eye of trained healthcare professionals who can monitor your symptoms, treat the cravings, and protect you from uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. Medically supervised detox ensures the individual remains safe and comfortable throughout the process.
Once you’ve completed detox, a tailored substance use treatment program can help you stay sober by addressing the underlying conditions that may have driven you to drink and provide you with the skills needed to avoid a future relapse.
Midwest Recovery Centers is Here When You Need Us
As mentioned, the best and safest way to reclaim your life from an alcohol use disorder is through a supervised detoxification process. Midwest Recovery Centers offers a residential detox program led by licensed healthcare professionals in a comfortable and serene environment. Safety is always the top priority in our detox program, which is why our clients have 24/7 access to medical care. Following detox, we encourage clients to enroll in our multi-phase treatment program, where they will undergo individual and group therapy, develop new life skills, repair relationships, and continue on the path to sober living.
To start your recovery, contact us today.
Reviewed and Assessed by
Taylor Brown, B.A.Com., CADC
Tim Coleman, M. of Ed.
Start Your Recovery Now!
Have A Midwest Recovery Centers' Team Member Call You Today.
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Staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Medical
Midwest Recovery Centers believes strongly in a client-centered approach. Substance Use Disorder is not what it was 5 or even 2 years ago. The substances on the street are constantly changing and so are the number of contraindications and fatal threats that substance use imposes on the person suffering. Our Medical team continues to stay up to speed with new advances of evidence-based approaches in treating those with both substance use disorder as well as their co-occurring mental health diagnosis. There are many varying pieces to each client’s situation when it comes to tackling the puzzle of a medical detox, and each step in the treatment planning is carefully selected, reviewed, and communicated for the best possible outcome of each client. We understand that consideration of the medical history, family history, past trauma, past and current substance use are all key indicators to most effectively give each client the best chance at developing a recovery process. Each client may present with a different scope of medical needs whether it’s their blood work or the most effective medications for them. Midwest Recovery Centers is proud to have the finest medical team to meet these individual and specific needs of each client that walks through our doors.
Clinical
When it comes to the therapeutic treatment of patients with substance use disorder, Midwest Recovery Centers believes in a client-centered approach guided by evidence-based practices. Substance use disorder has been identified by the American Medical Association as a disease, but because addiction is a disease that impacts behavior, treatment of this disease is often heavily focused on modifying behaviors and thoughts as well as establishing a new way of life. We place a strong emphasis on educating patients about this chronic illness and empowering them to practice treating it as such. Our clinical team is composed of leading experts in the field. We believe in having a staff as diverse as the clients we serve; from Licensed Professional Counselors to Licensed Clinical Social Workers, our staff is highly trained and educated in not only addiction but the mental health issues and life circumstances that often accompany it. Many of our clinicians have their own personal experience in long term recovery which lends them to an even better understanding of what our patients are experiencing. Our staff is highly skilled in choosing the most effective therapeutic modality for each client’s needs, to give them the best chance of securing the recovery process that will change their lives. Our clinical team understands that this is a family disease. This is why clinicians will offer weekly updates to families as well as concrete tools for families to utilize as they journey through this illness with their loved one. Those tools will be offered by the patient’s individual clinician as well as at our free Family Night on the first Wednesday of each month, offered to anyone in the community.
Our Origin Story
I began Midwest Recovery in honor of my mother, Betty Lou Wallace, who taught me responsibility in life and sobriety.
Mom was born, raised, and lived most of her life in Missouri, a state I'm still proud to call home. She had five children. The youngest were my older brother Don and me.
We knew that the disease of addiction ran in the family, but it wasn't until Don and I grew older that we realized we were falling into addictive patterns. Through it all, Mom was supportive of her children but firm about one principle: whether the disease was inherited or developed through your environment, you were responsible for your recovery from addiction.
"I will be supportive of your recovery but I will not enable your addiction," she was fond of saying.
Ultimately, I stayed sober from 1990 to 1997, when I relapsed. With Mom's support, I was able to get sober again in 2002. Tragically, Don was not so lucky. He passed away in 2005 from complications of an injury and continued addiction.
Mom wanted no parent to suffer from the sorrow and anguish of losing a child, so in 2002, she helped me establish my first treatment center business.
As Mom grew older, she shared with me some lessons she had learned through her affiliation with Al-Anon, a support group for family members of loved ones struggling with addiction. She asked me to stay clean and sober one day at a time and to use the lessons I learned in my own recovery to help others who were suffering.
In 2008, Mom passed away from throat cancer, one day after my six year sober anniversary. I still remember that one of the last times we spoke, she told me she was proud of my recovery.
Mom would be so happy to know that myself, our partners, and our team are carrying on her legacy in her home state. I don't know if my own recovery process would be intact without her and the lessons she shared. So much of what we share with our clients at Midwest began with Betty Lou.
Above all, Mom imparted several teachings that I carry with me every day: that people are inherently good, and if they fall into addiction, this makes them sick, not bad. She taught me to be patient, tolerant, loving, and kind to myself and to others.
Most of all, she taught me that recovery works if we are able to be honest with ourselves about our own behavior. That’s what she helped me accomplish and that’s what we strive to accomplish with every Midwest client.
On behalf of Betty Lou, I thank you for your interest in Midwest Recovery.
Jeff Howard
Start Your Recovery Now!
Have A Midwest Recovery Centers' Team Member Call You Today.
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