how long?
how long?
Hi, I was just wondering how long does it take to no longer be physically addicted to alcohol?
and if you were physically addicted then got over it how long would it take to come back if you started drinking again?
and if you were physically addicted then got over it how long would it take to come back if you started drinking again?
The current thought I hear most often is that once a brain is addicted, the brain never goes back to before it was addicted. It is always at increased risk for addiction.
What do you mean by physically addicted? Do you mean having a higher tolerance or withdrawal symptoms?
I went 16 years without alcohol-- and as soon as I started drinking again, it was a huge problem immediately. But I have seen posts where people say it took up to a year for alcohol to become a big problem again. I am sure it is different for everyone.
What do you mean by physically addicted? Do you mean having a higher tolerance or withdrawal symptoms?
I went 16 years without alcohol-- and as soon as I started drinking again, it was a huge problem immediately. But I have seen posts where people say it took up to a year for alcohol to become a big problem again. I am sure it is different for everyone.
Your body can physically withdraw from alcohol and other substances in a fairly short period. For me it was about 10 days. As we know well on this site, the physical symptoms of withdrawal from alcohol are the most dangerous of any substance.
However, the real withdrawal is mental, and as oak says, that probably never goes away.
However, the real withdrawal is mental, and as oak says, that probably never goes away.
The brain becomes physically addicted to alcohol. The same part of the brain that is programmed to make sure people seek food, water and sex becomes programmed in addicts to seek alcohol. That programming can be drastically reduced through deprivation, but using again will restore that programming in short order.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: CT
Posts: 189
I have read that anyone who drinks very heavily and daily for 7 days or more can experience alcohol withdrawal. For me, I think it starts at around 5 days, but starts to get really bad again in 7-10 days. Oddly, I can go months without drinking and my tolerance does not seem to change at all. Hallmark sign of addiction.
I've stayed sober for 7 years two different times and both times I went back out drinking. It's my belief that the disease (or illness or malady or whatever you choose to call it) is progressive. When I started drinking again it was like I had never quit.
I really didn't think much about the physical withdrawals much. It was the mental, the obsession, compulsion that I focused on when I first came to recovery. I don't know if you have a Big Book of Alcoholics Annoymous, but I suggest if you don't to get one. It talks about the mental state of alcoholics before drinking. I could relate to that. The Big Book really gives you so much information about alcoholism....and I needed that.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 136
As someone newer to sobriety, the physical withdrawal is surprisingly short, about 5-7 days and I don't feel it anymore (aside from insomnia). Which is amazing considering I've been drinking heavily for 10 years, and a fifth per day when I quit. But the symptoms are so intense it is really, really hard to get started on that 5-7 days
It's the psychological stuff that gets to me. And the first drink does make us feel good. Quitting smoking has never been difficult for me (I've done it a few times--all years apart so don't laugh) because smoking itself really isn't that great. Smoking becomes ore annoying the longer you do it. But drinking messes with your emotions.
It's the psychological stuff that gets to me. And the first drink does make us feel good. Quitting smoking has never been difficult for me (I've done it a few times--all years apart so don't laugh) because smoking itself really isn't that great. Smoking becomes ore annoying the longer you do it. But drinking messes with your emotions.
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)