Many people facing alcohol dependence recovery wonder what happens when you quit drinking. Some fear this process, while others can hardly contain their excitement for a better future. But everyone agrees on one thing. That is, drinking for so long took its toll on many aspects of your life.
Health Damages of Drinking
As said before, drinking takes many tolls on your life. But it also severely affects your health.
This damage starts in your brain, slowing down this vital organ’s communication with the rest of your body for breathing, speaking, thinking and moving. Drinking actually causes long-term brain damage in its cerebral cortex, tissues, limbic system and cerebellum. From these changes, you notice effects like mood problems, depression, poor judgment, sleeplessness and addiction, itself.
Quitting drinking helps reverse many of these brain-oriented changes. But some remain long after you quit, even causing permanent changes.
Your immune system also suffers from alcohol dependence. You suffer greater difficulty in fighting illnesses and infections. Your body struggles to fight harmful bacteria as it should, too. It also does not fight cancer risk, not producing antibodies as it needs to prevent this disease from taking over.
At the same time, your excessive drinking stops your liver from performing as it should. Normally, your liver breaks down alcohol and removes harmful toxins from your body, working like a filter. But excess alcohol consumption causes fat and toxins to build up in your liver. A fatty liver develops during the first stages of liver disease, such as cirrhosis, fibrosis, and hepatitis.
Your heart is vulnerable to drinking effects, too. Ongoing alcohol abuse causes weakened muscles in the heart. This also leads to stroke, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
What Happens When You Quit Drinking
So what happens when you quit drinking? Do these problems and health changes go away?
Some of the many health benefits of quitting drinking include:
- Better digestive health
- Higher quality of sleep
- Improved concentration and memory
- Better body hydration and mineral absorption
- Clearer skin
- Improved heart disease and cancer risk
- Improved immunity
Quitting Drinking with the Right Help
When you quit drinking and enter alcohol addiction treatment in Orange County, California, you give your body and mind what they need for true healing. So you can gain lasting benefits from ending your addiction through the right treatment methods. These methods should include:
- Addiction detox program
- Residential treatment
- Partial hospitalization program
- Transitional living
- Psychotherapy and individual counseling
- Group, marriage, and family therapy
- Recreational and art therapy
- Acupuncture and massage
Pillars Recovery in Orange County, California provides the detox and rehab treatment you need for strong, lasting recovery. Call Pillars Recovery now at 866-782-0247 to learn more about what happens when you quit drinking and how that quitting begins. You can take back better health and wellness for your future. You only need to make this call and accept the help available to you.
