How to Detox Faster to Move on with Your Life: 7 Ways
Detoxing isn’t an easy process. Many people have to undergo detox several times before it finally sticks. It also takes a long time. On average, most people have to stay in a rehab facility for 30 to 90 days. This isn’t necessarily the detoxing process, but full recovery, including getting over withdrawal systems.
In general, it only takes around 12 hours to detox after your last dose. But it can last longer if you don’t practice good habits alongside it. If you want to know how to detox faster, this article will help you out.
How to Detox Faster: 7 Ways
There are ways you can decrease your detox time in safe ways. While detoxing very quickly can be dangerous, these are safe ways to decrease your detox time so you can feel better.
1. Actually Stop Doing Drugs
The first step is to stop doing drugs. You can’t actually detox unless you first quit, and quit for good. By stopping and starting drugs, you make it harder to detox and set yourself back. This can be hard, but you must get anything out of the house that will tempt you to do drugs again, including the drug itself.
Once you are in the mindset to stop and take steps to do so, you are ready to start going through the detox process.
2. Sweat Out the Toxins
One of the ways you can speed up how fast you detox is by sweating it out. Detoxing isn’t pleasant and there will be many times you don’t want to do anything but lay in bed and cry. However, if you can motivate yourself to get up and be active, you may find that you feel better in the long run.
Not only does sweating get the drugs out of your system faster, but exercising has been shown to release dopamine. This is a positive chemical in the brain that makes you feel good and can push off some of the cravings.
So whenever you start getting an urge to fall back off the wagon, get up and do some basic exercises. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy or high-intensity. Low-intensity exercise is actually better, like a mild hike, swimming, walks, squats, or push-ups are all great options. Some you can do when you feel good enough to get out of the house while other times all you have to do is get out of bed and do simple exercises, so you can tailor it to your ability that day.
3. Stay Hydrated
If you drink enough water, you flush your system and your organs. It’s extra important when you are going through the messy part of the detox process where you are constantly vomiting and have an upset stomach. This can cause you to lose fluids.
While you may not be up to drinking anything, you need to make sure you are getting plenty of water. Usually, eight ounces a day is fine, but when you are losing fluids quickly, you may need to increase your intake to 12 ounces or so a day.
This doesn’t have to just be water. While it is the best form of fluids, sometimes you just have to take in what you can. Black coffee, plain tea, juices with little to no sugar, fruits high in water content, and broth are all good options to provide you with nutrients, electrolytes, and the water you need.
If that isn’t working for you, you can also try energy drinks like Gatorade and Powerade. These provide plenty of electrolytes which help your body process the fluids and you may feel a little better.
4. Eat Healthily
Eating healthy is important as well. There will be plenty of times you don’t feel like eating during your detox process, but it is important you try and eat a little every day, and focus on healthy foods packed full of nutrients.
The most important are nutrients like vitamin C and niacin. Your goal should be at least five servings of fruits or vegetables a day. Proteins can also help.
If you’re struggling, just eat whatever you can. Eating your favorite foods will release a rush of endorphins which will make you feel better. Just make sure you eat food that comes back up easily when you vomit.
5. Get Medical Help
It can be hard to do this on your own. Even with a good support group, it can be easy to slip back into old habits and give in to your cravings, especially as the withdrawal process kicks in and you don’t feel well.
Going to rehab can help you have the support you need, and it becomes a lot harder to give in during your weak moments with someone there to support you.
6. Practice Healthy Habits
You have to find long-term habits as well to keep you off of drugs. You will feel a craving to go back to your old lifestyle whenever you are stressed, things get hard, or you are upset. During these moments, it is easy to give in and end up back where you started.
However, by practicing healthy habits and ways to handle stress, you can reduce your dependency on your crutches.
Practices like meditation, social support, breathing exercises, and healthy hobbies can all be great ways to find happiness in life and be able to handle stress in your own healthy ways. Getting proper sleep is also important.
7. Do Multiple Methods at Once
No one of these exercises is a cure-all. While each one can help, they aren’t going to fix your problems entirely. The best practice is to do all of these methods at once, or at least a couple at a time. For example, learning how to meditate and going on walks can help you stay calm, find ways to vent your stress and worries, and release beneficial chemicals in the brain.
Having healthy eating and drinking habits can give you the energy and motivation you need to start exercising and let your body get the nutrients you need to feed you during your exercise.