Reflection on de tox fro Alcohol

What Matters in Time

"I 'm never gonna do that again " During my work as a staff nurse , any time I heard

one of the patients going through detox make this vow , I would cringe and think : Sure , you will

You all do . It 's just a matter of time . I don 't know why you even bother going through detox

It 's a waste of time and money . You just need to stop doing whatever you 've been doing and just

stop drinking . It 's plain and simple . Just quit

drinking

Those thoughts , however , occured prior to my attending the Therapeutic Interventions

(Alcohol ) Course . While attending this seminar , the more I learned about detox from alcohol

the more I began to assess my faulty thinking regarding individuals who for whatever

reasons , seemed incapable or unwilling to change their destructive drinking patterns . Most of the

people I worked with , I felt , were not at the ideal point I heard about during this training , where

they wanted to change and /or stop drinking (Raistrick , 2004 ,

. 41

Those I encountered in my work at an acute medical ward had usually been admitted

wiith high alcohol intake . Most of the time , my feelings toward them were ambivalent . During

the time they were in my care , withdrawing from alcohol on Benzodiazepins-Chordiazepoxide , I

treated them without empathy . I felt I knew each of these patients even before I heard their

story or studied their chart . Even though I didn 't consider myself to be at the point I was void of

any feelings toward these individuals , nevertheless , I made a point to keep a safe emotional

distance from them . In a sense , my feelings were numbed as I repeatedly watched what I

perceived to be a merry-go-round of their self-inflicted madness

In my mind , these individuals needed something more than what they were receiving

from the detox program . More often than not , I found myself thinking disparaging thoughts

as I watched those struggling through planned detoxifications , alongside others unwillingly

commited to the detox program . In planned detoxifications , I learned during training

individuals are more likely to succeed with maintinaing sobriety , if they want to discontinue

drinking . During an immenent need to detox , however , when someone is hospitalized or has

been arrested and /or locked up to begin serving a prison sentence , when alcohol detoxification

may or may not be pre-planned , if the person does not want to change success is less likely

A second detox scenario occurs when individuals enter a residential treatment program . At this time , alcohol detoxification is considered routine . A third type detoxification tranpires at times , following a period of sobriety , in for a person to restablaize (Raistrick 2004 ,

. 41

Tom 's detox , I felt , represented the third kind . Prior to detox training , my feelings of

frustration intensifired whenever I would work with some of the repeat detoxers like Tom , an

"old " man in his early forties . I had watched Tom go through the same detox scenario four times

during the past two years . Tom sometimes became so confused he would forget where he was

and try to leave the unit

"I have to go home now . My wife wants me to cook lunch for her today It 's her

birthday " Tom told me one day right before his evening meal . I knew Tom 's wife had left

him several years ago . Later , I had to stop him when he tried to walk out the door behind

one of the lies

"No , Tom , you can 't leave here yet . You 've only been in detos two days " I said "You

have to remain here at least another 5 days

Attending this course helped me understand that like Tom 's , a patient 's confusion during

detox is normal . Individuals detoxing , one speaker stressed , may display symptoms from

"anxiety , panic attacks , depression , insomnia , and with increasing severity , hallucinations . to

the terrors of delirium tremens in which orientation in time , place and person is lost , and vivid

hallucinations are experienced along with clouding of consciousness (akin to dreaming

whilst awake (Petersen Mcbride , 2002 ,

. 167

Prior to attending the Therapeutic Interventions (Alcohol ) Course , I did not seriously

note that one of the vital reasons detox needs to take place within care of medical personnel as

detoxing from alcohol can be fatal . Alcohol , para . 2 ) When alcohol is suddenly taken away

from a person who has been abusing it for a long period of time , that person 's body experiences

reactions which could prove to be deadly

Matrisha , another patient I became frustrated with during her detox on the other hand

knew exactly where she was , along with the date and time . She also made a point to repeatedly

upset the others in the ward . Recently , when another nurses caught Matrisha riffling through

another patient 's night stand and helping herself to candy , she confronted her . Matrisha

like other detoxing patients at times , became aggressive and violent

Although I tried to understand patients like Tom and Matrisha , however the

merry-go-round these patients seemed to choose to ride didn 't make sense . Knowledge I gained

while attending the Therapeutic Interventions ( Alcohol ) Course helped me begin understand

concepts contributing to the mirage of difficulties those detoxing regularly experience . The time

invested in this learning also helped me begin to see these people as individuals just like me . Even

though we may struggle with different scenarios in life , and even though at times , I may not fully

understand what those in detox were going through , this training helped me realize I could try to

empahatize with them

Instead of building a fence between myself and patients in detox , I could remember a

point promoted by one prominent speaker "The success of these centres (sic ) depends upon

training staff to feel confident about monitoring withdrawal in to identify those clients

who are in need of medical help , and training that enablesstaff quickly to form a helping alliance

with clients (Raistrick , 2004 ,

. 41- 42 ) I could also make a point to be one of the staff to

take training seriouusly and whenever possible help without cringing . I could also , as A D

counselor encourage those going through alcohol detox and treatment look within myself to

see how I could change for the better

Attending the Therapeutic Interventions (Alcohol ) Course proved to be more helpful

than I anticipated and allowed me to see how I could improve within my self and strengthen my

professional and personal skills . As I reflect on things I learned , I understand that I could have

listened more to what patents were telling me with their words and actions

I remind myself often that my job as as a staff nurse in detox is to help bring those

going through the painful difficult medical , physical , and emotional aspects is vital "Alcohol

detox is the first step in the treatment of alcoholism . The recovery of the alcoholic cannot

begin until they have undergone alcohol detox . And since alcoholism is a disease that kills

alcohol detox is the first line of defense in saving the patients life "ALCOHOl ' para . 1-5 7

As I work with others to try to help problems drinkers come to a point they are

ready to change and realize their life would be better without alcohol I no longer focus on

their past failures . I stive , instead , to be supportive and encourage them to do their best

today (Raistrick , 2004 ,

. 40

Toady , I no longer cringe when someone tells me "I 'm never gonna do that again

Nor does something in detox that does not make sense upset me . Some things , I realize , don 't

have to be completely understood . When I try to understand what it feels like to walk in another

person 's shoes and look at the world through their eyes , however , that matters . Today , I have

more respect for the patients entrusted to my care . I have gained a sense of empathy for their

plight . What does matter , I now understand , is that time invested in helping another person , in or

out of detox , does matter

Names of indviduals portrayed in have been changed

References

"ALCOHOL DETOX " retrieved May 5 , 2006 from http /www .spencerrecovery .com /alcohol- detox .html

Champney-Smith , J (2002 . Chapter 22 Dual Diagnosis . In Working with Substance Misusers : A Guide to Theory and Practice , Petersen , T Mcbride , A (Eds (pp . 267-273 . New York : Routledge

Lewis , J Williams , S (2002 . Chapter 15 Home Detoxification . In Working with Substance Misusers : A Guide to Theory and Practice Petersen , T Mcbride , A (Eds (pp . 197-204 . New York : Routledge

Petersen , T Mcbride , A (Eds (2002 . Working with Substance Misusers : A Guide to Theory and Practice . New York : Routledge

Raistrick , D (2004 . Chapter 3 Alcohol Withdrawal and Detoxification In The Essential Handbook of Treatment and Prevention of Alcohol Problems , Heather , N Stockwell , T (Eds (pp . 35-48 . Hoboken , NJ Wiley

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