There are a lot of things that lead up to developing an addictive personality. Whether you’re early or late in noticing the changes, it is never too late to get help. As you weigh detox options, here are the major pros and cons of each.

Timeline

The time to recovery will be faster when you choose a medical detox. This has to do with the way a detoxification center handles approved medical methods. The holistic approach depends heavily on how fast an individual’s body can rid of the toxins. As long as there are no further complications, recovery will be based on how well your body handles the changes.

Everyone has a different body, and your already unhealthy body may be slowed down by other health issues. That is why natural drug detoxification takes longer, and will sometimes still lead to medical detox. Neither method is bad, but the timeline expectations for medical detoxification will always come with better averages.

Medical Detox is Uncomfortable

This is the perfect example of ‘no pain, no gain’ when it comes to getting better. Medical detox has the highest ups and downs as your body purges chemicals. After years of your body getting used to a certain routine, the changes in your consumption will lead to moments of discomfort. Withdrawal is expected, with both physical and mental symptoms appearing at random.

Natural detox has the same withdrawal symptoms, but with more balanced ups and downs. The holistic approach is all about being healthy in mind, body and spirit. In many ways, holistic detox is considered more spiritually rewarding. Before committing to either detox method, weigh your tolerance for discomfort.

The Type of Addiction

What type of addiction do you have? How long have you had it, and what are your financial resources? All of these things factor into the medical vs natural detox debate. If your financial resources are limited, then medical detox will be the smarter choice. The timeline with natural detox makes it the more expensive option.

It gets even more expensive if you’re in a rare situation where natural detox fails, and the recommendation is made to enroll in medical detox. If money isn’t an object, then natural detox is an attractive choice for individuals that want to bypass some of the more uncomfortable parts of recovery.

The Relapse Period

Relapses are the biggest difference between medical and natural detox. Medical detox has a lower risk of overdose after a relapse. On top of that good news, the body is better prepared to deal with a possible relapse if it does occur. If you slip up after doing the holistic method, there is a higher risk of overdosing.

This has to do with your drug tolerance being decreased after going through a natural detox. When you don’t have a strong support system to fall back on after recovery, the medical detox method will be the safer choice.

Move Forward

Detox is a part of recovery that you can’t run away from. Whether medical or natural, you owe it to yourself to do the right thing. Choose the path that works best, and then recover at a pace you’re most comfortable with.