One of the primary reasons you need the help of addiction treatment programs when you detox is because of the danger. Specifically, the first danger is that you may have cardiac failure if you try to detox on your own. Long-term substance abuse can damage your heart, as well as many other organs in your body. When you’re going through withdrawal, you have an increased heart rate and high blood pressure. However, under medical supervision, a medical staff is there to help keep you safe and comfortable. Substances like alcohol and benzodiazepines are extremely dangerous due to how they affect the brain.

You have billions of neurotransmitters in your brain that send signals throughout the body to help it function. However, as you go through withdrawal, these signals begin to misfire tremendously. When detoxing from alcohol or benzodiazepines, there’s a risk of having a seizure, which can also be fatal. At a detox facility, you’ll be provided with anti-seizure medications that can help reduce the chances of this happening.