The term ‘cold turkey’ refers to an abrupt and complete attempt to quit an addiction. Many people try to get over their addictions by deciding to stop at any time. It proves to be more difficult than they anticipated, and they end up succumbing to temptation.
This is why people with addictions remain in their comfort zone. Just wanting to quit is insufficient to break free from dependence.
Substance addiction, such as alcohol and drugs, behavioural addiction, such as shopping and gambling, and impulse addiction, such as theft or emotional outbursts, are different examples of addiction.
Take for example, Colin who has tried but failed multiple times to take a break from social media. He can’t go an hour without checking his social media accounts, whether there’s an incoming notification or not.
He claims that being so dependent on social media is annoying, even for him. He has decided on several occasions not to touch his phone for a week, or to avoid turning on cellular data and Wi-Fi in order to avoid being tempted by online notifications.
He admits that even when he makes it through the set time, which is not always the case, he then finds himself hooked on his phone, as if trying to make up for the time lost, which worsens it for him.
According to Dr Cindi Cassady, a clinical psychologist at Icyizere Psychotherapeutic Centre, this is cold turkey. She says that this technique has a 90 per cent probability of failure.
Deciding to quit suddenly may cause one to suffer from extreme withdrawal symptoms such as Lexapro withdrawal, alcohol withdrawal, (dizziness, muscle tension, chills, crying, and brain fog) in addition to most probably not working, she says.
Quitting substance use by cold turkey can be dangerous to do on your own, she adds, because of the way the nervous system adapts to certain high-dependency drugs.
Abruptly stopping drugs can cause serious and potentially life-threatening medical issues, including seizures, heart problems, and psychosis.
Another danger of quitting like that is that your body loses its tolerance to the substance, hence, having a higher risk of overdose if you relapse and take the usual amount of the drug.
Other dangers of abrupt withdrawal may vary according to what one is trying to quit. They include headache, loss of appetite, nausea, insomnia, extreme sweating, tremors, increased heart rate and blood pressure, irritability and restlessness, hyperthermia, etc.
"If you are trying to quit substance use, medical supervision for drug abstinence is a safer option. Medical prescriptions may be more helpful to lessen the effects of withdrawal,” says Dr Cassady.
"Even better, going to a detox centre for a while has more chances to work. They won’t only provide you with the emotional support that you need but also a frequent medical check-up in case the withdrawal symptoms worsen,” she continues.
If you choose to do it unsupervised, on your own, then it would be easier to quit your addiction gradually. You can do it, even if it is hard to keep yourself accountable. By strictly reducing quantities and time previously given, she notes.
Dr Cassady also says that the first step to quitting an addiction is actually recognising one’s dependence.
"When you acknowledge the need to quit and need to seek help, it becomes easier whether for yourself or the doctor following you up,” she says adding that the harder part is to adhere to the commitment and continuously overcoming temptation.