alcohol rehab
Added on May, 05 2008 at 4:32 PM by Sarah
I'm not going to talk about the presentation of the need for rehabilitation to the person because that differs from person to person and to discuss it would take way too long. So we're going to assume that you've already brought it to the person's attention and they decide they'd like to change. What now?
Fortunately, there are many different types of alcohol abuse treatment. First and foremost, however, it is important that the person seeks medical treatment. Drinking has many adverse effects on a person's health and these conditions should be discovered and treated as soon as possible to prevent progression and worsening. In addition, the withdrawal symptoms can sometimes even be deadly. For this reason, people can be discouraged from quitting because they feel the effects of drinking are better compared to those of quitting. Remember, though, that withdrawal symptoms go away with time and patience. Continuing to abuse alcohol will not make things any better...it instead makes things worse.
It is a good idea to partake in some sort of group support system such as Alcoholics Anonymous or the SMART Recovery program. This not only helps the person connect spiritually with themselves but also identify with others who are in the same situation they are and who feel the same things they feel.
There are also some other forms of alcohol rehab. These include inpatient treatments such as medical detoxification and long term residential programs, and outpatient treatments such as partial hospitalization or counseling.
Different forms of treatment are going to have different results for each individual. For some, group therapy may be ideal as they need to feel like they aren't alone, while others may be too embarrassed to discuss their problem with others. Others may feel some residential program is more ideal for them.
The effects of alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse treatment can be weighty and dangerous. Aside from the short term dangers that could arise such as traffic accidents and accidental deaths from stupid decisions made while under the influence (such as believing one can fly, picking a fight with someone else due to increased aggressiveness, or even choking on one's vomit), many long term problems can emerge such as heart, blood, and liver problems. Plus, have you ever seen an alcoholic with six pack abs and a healthy appearance? While at first they may maintain the look of poise and control, over time alcohol ages you and makes you look a wreck, especially if you haven't had alcohol for a period of time and are suffering withdrawal. Once you become addicted to a substance as powerful as alcohol, it is very difficult to release yourself from the constraints of addiction. It's something like gaining weight...it's so easy to put on weight by eating fatty and greasy foods, but so difficult to try to shave the weight back off. Alcohol addiction is the exact same idea. It is so easy to get caught up in the web of drinking socially with friends, and then drinking for taste, and drinking to ease depression or sadness, and developing a tolerance so you need more and more to feel the way you did before, and then developing withdrawal symptoms when you don't have alcohol, and spending all of your money on alcohol so that your bills are late, and you lose your job, and you become more depressed so you drink more, and so on with the self-destructing, evil cycle.
Isn't it just much easier to play it safe, drink smart, and not become addicted in the first place? I would certainly think so.