Alcohol Rehab Treatment
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Not unlike other diseases, alcoholism can be overcome with professional alcohol rehab treatment, increased research efforts, and
prevention. More to the point, as devastating as alcohol addiction is, fortunately it can be treated.
Alcohol rehab treatment, as a general rule, includes a combination of doctor-prescribed medications and intensive therapy and
counseling to help an individual stop drinking and start on the recovery process.
Alcohol Rehab Treatment: A Basic Overview
As stated above, similar to other illnesses and health concerns, alcohol dependency can be overcome with increased research
efforts, prevention, and quality alcohol rehab treatment.
By providing an increasing number of individuals with access to effective
alcohol rehab treatment, the physical, emotional, and costly burdens that alcoholism places on families and the astronomical financial drain on society can be substantially reduced.
To substantiate this bold claim, consider the following: according to the substance abuse literature, research has
demonstrated powerful evidence that effective alcohol rehab treatment programs and alcohol dependency prevention endeavors result in major
reductions in traffic fatalities, crime, cancer, strokes, child abuse, hearth disease, HIV, and unwanted pregnancy.
Similarly, top-rate alcohol rehab treatment and drug abuse rehabilitation improve a person's health, job performance, and quality
of life while at the same time reducing family dysfunction, drug abuse, relationship problems, and involvement with the law.
Non 12-step, alcohol rehab treatment usually involves a combination of counseling and doctor-prescribed drugs to help an
alcoholic abstain from drinking. Even though most individuals who are alcohol dependent need help to recover from their disease, research
studies have confirmed that with support and quality, professional alcohol rehab treatment, many individuals are able to quit drinking and
restore their lives.
| Research has shown that U.S. teens who drink alcohol are 50 times more likely to use cocaine than teens who never
consume alcohol. |
Alcohol Rehab Treatment: What is Alcoholism?
Alcoholism, also known as alcohol addiction and alcohol dependence, is a progressive debilitating disease that includes the
following four components:
- Physical dependence: mild to severe withdrawal symptoms such headaches, perspiration, anxiety, nausea, and "the
shakes" when suddenly abstaining from alcohol
- Craving: experiencing an overwhelming urge or need to drink
- Loss of control: an inability to stop drinking after the first drink
- Tolerance: the need to drink more and more amounts of alcohol in order to feel a "buzz" or to get "high"
When a person consumes a heavy amount of alcohol over a short period of time, or use is continuous over a number
of days or weeks, this is called
intensive use, bingeing, or binge drinking. |
Alcohol Treatment: Withdrawal Symptoms
Special techniques exist for treating alcohol withdrawal symptoms. While some of these approaches utilize medications, many
other therapeutic methods, nevertheless, do not. Indeed, according to current alcoholism research, the safest way to treat mild alcohol
withdrawal symptoms is without medications or drugs.
The first step in the withdrawal process is detoxifying the addict's body by getting rid of the alcohol that has accumulated in
the alcoholic's system. Most non-drug detoxification efforts use extensive screening and social support throughout the entire
withdrawal process.
Other non-drug detoxification methods, moreover, utilize proper nutrition and vitamin therapy (especially thiamin) for treating
mild to moderate alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
| If you want to avoid the long-term effects of alcohol abuse and alcoholism such as unnecessary alcohol-related
health problems later in life, drink in moderation or not at all. |
Mild to Moderate Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms
The following mild to moderate alcohol withdrawal symptoms commonly take place within 6 to 48 hours after the person has consumed
his or her last alcoholic beverage:
| Even though a number of medications have been effective in treating alcoholism, there is, however, no "magic
bullet." That is, no single medication exists that is effective in every situation or with every person. |
Severe Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms
The following is a list of severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms that regularly happen within 48 to 96 hours after the individual
has had his or her last drink of alcohol:
| Several studies have shown that about half of alcoholics who have successfully undergone detoxification will
relapse within 6-12 months. Remaining alcohol-free is a very difficult task for most alcoholics. |
The Screening Questionnaire
The first step in the alcohol rehab treatment process typically includes a screening questionnaire performed by a healthcare
professional. If the results of this questionnaire identify a drinking problem, the healthcare practitioner will usually question
the individual further to better access the severity of person' alcohol abuse.
Based on the results of the questionnaire, the physician may suggest that the person attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings or may refer the
individual to an alcoholism specialist.
Even if the person is sent to a specialist, nonetheless, the family doctor frequently continues to play a major role in the overall rehab
effort and recovery process. The doctor does this by continuing to work with the patient and by interacting with the patient's family both
during and after the alcohol rehab treatment protocol.
| More than 2 million Americans suffer from alcohol-related liver disease. Some drinkers, moreover, develop
alcoholic hepatitis (that is, an inflammation of the liver) as a result of long-term heavy drinking. |
Alcohol Rehab Treatment: Traditional Methods
There are many alcohol rehab treatment protocols that are seen as "mainstream" therapeutic approaches. Among these are
the following: Outpatient alcohol dependency Treatment and Counseling, Detoxification, Behavioral Treatment, Therapeutic Medications,
Residential alcoholism Treatment approaches and Inpatient Alcohol Rehab, and Family and Marital Counseling. Since the most recent as well
as the most promising alcohol rehab treatment approach concerns therapeutic medications, this methodology will be discussed below.
Therapeutic Medications
A number of alcoholism researchers and practitioners assert that chronic alcoholics who cannot sustain their sobriety should
receive doctor-administered medications to help manage their withdrawal symptoms. It is important to emphasise, furthermore, that by using
therapeutic medications, alcohol dependent individuals are less likely to experience possible brain damage and/or seizures during the withdrawal
process.
| We need to increase our awareness about depression and alcoholism as a problem for older adults. Clinicians need
to watch so that they do not confuse these disorders with “normal aging.” |
Recent substance abuse research has demonstrated that the benzodiazepines are the drugs that are most likely to achieve effective
results when treating alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Examples of these "wonder drugs" include the shorter-acting benzodiazepines
such as Serax and Ativan and the longer-acting benzodiazepines such as Valium and Librium. Historically, when doctors have employed
benzodiazepines in the withdrawal process, they have used a progressive reduction in dosage throughout the withdrawal protocol. Due to
the fact that the shorter-acting benzodiazepines do not stay in the person's system for an extended period of time and since these drugs
allow for observable and measurable dose reductions, numerous alcohol addiction practitioners as well as researchers have concluded that
intermediate to short half-life benzodiazepines should be used when treating alcohol withdrawal symptoms is required.
After an alcoholic has successfully gone through the detoxification process and has conquered his or her withdrawal symptoms, other
doctor-prescribed medications such as disulfiram (Antabuse) or naltrexone (ReViaT) can be utilized in an attempt to help prevent the individual
from relapse and possibly returning to drinking.
| Currently, nearly 14 million Americans, 1 in every 13 adults, abuse alcohol or are alcoholic. Several million more
adults engage in risky drinking patterns that could lead to alcoholism. |
Alcohol Treatment: Alternative Therapies
Although the findings in the research literature are not conclusive, there are many non-traditional alcohol rehab treatment
strategies that are becoming more and more conventional and doable as time goes by.
For instance, the following therapies that have been proposed as "natural" kinds of alcohol rehab treatment: the holistic
and naturalistic approaches employed by Traditional Chinese Medicine, "Drumming out Drugs" (a type of therapy that employs the use of drumming by
patients), and various vitamin and supplement therapies.
As encouraging as these unconventional treatment methods are, more research, however, is needed to determine their effectiveness
and to establish whether these types of alcohol rehab treatment offer lasting success.
| An alcoholic will negatively impact the lives of 4 or 5 other Americans (such as associates, family, and friends)
while under the influence of alcohol. |
Alcohol Treatment: Conclusion
Even though a cure for alcoholism has not been discovered, a number of alcohol rehab treatment methodologies exist that help
alcohol dependent individuals effectively recover from their alcohol dependency. In short, a lot of alcohol rehab treatment information is
available, both online and offline.
Since there is so much information about treating alcoholism, more than a few people are bound to ask about the most effective
form of alcohol rehab treatment that is currently available. Like any chronic illness or disease, however, "successful treatment" has proven
to come in many different levels and degrees.
For instance, some alcohol dependent individuals, after receiving alcohol rehab treatment, totally stay away from alcohol and
remain sober. Other alcohol addicted people, to the contrary, experience fairly long periods of sobriety after going through
rehabilitation, and then experience a drinking relapse. And still other individuals cannot stay away from drinking for any sustainable
amount of time regardless of the type of alcohol rehab treatment they have undergone. As an aside, it is interesting to point out that every one
of these treatment outcomes takes place with every known type of alcoholism treatment!
After all has been considered, the bottom line regarding alcoholism treatment, therefore, is this: while accepting the fact that
professional help is necessary for recovery is not easy, the sooner an alcoholic gets quality alcohol rehab treatment, the better his chances are
for a successful recovery.
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| In the fourth and final stage of alcoholism, the alcoholic manifests an utter disregard for everything, including
shelter, family, food, and job. These occasional flights into oblivion are best described, ironically, as drinking to get
away from the problems caused by drinking. |
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