Many people consume alcohol regularly and casually, but this doesn’t make drinking an entirely harmless pleasure. What may start as a way of having fun can gradually escalate into a full-fledged addiction.
Finding your way out of the dark, tough hole of alcohol addiction by yourself is extremely difficult. Thankfully, you don’t have to fight this exhausting battle on your own, as professional help for alcoholism is readily available. With professional intervention, you’ll move closer to the alcohol-free life you deserve, one step at a time.
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What Is Alcoholism?
Also referred to as alcohol addiction, alcoholism is a chronic illness marked by an inability to keep your drinking habits under control, and compulsive drinking.
This illness occurs because of the significant chemical imbalances that repeated, excessive drinking causes in the brain. That’s why alcohol addiction is often described as a brain disease, as it has nothing to do with a person’s lack of willpower.
If you suffer from alcoholism, you will constantly have an irresistible urge to drink every time, and you will, even though you’re facing multiple alcohol-related problems in your life. The severity of this addiction increases when you continue drinking uncontrollably.
Alcohol addiction also develops when alcohol dependence sets in. Put simply, your body and brain get accustomed to the effects of this substance and thus become unstable without its presence.
When this substance wears off in your system or if you miss drinking as frequently as you do, painful withdrawal symptoms will appear. For this reason, you’ll find it difficult to give up drinking even when you desperately want to.
When Is the Counsellor Right?
Entering an alcohol rehab gives you a lifetime opportunity to reclaim your life from alcohol addiction. A huge part of getting the most out of your rehab treatment is building rapport with the medical professionals at your treatment centre, who have your best interests at heart. They fully understand your specific treatment needs and are ready to help you rise above the addiction.
Your addiction treatment team is your number one support system within the rehab environment. They will supportively listen and respond to your deepest concerns and struggles about your recovery without judging you. By being willing to deepen the trust with your addiction treatment team at the rehab facility, you’ll make greater positive steps in your recovery.
Scared to Look for Rehab? Here’s Our Guide
The facility you begin your sobriety journey from will significantly determine your recovery outcomes. For this reason, it’s important to make an informed decision when selecting a suitable treatment centre in your area.
It’s advisable to consult your GP for guidance when making this critical decision. They will help you narrow down your search to a certified treatment centre near you that suits your financial ability and has a quality alcohol rehab program that will address your specific recovery needs.
Settling for a quality treatment facility away from your home area is a great choice, too. Starting treatment in an unfamiliar location can help you detach yourself from the alcohol-filled memories in your environment, allowing you to fully focus on rebuilding your life.
Search for A Detox Programme Which Includes Residential Treatment
The first critical step to your recovery from alcohol addiction at a rehab centre is completing a personalised medically-supervised detox program. Detoxing from alcohol is safer and more comfortable when done in a rehab setting, under the constant supervision of medical professionals.
It’s dangerous to detox at home without professional help because of the deadly nature of alcohol withdrawal symptoms. This medication-assisted detoxification process will cleanse your body of all the alcohol toxins so that you’re no longer physically dependent on this substance.
The length of your detox process will depend on how severe your addiction is. Once you recover from this process, you’ll proceed to rehab.
Modern Rehab Offers Alternative Therapies
Rehab has the greatest influence on your recovery, as this is where you’ll get to build a firm foundation for long-term abstinence from alcohol. You will undergo various forms of alcohol treatment therapies to help you defeat the psychological aspect of your alcoholism.
With the help of qualified therapists, you’ll get to resolve all the underlying negative motives that contribute to your unhealthy drinking habits, and retrain your thought processes so that your brain can gradually learn to function without alcohol.
Your therapists will take you through practical ways to keep your alcohol cravings in check, effective relapse prevention skills, and healthy coping mechanisms to deal with negative encounters in your life. All these lessons you learn in therapy will prepare you to guard your sobriety once you return to your everyday environment.
Sober Life After Rehab Is Definitely NOT Boring
Achieving lifelong recovery from alcohol addiction is a never-ending journey. It’s, in fact, a way of life that requires you to make major changes in your new phase of life. Post-rehab is the time to put everything you learned from your therapists during rehab into practice.
Get involved with local peer support groups for alcohol addiction, like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), and commit to attending the recovery meetings frequently. To add to that, create time to participate in alumni recovery group meetings in your rehab centre.
With the help of a professional, put together a practical rehab prevention plan which you can rely on to navigate challenges and conflicting situations that might threaten your sobriety.
More than anything, keep close a solid support system. This supportive circle can be friends and loved ones who’ve embraced the sober lifestyle and support your new beginning.
Strive to make your life more meaningful by embracing new hobbies and making purpose-driven activities like volunteering part of your lifestyle. Doing so will help you fill the void left by drinking. In addition, take care of your health and wellness regularly since self-care will help keep your alcohol cravings at bay.
Alcoholism Recovery: Final thoughts
Defeating alcohol addiction is challenging but highly possible when you have the right professional support by your side. Through rehabilitation, you’ll have access to life-changing treatment to free you from alcoholism and get back your life on track.
It takes a lot of effort and discipline to stick to the sober path after rehab. With ongoing commitment, you will eventually attain lifelong recovery from this powerful illness.
Read also: Alcohol Rehab – The Cost and Benefits