Alcoholism Recovery

Alcoholics want to drink, so they often experiment with other methods to control their drinking. Some limit themselves to drinking only one type of alcohol, such as beer or wine. Others try to limit their drinking to weekends only, after 5 p.m., or never before noon. Some don’t keep alcohol in the house. Others try to drink only when away from home. But for the true alcoholic, these are futile attempts to control alcohol consumption.

Denial is a typical reaction of an alcoholic to his problem. Blackouts, DUI’s, hangovers, missing work or school, and troubles with family and other relationships are all indicative of a drinking problem. There are tests to help discover if you have a problem or not. The CAGE test is a simple four question test that examines whether you have ever wanted to cut down on your drinking, whether you’ve ever felt annoyed with someone who criticized your drinking, whether you have ever felt guilty over your drinking, and if you ever drink in the morning to clear your head or relieve hangovers.

An alcoholic will usually display one or more of these symptoms:

• A craving to drink
• Loss of ability to limit drinks
• Physical dependency on alcohol, including shakiness, nausea, anxiety, and sweats when alcohol is not available
• A greater tolerance to alcohol

Choices in Alcoholism Recovery

Several methods have proven effective in helping an alcoholic become ready for recovery.

• Intervention: With the help of trained counselor, family and friends confront the individual together as a group. This can be an effective method of convincing alcoholics that their behavior hurts others as well as themselves. The goal is usually to get the person to agree to go to a treatment center.
• Treatment Programs: These programs help with detox while providing education about alcoholism, drinking, and how to live sober. Inpatient programs require the patient to live at the center for a predetermined period of time. Two well-known treatment facilities are Hazelden, and the Betty Ford Center.
• Alcoholics Anonymous: AA meetings provide group support. AA meetings are almost everywhere, including on-line. Click here to visit the AA web site.
• Counseling: Counselors trained in addiction know how to deal with individuals and groups. They can also suggest additional detox treatment programs or AA meetings.

Currently, there are two medications that are used to help with alcoholism recovery.

• Antabuse is used to discourage alcohol intake. When combined with alcohol, it produces unpleasant side effects, such as flushing, throbbing headache, nausea, and vomiting.
• ReVia is prescribed in order to reduce alcohol cravings. It is usually combined with other treatment, counseling, or support groups.

Enjoying the Recovery Process

Alcoholics fear that life without drinking will be awful, grim, boring, dull, or tedious. Once recovery starts to take hold, though, the increasing positive changes in the alcoholic’s attitude, health, and ability to handle life and responsibility is truly surprising. To be able to find joy in life, fun things to do, and worthwhile relationships encourages the alcoholic through the process of hating recovery to enjoying its benefits.

From doctors and treatment programs, self-help tests, medication, counseling and AA support groups, alcoholics have many different ways to attack the problem of addiction. The variety of approaches to alcoholism recovery ensures that once the decision is made to stop drinking, there is a workable method for each individual to try.

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