It is good if you have determined that you possibly have a drinking problem. Now, what should you do? You have gone through the checklist of indicators of a dependence problem, and you have answered in the affirmative to enough of them to begin to understand that you are well beyond being just a causal social drinker. You drink to forget your problems, you have pretty much abandoned your non-drinking friends, and you no longer visit entertainment venues where you do not have exposure to drinks. You have been warned about your declining job performance by that jerk of a boss; you are wondering where the rest of your paycheck went, and you lost your car in a bar parking lot last month.
Although you sleep OK, you often wake with a sore throat from snoring, and you are sweating when you get out of the shower. You need the hair of the dog to stop shaking in the morning, and you have quit going to the dentist because of your newly developed gag reflex.
If it were not for the accident that the officer had to rush off for, you might have gotten your second DUI citation. You are answered Alcohol Anonymous (AA) 12 Questions quiz, and they think that you are their newest member.
Now what?
It is not easy to acknowledge the problem, so congratulations on getting this far, but you are not finished yet. The sooner you get some help, the better your chances are of successful addiction recovery.
You may want to proceed by first talking to your doctor. It is important that you tell the truth about your consumption of alcohol that a glass of wine or beer is not just one because you never let it get empty. Alcoholism is considered a disease by most employers and most health care insurers. Your doctor may refer you to a professional drug rehab center and may also prescribe a detox regimen.
In a detox program, the body recovers from the aftereffects of crapulence by being flushed of alcohol and all of alcohol’s residual toxins. Patients often need medical supervision then they have to go through this stressful and unpleasant process.
Many alcoholics have found that an intensively attended and worked Alcohol Anonymous program helps them to overcome their use of alcohol. There are daily AA meetings, and the AA program is available throughout the world. Others have discovered that a more intense program is required to teach them the skills needed to live a healthy lifestyle; these people seek addiction treatment by licensed professionals. Alcoholics who choose to seek professional help can go for either inpatient or outpatient addiction treatment programs. Please, click here for more info on addiction recovery programs.
Patients are often better served by relocating to an inpatient treatment facility because doing so removes them from the environment where the drinking problem originated. Patients who have committed to focus on sobriety will reinforce their resolve by admitting themselves to an inpatient program. A typical stay in an inpatient facility is 30 days; however, some patients will require 60-90 days to complete the program.
Individuals who choose an outpatient treatment program will attend all-day treatment sessions and then return to their homes in the evening. Some recovering alcoholics spend about 30 days in an outpatient program, but 60-90 days are often needed to be successful.
