Treatment of Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism: How To Stop Drinking

The combination of cravings and withdrawal often leads chronic alcoholics to drink at inappropriate times and places, such as first thing in the morning or before work. But another problem is that many health care professionals don’t recognize and treat alcohol use disorder in patients who do seek care. Those seeking treatment for alcohol use disorder can find a qualified provider at the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry or American Society of Addiction Medicine directories. If you or someone you love is struggling with alcohol addiction, know that help is available. Treatment, whether it be inpatient or outpatient rehab, can help you take back your life and move towards a healthier, alcohol-free future. An alcohol use disorder is a chronic brain condition in which a person loses the ability to control their alcohol use, even when faced with social, professional, or health consequences.

Alcoholism Treatment

Talk to your doctor to see of one of those might be right for you. Others may want one-on-one therapy for a longer time to deal with issues like anxiety or depression. Alcohol use can have a big effect on the people close to you, so couples or family therapy can help, too. Alcohol use disorder is what doctors call it when you can’t control how much you drink and have trouble with your emotions when you’re not drinking. Some people may think the only way to deal with it is with willpower, as if it’s a problem they have to work through all on their own.

Alcohol Recovery

Similar to other chronic illnesses like asthma and hypertension, alcoholism is not a condition that goes away after treatment. Instead, alcoholism treatment is meant to help individuals manage the condition throughout can alcoholism be cured their lives so they will not relapse to alcohol use. Nevertheless, alcohol abuse can result in severe risks to physical and mental health, and to the individual’s relationships, responsibilities, and other pursuits.

Staying Healthy

If you’re worried that someone you know has an alcohol addiction, it’s best to approach them in a supportive way. This could push them away and make them more resistant to your help. You may be able to better compare your options by assessing whether and how the program or provider measures success. The three-step road map outlined in the NIAAA Alcohol Treatment Navigator offers expert guidance to focus and support your efforts. Learn how to find higher quality, science-backed alcohol treatment to raise your changes for success. Certain medications have been shown to effectively help people stop or reduce their drinking and avoid a return to drinking.

• Studies show that people who have AUD are more likely to suffer from major depression or anxiety over their lifetime.
• Primary care and mental health providers can provide effective AUD treatment by combining new medications with brief counseling visits.
• Over time, alcoholism (and AUD) can cause a number of complications, but this chronic disease is treatable.
• If your pattern of drinking results in repeated significant distress and problems functioning in your daily life, you likely have alcohol use disorder.

Long-term outlook for alcohol use disorder

When this happens, the individual or family members may hope for an easy way to end the problem through providing treatment that leads to a cure. Alcoholic detox is the procedure by which alcohol is removed from the body through a forced period of withdrawal. Even if it has been decades since a person’s last drink, a person with AUD will often require vigilance and ongoing involvement with recovery groups or services to maintain abstinence. https://ecosoberhouse.com/ But, with engagement in addiction treatment services, a person can successfully manage their AUD and live an otherwise fulfilling life despite their diagnosis. There is no quick fix or “cure” for alcohol addiction, but it can be overcome and effectively treated with the help of professional treatment programs. Genetic, psychological, social and environmental factors can impact how drinking alcohol affects your body and behavior.

• Treatment for AUD may be lifelong and include counseling, support groups, residential programs, and medications.
• Medications can also deter drinking during times when individuals may be at greater risk for a return to drinking (e.g., divorce, death of a family member).
• It is important that as you try to help your loved one, you also find a way to take care of yourself.
• Transforming the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses.

He explained that drinking water can help manage kidney problems alongside treatments prescribed by doctors. Updates about mental health topics, including NIMH news, upcoming events, mental disorders, funding opportunities, and research. Learn about NIMH priority areas for research and funding that have the potential to improve mental health care over the short, medium, and long term.

Over time, alcohol can permanently affect the brain, such as by causing dementia and the serious brain disorder Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome. Other exciting developments are underway, although more research, including clinical trials in humans, is needed before they arrive. Ongoing research could lead to more treatments, and make them more available and more appealing. Compared to primates that received a placebo IV, those that received the growth factor gene decreased their drinking by about 90%.

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