Attending a 12-step program or other support group is one of the most common treatment options for alcohol abuse and addiction. AA meetings and similar groups allow your loved one to spend time with others facing the same problems. As well as reducing their sense of isolation, your loved one can receive advice on staying sober and unburden themselves to others who understand their struggles firsthand.
Codependency in Relationships
Remember, the road to recovery is long, but you don’t have to go at it alone. The decision to change is one of the most important steps in overcoming an addiction. By acknowledging that a change is needed, it means that you recognize that there struggling with alcohol addiction is a problem and have a desire to address it. According to one model of behavior change known as the transtheoretical model, making any kind of change involves a process that starts with pre-contemplation and moves into contemplation.
Anticipate Changes in Relationships
Along with the weight disparities that allow higher alcohol use for men, the differences in the makeup of women’s bodies work against them when consuming alcohol. These factors make females more susceptible to severe health consequences from heavy drinking than their male counterparts. Your teen should understand that drinking alcohol comes with specific consequences. But don’t make hollow threats or set rules that you cannot enforce.
Why Do Some People Struggle With Alcohol Addiction and Others Don’t?
Research the kinds of treatment that are available and discuss these options with your friend or family member. Make a note about how you feel physically and mentally on these days—recognizing the benefits may help you to cut down for good. Write your drinking goal down and keep it where you will frequently see it, such as on your phone or taped to your refrigerator. Are you ready to quit drinking or cut down to healthier levels?
Options for Treatment
- It’s important that each person get involved in a recovery program that will support long-term sobriety.
- But in the long run denying it will only bring more harm to you, your loved one with the problem, and the rest of your family.
- In the short and long term, alcohol abuse can worsen mental and psychological health conditions and trigger new ones.
- Fortunately, most of the acute symptoms of withdrawal pass within a week or two of quitting.
- For example, antidepressants, if someone with an alcohol addiction were self-medicating to treat their depression.
- The other important aspect of avoiding replacement addictions is to address any underlying mental health problems.
AAC accepts many private insurance policies, as well as some Medicaid policies. You can verify your loved one’s insurance for addiction treatment, which, depending on their provider and specific plan details, may be fully covered by insurance. If you don’t control codependency, it can lead into more serious complications such as obsessive behavior, blame, and mental health issues. When alcoholism affects a spouse or partner, it’s possible to become too wrapped up in their well-being. You may get to the point where you feel compelled to help your person get well. However, family members and friends often have deep emotional ties that prevent them from having the objective viewpoint necessary for treatment.
Consider your approach
When you’ve researched all the different types of treatment and self-help options open to them, you’ll be ready to talk to your loved about their drinking and offer the support and resources they need. Depression and anxiety often go hand in hand with heavy drinking. Studies show that people who are alcohol dependent are two to three times as likely to suffer from major depression or anxiety over their lifetime. When addressing drinking problems, it’s important to also seek treatment for any accompanying medical and mental health issues.
- Too much alcohol affects your speech, muscle coordination and vital centers of your brain.
- During their, at times, emotional answers, prospective juror after juror described how drug use had afflicted people they knew.
- Feeling at your best physically can boost resilience and emotional strength, equipping you to weather challenges that trigger the desire to drink.
- Here’s how we can face our triggers with less reactivity so that we can get on with our lives.
- If you feel like you may be in danger of harm, or feel that your relationship is no longer healthy, it may be necessary to seek an end to the relationship.
- The THC levels in marijuana have increased dramatically over the years from something like 2% in the 1990s to well over 15%, 20% currently.
When Is It Time for Treatment?
If you are worried about them and are wondering how to help, you first need to determine whether your friend truly needs help and whether or not they are ready to accept help. Educating yourself is another step on the path to knowing how to deal with an alcoholic friend and be able to give them the support they need. Once your friend decides to seek help for their addiction, you should be ready to offer help and make recommendations about treatment programs. Psychiatry – Medical interventions can be crucial in treating Alcohol Use Disorder. When drinking is chronic and intense, detoxing or stopping alcohol without medical support can be life-threatening.
Evaluating the costs and benefits of drinking
They are prescribed by a primary care physician or other health professional and may be used alone or in combination with counseling. Alcohol addiction may involve several different treatment methods. It’s important that each person get involved in a recovery program that will support long-term sobriety.
- However, the consequences of their drinking, including the harm they caused when drunk, are their responsibility.
- A good place to start is by joining a group such as Al-Anon, a free peer support group for families dealing with a loved one’s alcohol abuse.
- An intervention from loved ones can help some people recognize and accept that they need professional help.
Research viable treatment options online before speaking with your loved one, make calls to treatment centers that appear appropriate for your loved one, and ask them any questions you may have. Therapists can also offer referrals and recommendations for when other levels of care are needed. When seeking professional support for alcohol addiction, various avenues are available to assist individuals on their journey to recovery. Feeling guilty, depressed, anxious, and stressed frequently coexist with alcohol abuse, creating a complex and intertwined relationship.
