Menu Close

Beating Alcohol Addiction

woman comforts other woman at alcohol addiction treatment center

Millions of people all over the globe are addicted to consuming alcohol. Alcohol addiction, or alcoholism as it is more commonly called, rapidly causes physical and psychological dependence in the alcoholics who consume it regularly, and alcohol abuse damages nearly every organ and system within the human body.

The Real Impact of Alcoholism

In addition to its horrific physical effects, it does damage to the alcoholic’s mental, emotional and spiritual well-being, and in many cases destroys their relationships with others so that they alcoholic may very well lose the ability to earn a living or to maintain housing and other basic needs. As an alcoholic fulfills the body’s craving for more and more consumption of alcohol, their life fast becomes an unending cycle arranged around the need to obtain and consume alcohol. For this reason, alcoholics often times become homeless and are more likely to be involved with domestic violence and other crimes. At some point, if an alcoholic does not take steps to confront their alcohol addiction alcoholism will result ultimately in the death of the alcoholic. Sadly, their deaths can even take the lives of others, as they are more likely to be involved in accidents where alcohol consumption was the cause of the accident. The life-threatening effects of alcoholism are not restricted by state or national borders either…

  • 2.8 million deaths, worldwide, are caused by alcohol annually.
  • Alcohol addiction is the 3rd leading lifestyle-related cause of death in the U.S., causing 88,000 deaths per year.
  • 40% of all hospital beds in the United States are being used to treat health conditions that are related to alcohol consumption.

For these reasons, it is important that alcoholics everywhere receive the guidance, support and specialized treatment that they often need to be successful in beating alcohol addiction.

Recovery Alcoholism Requires A Supervised Treatment Program

While many alcoholics know these facts to be true, they are often powerless to just stop drinking once they have started down the path of alcohol abuse unless they receive a great deal of guidance and support. Due to the rapid physical tolerance and dependence on alcohol consumption that occurs within the alcoholic’s body, it can even be quite dangerous and life-threatening for an alcoholic to just stop drinking suddenly if they have been drinking for quite some time due to the horrible withdrawal symptoms that often occur when an alcoholic begins to abstain from alcohol abuse. These withdrawal symptoms can range from the mild, such as irritability and mood swings, to quite severe, with intense sweating, tremors, disoriented hallucinations that are often referred to as delirium tremens or the DTs, palpitations that lead to atrial fibrillation and stroke or heart attack and much more. For this reason, no alcoholic should ever stop drinking without supervision, and preferably receive supervision and care within a facility with personnel that are trained to deal with the potentially life-threatening complications that might develop.

Addressing the Underlying Causes of Alcoholism

Once an alcoholic has beaten their physical dependence and the need for alcohol, they must then defeat the psychological addiction and need for the substance. This is often accomplished with individual and group counseling in an inpatient rehab center or can be accomplished in an outpatient setting. Many alcoholics also receive a tremendous amount of help and support in their efforts to become and remain sober by attending regular support group meetings. While many of these support groups are modeled on the successful Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) program other support groups are structured quite differently. Regardless of how the alcohol addiction treatment plan is structured, all of them can certainly assist in almost every alcoholic’s efforts to become and remain sober and be successful in beating alcohol addiction.