Alcohol is one of the few drugs that can kill you as you go through detox. And while it’s legal in most places around the world, alcohol is a drug that when abused, leads to significantly destructive consequences and the need for alcohol abuse treatment. Untreated, alcohol abuse can wreck your health and destroy your life.
Alcohol addiction treatment is performed in a calm, structured, medically supervised setting at the best drug rehab overseas. Whether you need medications to help you go through the initial stages of sobriety, a prescription to help you get over the initial withdrawal symptoms of alcohol addiction, or the satisfaction of knowing there is a medical doctor on call, your treatment for alcohol addiction is closely monitored at a drug rehab with the highest success rate.
When Social Drinking Turns into Addiction
Many people wonder when alcohol becomes an addiction — either because they come from a genetic line of alcoholics or they’re worried that they may be unknowingly crossing some invisible line. Alcohol addiction treatment centers often ask a list of questions to determine whether you have a drinking problem that might require treatment. Consider questions such as:
- Do you often drink more than intended?
- Do you feel ashamed or guilty about your drinking?
- Do you have black-outs, after which you can’t remember periods of time?
- Do you hide or lie about your drinking?
- Do you need to drink to calm down or relax?
- Do friends and family members suggest you might need help?
You may have other alcohol addiction symptoms, such as anxiety or depression, that also need addressing when you enter alcohol addiction treatment. Dual-addictions that include either prescription medications like oxycodone, or street drugs like marijuana also play a role in the type of alcohol addiction treatment centers you need to find.
The main difference between alcohol dependence, or addiction, versus alcohol abuse is that when you abuse alcohol, you have problems at work or school and often trouble with the law. Addiction means that you can’t stop; you depend on alcohol just to get “right,” to make it through the day without going into withdrawals. Both can benefit from treatment.
Why Alcohol Causes Addiction
Like many other mood enhancing drugs, alcohol causes your brain to release those feel-good proteins called endorphins. And they dump into your prefrontal cortex, that part of your brain that’s linked to decision-making. So, when you repeatedly subject your brain to alcoholic floods of endorphins, it decides that it likes that and wants more, leading to addiction.
The more you drink, the more pleasure your brain reports. At the same time, alcohol releases dopamine, the other feel-good chemical produced by your brain. These are the same neural pathways that light up when they’re triggered by sugar consumption, which is why there’s a direct correlation between sugar addiction and alcohol dependency — another reason why many alcoholics also have eating disorders.
Alcohol Addiction Withdrawal
One of the first physical warning signs that you may need to investigate treatment for alcohol addiction is when your tolerance increases, so you need to drink more and more to get the same results. Then you may find that you’ve lost control and that even though you want to quit, you can’t. Alcohol and the ensuing consequences seem to take up more and more of your time until you either take the steps yourself or are forced into treatment for alcohol abuse.
Treatment for alcohol abuse includes medical assistance during the initial withdrawal stage. In the most severe cases, alcohol withdrawal leads to seizures, hallucinations and confusion. More common withdrawal symptoms include:
- Nausea
- Anxiety
- Trembling and shaking
- Irritability
- Sweating
- Insomnia
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Headache
- Appetite loss
How to Stop Alcohol Addiction
One of the biggest obstacles that alcoholics must overcome before they can stop the disease from progressing is denial. Even when it’s obvious; even when you know you can’t stop; and yes, even when you’re pregnant and you know you’re harming your baby, the alcoholic mind tells you that you don’t have a problem. And that you don’t need treatment for alcohol addiction.
Admitting that you have a problem is required if you want to have any chance at long-term recovery. Even if you’re admitted to the hospital with delirium tremors (DTs) or your baby is born with fetal alcohol syndrome, you need to admit you need help to begin the transformation required for sobriety.
Watching alcoholism affect your body, mind, career and even your closest relationships is difficult. When your loved ones have to witness the destruction, they often need to leave you to your own devices to find a bottom that gets you to understand the gravity of your situation and the steps you need to take to get better.
Go to the Best Drug Rehab in Europe
At the best international rehab, you’ll find a committed staff that provides one-on-one counselling and oversight for group therapy sessions. Therapeutic programs ranging from art therapy to psychodynamics helps you find the creativity you may have lost during active alcoholism. The relaxing environment provides a setting where you can explore your feelings and develop a trust in your ability to stay sober.
Get introduced to community programs such as 12-step meetings where you can count on the people to provide continued support for long-term sobriety. And the staff at a top drug rehab clinic prepares you for the long road to a life free from addiction and full of hope.