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Treatment Options for Alcoholism: Treatment Options for Alcoholism

Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a disease. Like any other disease, a person who has it needs to seek treatment. There are a few treatment options that those who suffer from alcoholism may consider.

But it can be difficult for a person who has this disease to seek treatment because most alcoholics do not want to admit that they have a problem. They will also try their best to hide their symptoms from their loved ones and those who have authority over them. This can make treatment options harder.

Most of the time treatment will first begin because of health or even legal actions being forced on the person. This makes the treatment harder to take hold and it makes it harder for the patient to actually participate completely in the treatments.

What treatments options do those suffering from alcoholism have?

First, their loved ones and friends could try to host an intervention. An intervention may force an alcoholic to admit and even accept that they have a problem. But be warned an intervention is not easy on any participant.

What is an intervention? It is a coming together of those who care about a person who is suffering from a major problem and causing harm to his/herself. In this case, the person is an alcoholic. The people who comes to the intervention tells the person how much they care about him/her and then proceeds to give them examples of how their behavior is hurting them and others.

When a group of people is planning intervention, they can get professional help by trained counselors. These counselors can help to direct some of what should be said and done during the intervention.

What other treatment options do people who suffer from alcoholism have?

Real treatment needs to be done with a professional. A professionally trained counselor will be able to determine the level of dependence a person has on alcohol. This level is the basis of how treatment should be conducted.

If a person is diagnosed as being completely dependent on alcohol then abstinence from alcohol will be his/her ultimately treatment goal. Treatment should also involve learning how to live life without it and how to cope day to day.

A person may opt to seek therapy in a form of cognitive behavior therapy. In this type of therapy a therapist will try to teach his/her patient how to identify distorted thoughts and triggers that bring on stress. Then the counselor will help to teach the patient to learn new ways in dealing with these thoughts and triggers as they occur in life.

Another type of therapy is aversion therapy. In this type of therapy, the act of drinking alcohol is teamed up with an aversion such as taking a medication that will bring on such strong acts such as vomiting. The premise behind this therapy is that one continues to pair the medication and the drinking. This means each time one drinks one will vomit. This will cause one’s mind to set up an aversion to alcohol or whether associate vomiting and alcohol together.

There are many residential treatment facilities across the world. Many of these are set up where the patients will actual reside for a period of weeks.

During their stay patients may participate in a variety of activities including:

One on one counseling session with a therapist Group counseling session with other patients Group counseling session with family members Work activity Work assignments Medical assessments and treatment

Treatment will usually begin with detoxification. This will usually take about four to seven days. Sedatives are sometimes included during this process to help prevent delirium and seizures.

During treatment, a drug such as disulfiram (antabuse) may be use to help deter a person from drinking. It will not cure the disease. But it may help combat the desire a little and if one does drink while taking this medication an adverse effect will occur such as vomiting, flushing, nausea or headaches.

Once the patients graduate from these programs, they will find continual support to be very beneficial to help them deal with their disease and the temptation it causes throughout their life. They may find this support in a form of a support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous.

Since there are a variety of treatment options and treatment centers throughout the world, for people who suffer from alcoholism, an alcoholic cannot truthfully say they have nowhere to turn. They just need to admit they have a problem and they have to face it.

Jeffrey Meier at Jam727 Enterprises at http://www.thearticlehome.com blog offers even more detailed information on a wide variety of topics.

Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeffrey_Meier

 


 

Alcoholism Treatment – Treatment Options for Alcoholism – Alcohol Withdrawal Treatment – alcoholism.ko.mk For alcoholics who have decided to get help for their drinking problem there are many different treatment programs and approaches available, but there is no medical cure.

 

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