Most of these men and women do not even realize that they have a drinking problem and do nothing about it. If you have decided that you want to quit drinking alcohol, then you have made a wise decision that could save your relationships, your health, and your life. Even if you are not really an alcoholic, you should quit consuming alcohol because alcohol will only harm your health and you might become addicted to it. If you want to learn how to quit drinking alcohol, then you've come to the right place.
What You Can Do to Quit Drinking Alcohol
In order to quit consuming alcohol successfully, you must first realize and admit to yourself that you are becoming addicted to alcohol and you can't stop drinking it. How to get stop drinking If you don't admit to yourself that suffering from a disease called alcoholism, then not even the best doctors will be able to treat you. In order to fight it, you must first realize that you have alcoholism. Once you have decided to fight it and quit consuming alcohol, enter an in-patient detoxification program at your local hospital or treatment center.
It can take a few days or a whole week for you to complete the entire detoxification process, depending on how addicted you are to alcohol. During this period, you are not allowed to drink alcohol and you will experience some alcohol withdrawal symptoms. If you are severely addicted to drinking, some of the alcohol withdrawal symptoms you might experience are hallucinations and shaking. The medical professionals at the hospital or treatment center can provide medications that reduce the withdrawal symptoms you are experiencing. Entering a detoxification program is the best way to quit consuming alcohol successfully.
Tips to Quit Drinking Alcohol Successfully
If you have severe alcoholism, experts recommend that you undergo therapy in order to deal with any underlying issues that are triggering the urge to drink. A therapist can also teach you how to handle the temptation of taking alcohol. It may also be beneficial if your family included in the therapy because alcohol abuse can affect your entire family. It is recommended that you undergo therapy as soon as you finish your detoxification program so that you don't return to your old drinking habit.
There are some medications can also help you quit consuming alcohol more effectively if you don't want to enter an in-patient detoxification program or undergo therapy. Visit your doctor and ask him about intravenous and oral medications that can help you quit consuming alcohol and avoid relapses. Your doctor may recommend medications that discourage alcohol consumption by making you sick when you drink alcohol. There are also medications that help you quit drinking by reducing the alcohol cravings in your brain. Remember to ask your doctor about these medications before you decide to use them in order to prevent harmful side effects and other health problems.
In order to cure alcoholism it is first necessary to wipe out the addiction to alcohol. A doctor views alcoholism as a disease, the definition of which is a mental or physical state which interferes with the normal workings of the body. Disease in general can lead to a feeling of discomfort, dysfunction, disturbed behavior, syndromes, distress or it can even result in causing death.
In general, as the name would suggest, alcoholism will prevent the patient from kicking the habit of alcohol consumption. The patient's craving for alcohol would be similar to our actual need for water and will tend to continue consuming alcohol even though his health will be put at risk. The signs soon tell in the patient's behavior as he becomes more defiant and the withdrawal symptoms more obvious and should the vital organs get damaged, then death is not far away.
When it comes to actually looking for a cure to alcoholism, guilt will play a major factor as the urge to drink alcohol starts earlier in the day and the quantities increase with the hope of just forgetting the matter at hand. This is the point when medical support should be contemplated in order to cure alcoholism.
Screening and Diagnosis: At first the normal symptoms of alcoholism such as memory loss, dyspepsia, pain and weakness could actually be confused with similar signs of old age. So a Doctor will confirm his suspected diagnosis by prescribing a screen test as well as the patient having to fill out a standard questionnaire.
Withdrawal Symptoms: Should an alcoholic be denied access to alcohol at a fixed hour, then you will begin to see withdrawal symptoms set in such as sickness, head aches, pains, uneasiness etc. This state of mind can be confirmed by either the patient or someone very close to him.
Blood Alcohol Tests: This test is important to show what the alcohol consumption is at any particular time and is carried out in DUI accident cases. Although this test gives some insight, it does not give any clear indication of problems caused by long term alcohol consumption.
Tests should also be carried out on the kidneys, liver and for reduced testosterone levels (in men), in order to establish how alcohol has become a determining factor in damaging our health. The red blood cells are also tested to see if they have become larger, as this is a symptom of alcoholism. Another test indicates "carbohydrate-deficient transferring", which is also another symptom of heavy alcohol consumption.
Treatment: The negative factor with alcoholics is that they will always deny having alcohol addicted related health problems. The main reason being that they know quite well that it would lead to them having to give up their daily dosage of alcohol. It is so important that family and friends insist on initiating treatment to stop this terrible developing into something even more damaging. There are several treatments available depending on each individual, although in general it will consist of either an outpatient program or a residential inpatient treatment.
Evaluating the Level of Dependence: First of all we have to establish the level of dependency to alcohol as a certain craving level may still exist. Counseling is an ideal way to find out just where stand, followed by an alcohol reduction plan to help overcome the body's negative response.
Intervention by Specialists: Normal practice involves specialized alcohol addiction medics determining a specific treatment strategy. This will of course include counseling with relative behavior therapy, prevention therapy, the identification of paranoidism and beliefs that lead to psychological stress, learning how to cope with traumatic events, learning how to put mind over matter, behavioral modification techniques, the use of self-help manuals. Once all this has been put into practice then it is time for follow-up care in a treatment center.