Whether you or a loved one is struggling with alcohol abuse or addiction, you may have several questions. For example, how does alcohol cause intoxication? What are its effects on the brain? How does this lead to alcohol use disorder, also called alcohol abuse? Crestview Recovery’s alcohol rehab center near Asotin can not only address these concerns but offer a variety of programs to get individuals healthy.
You or a loved one don’t have to suffer in silence with alcohol abuse. Leaving alcohol use disorder untreated can lead to brain damage, heart issues such as stroke, liver damage like hepatitis and cirrhosis, and even cancer. Thus, the earlier someone gets treatment, the better chances they have of living a healthy life.
What is Alcohol Abuse?
We all know the immediate effects of drinking. People become less inhibited and more impulsive, speech may become slurred, and reflexes slow. But are there lasting effects of drinking?
As a depressant, alcohol blocks chemical signals in the brains called neurotransmitters. As drinking becomes more frequent, the brain adapts to the blocking. This then causes the brain to become overactive when alcohol is removed from the system. The brain’s attempt at compensating is what leads to the painful symptoms of withdrawal. Individuals may not have an addiction but still experience severe issues due to binge drinking, which causes sudden withdrawal. There are some clear stages of consuming alcohol:
- Euphoria: The increased release of dopamine creates a pleasurable sensation. Individuals feel relaxed or experience minor issues.
- Intoxication: When an individual’s blood alcohol content reaches between .09 to .25, they are legally intoxicated. They experience blurred vision, slurred speech and hearing, and lack of control. A person’s motor skills lessen as their reaction time slows.
- Confusion: A BAC of 0.18 to 0.3 your brain’s cerebellum is impacted, resulting in difficulty walking or standing. The temporary loss of consciousness or memory, i.e., blackouts, occur.
- Stupor: At a BAC of 0.25 to 0.40, alcohol poisoning has occurred, impairing all mental, physical, and sensory functions.
- Death: With a BAC over 0.45 alcohol poisoning or the brain’s failure to maintain the body’s vital functions like breathing and your heart beating causes death.
Looking closely at these stages, it’s clear alcohol abuse can occur early in consumption. Furthermore, continued use, especially binge drinking, moves an individual not just closer and closer to dependency but more quickly to the harmful stages.
Treatment and Support Through Our Alcohol Rehab Center near Asotin
Our alcohol rehab center offers more than just medical assistance for those dealing with alcohol use disorder. We make our patients’ rehabilitation the top priority. As such, we’ve developed a variety of therapeutic resources to help patients come to terms with their alcohol abuse. Some of these therapies include:
- Group therapy
- Individual therapy
- Holistic treatments
Each of these makes sure every patient learns the particular skills and technique they need to address their issues and forge their unique recovery path. Through a combination of peer support from other residents and family support through programs like family therapy, individuals repair the damage and harm caused. Once patients have worked through the therapies that best suit them, they enter our aftercare programs.
In aftercare, continuing support is provided. This is done to prevent relapse. Even after completing an alcohol use disorder program, returning to everyday life can be daunting for patients. Some individuals need to ease their way back into their lives. Others may be at a loss about who to turn to for help when they encounter issues with their sobriety. Thus, Crestview Recovery offers ongoing assistance.
Crestview Recovery
Perhaps you’ve tried to deal with alcohol use disorder on your own. But it hasn’t worked. There’s a better way. At Crestview Recovery’s alcohol rehab center near Asotin, Washington, we can help you decisively deal with your alcohol use disorder. Our facility offers gender-specific treatment for men and women, an intensive outpatient program (IOP), and a partial hospitalization program (PHP), among others.
At Crestview Recovery, we provide you with supportive therapists and experts to not just help you quit drinking but heal from alcohol use disorder. Call us today at 866.262.0531 to find out more details and begin your recovery.
Since 2016, Dr. Merle Williamson, a graduate of Oregon Health Sciences University, has been the Medical Director at Crestview Recovery, bringing a rich background in addiction medicine from his time at Hazelden Treatment Center. He oversees outpatient drug and alcohol treatments, providing medical care, setting policies, detox protocols, and quality assurance measures. Before specializing in addiction medicine, he spent 25 years in anesthesiology, serving as Chair of Hospital Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and Chief of Anesthesia at Kaiser Permanente. This experience gives him a unique perspective on treating prescription drug addiction.