Alcohol has caused problems in your relationships and on the job. You’re ashamed of the way you act when drunk. However, quitting drinking sounds painful. If you can’t envision yourself without the drug, here’s what you need to know.
An Alcohol Use Disorder has Three Stages
What makes quitting drinking so tricky is that it’s a different process for everyone. Someone else might be experiencing different challenges with the same addiction. Remember that an alcohol addiction has three stages. Initially, you only drink on occasion.
You drink to feel the effect, to be sure. But you can manage to curtail your binges to weekends. Gradually, binge drinking spills into the rest of the week. You’re now experiencing the second stage of the disorder.
Now, you drink at night but go to work in the mornings. There might be a few hangovers, but you can handle them. Finally, you wake up to drink. You can’t function until you’ve had some alcohol.
In this third stage, you structure your day around the drug. You know that you can’t let too much time elapse before you have the next drink. Quitting drinking sounds like something that’s too good to be true. However, it’s possible.
Quitting Drinking Habits is Possible with Rehab
Addiction to alcohol, or alcohol use disorder, is a chronic disease. As with other conditions that fall under this heading, you need medical help. Of course, alcoholism treatment at a recovery center is your best option. There, you work with therapists who help you to achieve sobriety.
They know that addiction isn’t your fault. There’s no judgment at the clinic. You work with people who care about your recovery. Examples of treatments include:
- Dual diagnosis treatment for program participants who need psychiatric care for a co-occurring mental health disorder
- Life skills rehab that prepares you for independent living after discharge from the facility
- Holistic treatment, which may include mindfulness training as a means of overcoming stressors and triggers
- Trauma therapy, which encourages you to handle situations from the past that haven’t had a resolution yet
- Experiential therapies that offer opportunities for introspection and recreational interactions with peers
Opt for an inpatient alcohol rehab stay. You live at the facility, which lets you immerse yourself in the therapeutic environment. For many alcohol users, it’s vital to relearn how to structure a day that doesn’t involve drinking. At the center, you learn healthier habits and then put them into practice.
Getting the Help You Need Today
As you can see, quitting drinking is possible. You don’t have to keep hiding your alcohol use disorder from your friends and family. Instead, reach out for help to Crestview Recovery. Call 866.262.0531 today to schedule your intake interview.
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.
