Alcoholism Treatment with Horizons Recovery
Alcoholism is a serious medical condition that benefits from professional detox and rehabilitation programs. Alcoholism and treatment centers are located at Horizons Recovery and across America, including medical detox clinics, inpatient rehab, outpatient rehab, 12-step support groups, and aftercare programs. Alcoholism and treatment facilities deal with a wide range of alcohol abuse and dependence cases, each of which needs to be analyzed and treated on its own terms.
What is Alcoholism?
Alcoholism, also known as alcohol use disorder or alcohol dependence syndrome, includes the previous diagnosis of alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence. Alcohol abuse, including binge drinking, involves the repeated and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages. While alcohol dependence is closely related to alcohol abuse, dependent people are also likely to experience increased tolerance, alcohol cravings, and withdrawal symptoms when they stop drinking. People who are dependent on alcohol are often unable to go for extended periods of time without experiencing symptoms, including hand tremors, nausea, anxiety, and lack of motivation. Treatment for alcoholism largely depends on the existence and extent of dependence, with physical-somatic withdrawal symptoms often requiring medical intervention.
Negative Effects of Alcohol
People who abuse alcohol on a regular basis are likely to experience a wide range of physical, psychological, and social problems. Common adverse physical effects of alcohol consumption include lethargy, sedation, red facial appearance, stupor, dizziness, vomiting, nausea, and headaches. When heavy drinking is continued over a period of months or years, a number of more serious long-term effects are likely to develop. Consuming more than two drinks a day for men and more than one drink a day for women increases the risk of numerous physical and psychological conditions, including high blood pressure, stroke, atrial fibrillation, pancreatitis, epilepsy, alcoholic dementia, cirrhosis of the liver, peptic ulcers, sexual dysfunction, depression disorder, and anxiety-related conditions.
Medical Detox
Medical detox is the experience and process of alcohol or drug withdrawal under medical supervision. While a medical detox period is not always needed to treat alcoholism, it is typically advised whenever physical-somatic withdrawal symptoms are present or likely to be present. Withdrawal symptoms for alcohol dependence range from mild physical disturbances through to life-threatening conditions, including hallucinations, seizures, and delirium tremens. Medically assisted detox is often administered to help alleviate these symptoms before they create additional medical complications. Benzodiazepine sedatives such as Valium and Serax are often used in this context, with other medications such as Antabuse and Campral also useful in the later stages of treatment.
Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation programs form the basis of most alcoholism treatment regimes, including residential rehab and outpatient rehab. Rehab programs are often based on motivational, cognitive, and behavioral principles, including things like moral reconation therapy, art therapy, music therapy, relapse prevention, 12-step facilitation, and meditation. If you need help managing an alcohol abuse or dependence problem, just give Horizons Recovery a call today at PHONE NUMBER to speak with one of our caring recovery advocates.
