Help is There for Alcohol Abusers

Posted on July 24, 2009
Filed Under Alcoholism |

bottlemanThere are well over 25 million alcohol abusers in this country. According to experts, alcohol abuse is very prevalent in the county, as well as drug abuse. None of the substances are dissimilar in their initial addiction. All are introduced by friends and social pressure.

The difference between alcohol and drug addiction is that drugs and inhalants (such as spray paint and liquid correction fluid) tend to damage the liver faster than alcohol. The abuser becomes jaundiced and-or contracts hepatitis faster and his general health also deteriorates.

It takes more frequent doses to satisfy; soon the user is taking the drug to keep from withdrawing. Withdrawal from drugs is worse than withdrawing from alcohol, but it doesn’t take as long as alcohol withdrawal. Also with alcohol, it depends on what stage of drinking you are in. With heavy use, delirium tremors may be bad, but the next stage is convulsions and death.

There is not an alcoholic or drug addict alive that cannot recover if he wants and seeks help. That is health care practitioners’ job at the mental health clinics — screening those seeking help and providing it. Some abusers are referred from city- and county law enforcement agencies or probation departments, some come to the clinic on their own and many are brought by family or friends.

If an abuser’s physical and mental condition is such that detoxification is necessary, they can be referred to a state hospital or to a private hospital that accepts insurance assignments or cash. Legal commitment is for 90 days, but most abusers stay between four and 60 days. After the abuser is detoxified or if the abuser is not in need of hospitalization, a referral is made to a counseling program. Sometimes a private psychologist is recommended or a referral is made to the county psychiatrist.

Most abusers who require treatment are taken into a mental health clinic as a client with the substance abuse counselor. The process of substance abuse counseling begins with education in the abuser’s particular substance of choice. He meets the reality of what the substance does physically, mentally and spiritually. To many, it is a chilling experience.

Next, behavior patterns that foster substance abuse are reviewed. “It is not the substance that gets the abuser in trouble, but the friends, habits and patterns he has that cause the problems, experts say. Counseling seeks to break the patterns in an abuser’s personal environment. Usually, chains of events lead to the use of drugs and-or alcohol. Many times, there is a cross addiction, alcohol and drugs. The use of both must be stopped, because they are linked.

“We want to assimilate the abuser back into a normal pattern of life in society as soon as possible. If job skills, basic education or a continuance of education will help the abuser If the abuser is self-sustaining, he is referred directly to a support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous in. Those involved in rehabilitation programs are referred to the support groups, too.

A person develops whatever it takes to make him a productive member of society — self-esteem, direction of life and job skills. Some are taught trades and even given the tools of the trade for apprenticeship. Every case is different, because people are different. You cannot grade a person leaving the clinic and programs; you need to grade them a year later, and we can’t. His best guess of success in substance abuse

rehabilitation is approximately 20 percent. They are the people who leave the clinic and stay straight. Those who don’t make it probably don’t want to stay straight. The desire has to be there.

Comments

One Response to “Help is There for Alcohol Abusers”

  1. Todd on January 8th, 2010 6:54 am

    “Those who don’t make it probably don’t want to stay straight. The desire has to be there”

    partially true…I assume that you are involved in the 12-steps..you might check out information related to natural recovery / recovery capital / spontaneous remission, etc..it has been my experience that a large number of people relapse because of cravings…..addiction is largely biochemical, it’s a brain disease.

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