alcohol addiction Archives

Got A Problem With Alcohol? Here Are A Few Reasons You Need Rehab

Posted on September 8, 2015July 2, 2018 by Joy

Across the globe, there are millions of people who abuse alcohol on a daily basis. Across the globe, there are also millions of people who refuse to admit they have a problem. Just because alcohol is a legal substance doesn’t mean that it cannot negatively affect your life like heroin and cocaine. In fact, legal substances such as alcohol and cigarettes kill more people every year than any hardcore drug on the market. Now do you see why accepting you have a problem is important?

However, just accepting the fact isn’t enough because alcohol is incredibly addictive. Once you have come to terms with your addiction, you need a process that you help you recover. Luckily, rehab is the perfect process, and here’s why.

It Works

If you do want to kick your addiction, there is no better way to do it than going to rehab. Research suggests that more than half of the people who enter rehabilitation centres tame their addiction by the end. Of course, rehab can only do so much because, ultimately, it is down to you and the choices you make whether you reoffend. But, as a starting point and a way to begin on the right track, rehab is head and shoulders above the rest.

It Is Secluded

Dealing with addiction in the twenty-first century is possibly the hardest century to deal with addiction ever. With one click of a button, you can have a whole case of booze delivered right to your front door. You don’t even have to leave the house to relapse anymore. Plus, everyone around you seems to be enjoying the exact substance that you are battling. Take one look around and you will see dozens of people enjoying a drink. Rehab centres tend to be secluded and free of temptation, so the desire to relapse is much lower than at home.

Professional Service

Although you can break your addiction on your own, it is harder than you can imagine. For starters, you are not an expert on the subject. Yes, you know what it is like to be addicted. But, you don’t know the best treatments to free yourself from the shackles. Take the alcohol detox treatment at First Step as an example. At First Step Detox, they have a range of facilities and treatments that are clinically proven to work. At home, you have walls that close in on you and an addiction that is dying to be set free.

Support

One of the main benefits has to be the support that rehab offers. As you are probably aware, kicking a habit is much easier with like-minded people to help. As a result, the atmosphere at rehab centres is a strange mix of support, guilt and competition. Obviously, support from the people who are going the same thing, but also the guilt of not wanting to let the people in the room down. And then you have the competitive edge because you don’t want to be one person who doesn’t succeed. Put all this together and you have one incredible support network.

alcohol detox rehab — Image credits: Rory Hyde – https://flic.kr/p/4NYhfv

Can Alcohol Be A Part Of Healthy Living?

Posted on February 13, 2015July 2, 2018 by Joy

Good health and high levels of fitness are on everybody’s wish list this year. For some of us, we feel we do enough, and for others it feels like we can’t begin to do enough. It is fair to say that lifestyle plays a really huge part in how fit and healthy you can become. Without being actively conscious and mindful of how you live your life, you may not be meeting your potential health and fitness levels.

Some of us live for our weekends. It starts on Friday night after work and ends some time Sunday afternoon with a hangover. Sadly, the hangover is your body’s way of telling you that you are hurting it, and damaging your health. Hangovers are caused by dehydration and the body having to work extra hard to clear out the contaminants of excessive alcohol. As we get older, hangovers get worse because our bodies take longer to go through this process. If we have combined the alcohol with junk food, it could take even longer. Sometimes the body can’t go through the self-detox stage, so it irradicates what you have consumed, leaving you with vomiting or diarrhoea.

Even if you are at the gym every night during the working week, you could be undoing all the good at the weekends. There is even the chance you may find a need for the alcohol beyond just the weekends. Alcohol is very addictive. While binge drinking is very harmful, an addiction and regular use of alcohol can cause far more damage emotionally, mentally and physically. If you find yourself in this situation, there are programmes to help, and you may want to seek the services of a recovery house.

For most of us, a drink or two at the weekend is a nice way to relax after a long week at work, and it rarely goes further. If we are on a health drive, we may avoid alcohol altogether, as it slows down our reactions and alters our digestive processes. When we are working to improve our running times, or lose weight, alcohol can throw too many complex variations into the situation. Some people only cook with alcohol, rather than drinking it, as this reduces the alcoholic content.

Healthy eating - sometimes — Image by: Brampton Cyclist – https://flic.kr/p/5fbMi1

If you are thinking of changing your drinking habits, it might be worth thinking about how much you actually drink. For people who are looking to lose weight or improve their fitness, routines are important. Calculate carefully where alcohol fits in your life on a regular basis, if at all. There will be times when you want to celebrate and toast with alcohol. There will also be times on holiday when you might fancy a drink too. Unless you have a problem with alcohol, it may be unreasonable to keep it out of your life completely.

While alcohol will affect your body, most things in moderation do no harm. If you enjoy a drink or two at the weekend, this needn’t affect your health. There are also studies to suggest that a little alcohol can do some of us some good when it comes to the health of our heart.

Alcohol Addiction: 5 Ways to Help Beat It

Posted on December 13, 2013March 10, 2019 by Joy

For many people drinking alcohol is just a social pastime to be enjoyed at parties or over dinner at a restaurant. For others it is a serious addiction, a habit that seems impossible to break. Alcohol dependency can creep up gradually, until it becomes an unhealthy problem. Alcohol addiction can be treated. The road to recovery may not necessarily be quick and without pitfalls, but it is most definitely possible.

Decide to Change

The first step in recovering from an alcohol addiction, and possibly the hardest step, is to decide to make a change. Most people struggle with this step. Change isn’t easy and it is very likely that alcohol has become your best friend, your comfort, your stress free zone. It is also probable that your alcohol addiction is causing issues in your life. You may well wonder if you have the willpower or the determination to quit the habit. This is normal. Think about the pros and cons of continuing to drink; think about what is important to you, like your partner, your children or your job; and talk it over with someone who won’t judge you, someone you can trust. Maybe discuss your feelings with someone professionally trained to help you through these conflicting emotions, like the psychologists at Talking Minds who specialise in alcohol counselling.

Investigate Treatment Options

Everyone has different needs, so check out the different alcohol rehab and treatment options and look for a fit that is good for you. The treatment you choose needs to address more than just your alcohol use; the reasons behind why you drink need to be uncovered for you to move forward. Treatment is not overnight. You will need to commit to a treatment plan and stick with it.

Get Support

You will need a solid support system in place. Beating alcohol addiction is not something you want to attempt on your own. Seek out positive and healthy people to help you with your recovery. Your family and close friends can be a great help at this time. If you don’t want to burden them because you have hurt them in the past, think about attending family counselling to mend the bridges. If your social network consists of people you used to get drunk with you will need to find some sober friends.

Learn How to Deal with Stress

If you started using alcohol to relax and deal with stress, it is imperative that you learn new and healthy ways to deal with stress. Stress is a part of modern day life, so you need to implement strategies that will help you deal with it. You may have used alcohol to deal with other feelings too, like loneliness, depression or anger. Alcohol may have been covering these up, and without its numbing effects they will resurface. Get help to deal with negative emotions.

Avoid Triggers

To stay sober you need to identify and avoid triggers. When cravings become intense have a strategy in place to deal with them. Avoid people and places that trigger your urge to drink.