Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive and often fatal disease of the mind and the body. According to the Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, alcoholism is directly responsible for more than 100,000 deaths each year because of automobile accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, falls, cancer and stroke. Nearly 14 million Americans meet the criteria for being diagnosed as alcoholics, and alcohol is the most commonly used drug among young people in the United States. While many disagree whether alcoholism is simply a result of a lack of willpower or a disease, it remains treatable.
The Decision to Recover
In the past, medical professionals, well-intentioned amateurs, families and friends have tried every conceivable means they could think of to help people quit drinking. After all of the dust has settled, we've arrived at three main components to stopping drinking: abstention, detoxification and long-term, psycho-social adjustments. The first and most important part of recovering from alcoholism is a sincere, personal desire to quit drinking. Alcoholics cannot quit drinking for their spouses, their children or fear of losing their jobs. They must want to quit drinking on their own and for their own reasons. Successfully recovering alcoholics call this "hitting bottom." Until practicing alcoholics make up their own minds to quit drinking, one day at a time, their chances or success are nil.
Detoxification
For alcoholics to successfully stop drinking, they must completely abstain from alcohol. In cases where the alcoholic cannot stop drinking on his own, he is often admitted into inpatient detoxification hospital programs. While detoxing and for some period after, alcoholics are often prescribed two common drugs: Campral and Natrexone. Campral has been successfully used during the detoxification process by helping to reduce the withdrawals symptoms of alcoholism--convulsions, tremors, withdrawal seizures, sweating, nausea, pain and delirium tremors. Naltrexone is another popularly prescribed drug that reduces the alcohol cravings by blocking neural receptors. Like Campral, Natrexone must be taken constantly to be effective. A newer form of Naltrexone is a time-released version called Vivitrol. It is administered as an injection once a month.
Outpatient Programs
After the 3-to-15-day detoxification process, the recovering alcoholic is typically released to an out-patient alcohol treatment center. Although they can last any number of days or months, most are based around a 28-day recovery period. During the outpatient program, newly recovering alcoholics are introduced into a psychosocial aspect of recovery by attending classes, lectures and meetings based on the fundamentals of the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program. During this period, outpatients begin to experience new patterns of social behavior that do not depend on alcohol or drugs.
12-Step Programs
One of the most successful means for alcoholics to recover from alcoholism is to get involved in the 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous. The 12 steps are a design for living that helps the newly recovered alcoholic learn how to successfully function in the world without the aid of alcohol or drugs. In many experts' opinions, an addict's maturation process ceases when they begin abusing alcohol and drugs. The recovery process involves picking up where the alcoholic left off, learning how to approach life with a new set of social skills.
Returning to Normal Living
During early recovery of alcoholism, recovering alcoholics learn how to apply the 12 steps of the AA program into their normal day. Most return to work, families, school and all of the other activities of daily living that so many other normal people take for granted. They also learn how to include a regular schedule of AA meetings into their day, meet new sober friends and learn how to comfortably exist in their surroundings--including attending parties, weddings and other functions where alcohol is served. But, the most important part of recovery involves working through the 12 steps of recovery and helping others to do the same. An old AA saying frequently heard is, "You have to give it away to keep it."
