Counselors at Behavioral Medicine Associates (BMA) in Atlanta report that alcoholism is a complex disease that includes both physical and psychological addiction components. While there are certain drug therapies that can ease the pain of the physical withdrawal and sedatives and other medications that can curb the cravings that follow, the same results can also be accomplished naturally.
Time
Physical withdrawal symptoms, while sometimes dangerous, will eventually pass given enough time, report counselors at BMA. Many patients slowly reduce the amount of alcohol they are ingesting to reduce the severity of the withdrawal symptoms, which can include nausea, headaches and shaking. Others must remain under a health care professional's watch because of the risk of seizures and comas. Physical withdrawals last for one to three days. Psychological cravings will continue for a longer period of time, but also will eventually fade.
Intervention
Denial is one of the hallmarks of alcoholism, report counselors at BMA. No matter how severe the consequences, an alcoholic cannot stop drinking on his own when he is in the throws of denial. Alcoholics have a tendency to minimize the consequences of their drinking and quickly forget the desperation and sickness they felt just a day or two ago after they start feeling better. Professional intervention is designed to circumvent that denial system with planned confrontation by a group of close friends and family members. The collective feedback from a group of people close to the alcoholic often can overcome the defense mechanisms he has built up. The guidance of a professional, trained in doing interventions, can keep the meeting on track and toward a positive outcome, which is to get the alcoholic to agree to go to treatment, where he can find a safe place to quit alcohol naturally.
Meetings
Alcoholics Anonymous is a natural way to quit drinking utilized by alcoholics worldwide. Since the mid-1930s, alcoholics have been gathering in meeting places all over the world, helping each other stay sober when medical, religious, psychological and legal communities did not work. The Mayo Clinic reports that Alcoholics Anonymous is an effective tool that can provide long-term sobriety without the use of drugs or other unnatural means. Through regular meeting attendance, alcoholics hear how other alcoholics got and stayed sober, get tips on how to handle various alcohol-related situations and find support when cravings hit. Alcoholics Anonymous is free, with small donations requested to pay for meeting facilities, and the only requirement for membership is a desire on the part of the alcoholic to stop drinking.
