If you or a loved one has a problem with excessive drinking or alcohol addiction, help is available to get on the path to healing. Many different methods can be used for successful alcoholism treatment. It can be done with or without the use of prescription medications and can be residential or home-based. It is important to consider the variety of options available in order to discover which will be most effective for you as an individual. Below are some proven choices:
The 12 Steps Program
The 12 steps program originally began with Alcoholics Anonymous and was co-founded by Doctor Bob S and Bill W in 1934 in an effort to deal with their own alcohol addictions. Since it’s founding, Alcoholics Anonymous has been able to help a great number of people with alcoholism, numbering in the tens of thousands. This method is pretty successful with a typical success rate for someone entering this program being between 5 and 10 percent.
Bio-Physical Rehabilitation
The body uses natural substances called neurotransmitters to regulate feelings of happiness and contentment. When a person becomes addicted to alcohol, long term changes occur that deplete these neurotransmitters and down-regulate the receptors in the brain that receive them. Once an alcoholic stops drinking, they may fall into a deep depression because their body has come to depend on higher and higher amounts of alcohol in order to feel normal. This is a common factor that leads to constant relapse, as the alcoholic is trying to feel good again. Taking care to cleanse the body of toxins that have been left behind by alcohol can help overcome this and can be very helpful in securing long term abstinence. The process of detoxification is part of what occurs in bio-physical rehab.
Prescription Medications
There is much controversy over the use of medications, such as anti-depressants, as an alcoholism treatment. Some view this solution as simply being a way to take an alcoholic who is addicted to one type of drug, and addicting him on another kind which does not serve the purpose of actually rehabilitating him. However, anti-depressants have been proven to help people stop drinking especially during the tough initial withdrawal phase.
Religious Therapy
Religious therapy is not perfectly successful because many alcoholics do not see the program through to the end. However, it enjoys a success rate of approximately 40%. This type of treatment involves a several year stay in isolation, usually on a farm. This is helpful in removing an alcoholic from a negative environment that could cause them to relapse. It also involves bible study which serves to provide the alcoholic with a set of moral values and ethics.
