Alcohol addiction also known as alcoholism or alchohol use disorder is a very chronic diseases characterized by excessive drinking of alcohol. It's the inability to control alcoholic drink intake due to overdepence on it despite the related health consequences.
Alcohol is psychoactive medication that is an active I ngredient in drinks such as beer,distilled spirits,etc.It is one of most common and abused recreational substances,causing the characteristic effects of alcohol intoxication when taken excessively, the chemical name for alcohol is called ethanol.
Alcohol use disorder is a very unhealthy addiction that damages the body system and is responsible for many terminal illness like heart issues, liver damage, cancer, etc. This diseases affect human lifespan by shortening it. People who are addicted to taking alcohol do so majorly because of the sensation feelings they get like happiness and euphoria, decreased anxiety, increased sociability, sedation, impairment of cognitive, memory, motor, and sensory function, and depression of central nervous system function.
It is possible to overcome alcohol addiction but it takes gradual process cause it just don't happen overnight it takes lot of commitment to overcome alcoholism. The following steps can help one over come alcohol disorder
The first step is denial, it is the hardest and most important step when trying to stop alcoholism, you have to try all the best to stop yourself getting alcohol it's really tempting at first but with much dedication and commitment it can be achieved by getting rid of all temptations like beers, hard liquors like spirits, wine and all alcoholic beverages from home or work place also its neccessary to stay far away from friends who are likely to tempt you back into alcoholism also make it known to them about your intentions to stop drinking and you won't be able to go to parties with them any longer and drinking will be banned in your home anyone who refuses to respect your decisions should avoided as they are bad influence.
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Although there's no medication to cure alcohol use disorder but there are some medications that can help you recover from alcoholism cause they make you feel sick after drinking and there are some which stops you from getting highness sensation, they make drinking less enjoyable you can just meet with your doctor to recommend one for you also you can visit a therapist or psychologist to give you advice and support to overcome this alcoholism like teaching you how to deal with the stress and triggers also how to set goals and achieve them. Its advisable to get a one on one theraphy so as to be able to tell the therapist about your fears and weakness and they teach you how to deal with the depression and anxiety.
Also its neccessary to take time to reflects on your alcohol addiction and look at it effects on you like figuring how often you drink and how many bottles of alcohol do you take are they much ? Also it neccessary to understand why you drink, this is a question you really need to ask yourself this and ponder about it. If its majorly for fun then you need to look at the negative effects of alcoholism to your body system, you need to understand its killing you slowly but steady and if its because of an emotional pain then its neccessary to think about the effect of alcohol on the pain, alcohol only makes the pain was because alcohol combined with the pain makes you feel more sober and depressed. Its neccessary to find solution to the challenges cause alcoholism will only worsen the pain and not ease it. You should also try to evaluate the cost of drinking like how much you've spent on drinking, the amount is always high and the money could have been used to do better profitable things than drinking.
You can tell loved ones and family about your decision. it is neccessary to tell friends and family about your decisions to stop alcoholism so they can support you in achieving your goals also you might be the change someone else needs like someone else might be motivated by your new behavior to stop alcohol addiction you can even join a charitable organization that is meant for this course to convince more people about alcohol use disorder. Also there might be need to change environment due to psychological reasons, since the brain is use to former routine, you might be tempted to drink again whenever you're in your old environment or in anxiety. Changes in the environment will help ease of the mind from drinking also you can find new favorite drinks or beverages to take though they must be non alcoholic, you can start with taking alot of water at first because it offers lot of health benefit but you can change to fruit juice or tea if you wish. Also its neccessary to try get busy with something and not staying idle for long, idleness leads to temptation so you can go out for a walk during idle times or visit a friend, you can also get yourself busy by reading a book or watching movies or finding new hobbies maybe like singing,dancing , etc.
If all these are not useful then you can opt for one alcohol treatment program where you get full time medical support to stop your adoption to alcohol, there are various types of alcohol treatment programs like residential treatment involves staying at a treatment facility while undergoing intensive treatment this type of treatment usually takes up to 1-3 months, there is part time hospitalization programs where addicts who require constant medical monitoring so they visit hospitals for some times like three to five times in a week and stay up to four or six hours in the hospital. There's also the intensive outpatient programs commonly known as IOP, this programs is majorly for people who can be easily tempted to go back to drinking so this programs try to stop you from going back to excessive alcohol consumption and its majorly scheduled around work or school. The therapist will pick the best programs for you because they're expert in stopping alcohol addiction and this programs can be customized to your fit your problem.
Recovering from alcohol addiction or heavy drinking is not a quick and easy process but with commitment and dedication it is easy to be free of alchohol use disorder.