Offer your support along each step of the recovery journey. Research the kinds of treatment that are available and discuss these options with your friend or family member. Express your concerns in a caring way and encourage your https://soberhome.net/ friend or family member to get help. Try to remain neutral and don’t argue, lecture, accuse, or threaten. When you’re craving alcohol, there’s a tendency to remember the positive effects of drinking and forget the negatives.
- Are you ready to quit drinking or cut down to healthier levels?
- Treatment programs provide group, individual, and family counseling in outpatient and residential settings.
- Sober communities can also share relatable experiences and offer new, healthy friendships.
- These medicines are designed to help manage a chronic disease, just as someone might take drugs to keep their asthma or diabetes in check.
Whether you want to quit drinking altogether or cut down to healthier levels, these guidelines can help you get started on the road to recovery today. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other 12-step programs provide peer support for people quitting or cutting back on their drinking. Combined with treatment led by health professionals, mutual-support groups can offer a valuable added layer of support. If you or a loved one needs help with an alcohol problem, you have several options beyond in-person care. You can access professional telehealth care by phone or video chat.
How do I search for an addiction doctor?
Recovering from alcohol addiction or abuse is much easier when you have people you can lean on for encouragement, comfort, and guidance. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a health condition that is best assessed and treated by a health professional. In this section, learn more about AUD, the professional treatment options available, and why different people may take different routes to recovery. In the U.S., more than 5,000 medical doctors are board-certified addiction specialists. They are highly trained to provide full assessments, treatment plans, and medications for alcohol problems. Caring for a person who has problems with alcohol can be very stressful.
Treating Alcohol Addiction at American Addiction Centers
They’ll likely ask you a series of questions to determine the severity of your dependency. These questions can also help them determine the best treatment option for your needs. This chronic illness can include symptoms like an intense need for using alcohol, even when the use has become problematic.
Find Out if You’re Misusing Alcohol
You’re likely to start by seeing your primary health care provider. If your provider suspects that you have a problem with alcohol, you may be referred to a mental health provider. Friends and family members of people who have an alcohol addiction can benefit from professional support or by joining programs like Al-Anon. Regardless of how the addiction looks, someone typically has an alcohol addiction if they heavily rely on drinking and can’t stay sober for an extended period of time. Alcohol addiction can show itself in a variety of ways. The severity of the disease, how often someone drinks, and the alcohol they consume varies from person to person.
Simply understanding the different options can be an important first step. Alcohol-related problems—which result from drinking too much, too fast, or too often—are among the most significant public health issues in the United States. Alcoholism is a common and different term for alcohol use disorder. Milder cases — when people abuse alcohol but aren’t dependent on it — are as well. Some people recover from AUD the first time they seek treatment, while others may require several treatment attempts. You may experience relapses and temptations, but this is completely normal.
Additional Resources
Naltrexone is available in the form of an oral tablet or injection. Vivitrol is an injected form of the drug that your doctor can give you once a month. This may be more reliable and convenient than oral pills, especially are all toads poisonous if you think you may forget or be unwilling to take a pill every day. Explore Mayo Clinic studies testing new treatments, interventions and tests as a means to prevent, detect, treat or manage this condition.