An Overview Of Alcoholism
Alcohol is a way for many people to relax and have a fun evening. This is not the case for those with an alcohol dependency. Alcoholism is an addiction to alcohol. This addiction impairs the users ability to think clearly. While there is no actual cure for alcoholism it is a treatable disease.
Mild to moderate alcohol use is defined as no more than 2 drinks a day for men and 1 drink for women or elderly. A drink is a beverage that contains .5 ounces of alcohol. The amount of alcohol per drink is .5 ounces. This can translate to about 1+1/2 ounces of mixed drink, 5 ounces of wine or 12 ounces of beer.
Alcoholism or alcohol dependence occurs when drinking alcohol becomes a pattern and is used to help the person avoid certain thoughts or situations. People may use alcohol as a way of becoming happy when they face difficult life situations. Instead of dealing with these situations they may instead turn to alcohol to help get them through.
Alcoholism can happen to anyone at any age. There are millions of alcoholics and many of them are teens. Some people may have a predisposition to become an alcoholic. If you come from a poor background, have been abused or have a close relative that was an alcoholic you are more likely to become an alcohol abuser yourself.
Alcoholism is considered a disease. Most people who are alcoholics go through a strong denial period. This is usually because there is a negative stigma attached to alcoholism. Most alcoholics deny their problem even to those friends and family members that they are closest to. This can cause many problems as those people try to help the alcoholic get treatment.
It is usually recommended that relatives of alcoholics get counseling to help them understand the behavior and to deal with any issues that have come up such as abuse. The alcoholic may have trouble admitting that they need help and often it takes an intervention by family members to get the person to agree to get help.
Treatment for alcoholism usually takes several parts. The initial stage involves detox where the body rids itself of the actual physical addiction to alcohol. Medications can be used to help keep the alcoholic from drinking. Therapy or counseling is the final and most important part. Finding out what brought you to this state can be a lengthy process. Many changes will need to take place while the person goes through recovery. Recovery is a lifelong process.
Treatment centers can be in-patient or outpatient. Most programs run for 30 or 60 days after which time the person is able to go home and return to normal life. They will need to continue therapy to stay on the path of recovery.
