Alcoholism and Alcohol Treatment Programs

Alcoholism or addiction to alcohol can not only be a problem for the person addicted to it, but also for the one’s who live with that person. Alcoholism is the most grievous phase of drinking problem. It includes all the symptom of alcohol abuse, although it also includes one more factor, that is getting physically dependent on alcohol. You are an alcoholic if you are physically constrained to drink or you rely on alcohol to function yourself.

Tolerance is the first major warning sign of alcoholism. If you drink more than what you used to previously to feel relaxed or buzzed, or if you do not get drunk even after drinking more than what other drink. These are all the warning signs of tolerance to alcohol, which is eventually an early signal of alcoholism. Tolerance to alcohol simply means that you need to intake more alcohol, than the previous time to feel the same kind of effects.

Withdrawal is the second major sign of alcoholism. If you require a few drinks to get steady at the start of the day or if you are drinking to avoid or relieve the withdrawal symptoms, then this is a huge warning signal of alcoholism. Due to heavy drinking, your body tends to get used to alcohol and you tend to experience the symptoms of withdrawal if alcohol is not consumed. Following are the few withdrawal symptoms: Sweating, Headache, Insomnia, fatigue, irritability, depression, anxiety or jumpiness, shakiness or trembling, nausea and vomiting as well as loss of appetite. In severe cases, these symptoms may also include seizures, hallucinations, agitation and fever. These are few extreme symptoms and you will have to consult your doctor about wanting to quit drinking at this particular stage.

If you are someone who’s loved one is facing alcoholism, you may as well be going through  a lot of agonizing emotions such as anger, shame, self blame and fear. The issue may be so devastating that you may find it easier to ignore it. But by doing so there will be more damage to the person drinking as well as to their family members. You may instead look for help from your doctors and discuss various options for the treatment of the one having drinking problems. There are lots of programs designed and developed to treat alcoholism as well, there are alcohol treatment centres available to solve this problem. These are a few essentials you need to keep in mind when you look for an alcohol treatment program or centre.

You don't just need to keep in mind the environment in which the centre is located but also important aspects like quality of care during the program, appropriate licensing, staff credentials and follow up services, it also includes on whether they have well-trained mental health professional as well as addiction specialists, and what kind of overall statistic does the centre has on their success rate, also, there needs to be a well run and taken care of after care program.