Alcoholism or alcohol use disorder has become a common occurrence around the world. The victim usually cannot control the intake of alcohol, which leads to various problems and impedes day-to-day activity.
Our body receives certain chemicals from alcohol that are usually produced in the body, so after regular consumption, the body stops producing those chemicals and becomes dependent on alcohol. Leaving alcohol can be extremely difficult because of severe withdrawal symptoms, but it’s not completely impossible.
Alcoholism causes severe hormonal imbalance in the body and can cause organ failure. There are various ways to cure alcoholism. The top five ways are as follows.
Join a Treatment Program
Joining a treatment program is the best way to receive support for alcoholism. Various treatment programs take in addicts and provide holistic treatment for various addictions, such as alcoholism and substance abuse. Clients can also acquire treatment for mental conditions derived from addictions and can take therapy and prescribed medicines based on the intensity of their condition. There are certified treatment centers that focus only on recovery for women. Studies showed that residential treatment programs that focus on only gender can bring in better results as the presence of the other gender can cause distractions. Similarly, same-gender participants can provide better support and create a more positive environment for the treatment.
Home Detox
Detoxing is the very first step in treating alcoholism. When you join a treatment program, the experts will help you detox. However, you can also do it at home. The process might seem difficult as it will trigger severe withdrawal symptoms, but with patience and diligence, you can successfully remove all traces of alcohol from your body.
The withdrawal symptoms can be mild or have severe life-threatening situations. The mild symptoms can give you anxiety, insomnia, and sweating, whereas the more serious symptoms can range from tremors to hallucinations.
While home detoxing might seem like an affordable option, contacting an expert or an expert organization when faced with severe symptoms is always a good idea.
Seek Therapy
Whether you are home detoxing or doing it through a treatment program, you will likely encounter hormonal surges and mood swings. To best treat them, it’s wiser to go to therapy.
Some therapists provide counseling for addictions and substance abuse. They help you cope with the psychological side effects of detoxing, but at the same time, they assist in uprooting the desire to drink by altering the behavior that creates the urges. They also help you deal with the stress that calls for action.
Depending on the severity of your situation, you might need a few, small sessions, or you might have to take several long sessions spanning across months.
Medication
Medication to cure alcoholism has its pros and cons. Even though these medicines have been around for ages, very few people have managed to successfully employ them for treatment. The medicines cannot cure alcoholism, but they can help you cope better with the withdrawal symptoms, hence accelerating the detox process.
The medicines can be a starting point for the treatment, but you eventually have to alter your psychology if you truly want to stop drinking. Some of these medicines will make you feel sick when you drink or prevent the aftereffects of drinking so that you can stop taking alcohol.
Join a Support Group
Joining a support group or finding a support system within your family can effectively help you cure alcoholism. Being around friends and family who don’t drink can provide you the motivation to stop drinking. Being around them creates a strong, positive environment that creates an urge in you to stop drinking.
Alongside, try to take care of your body, eat and drink healthy, and maintain great hobbies to promote positivity.
If you’re unable to have your family or friends around, you can always join a support group that focuses on curing alcoholism. A counselor will hold regular group therapy sessions with you and other alcoholics who are trying to leave drinking. Being around them, listening to their stories, and working together to leave alcohol can also foster a sense of responsibility and motivation to leave drinking. Seeing more people make progress creates the urge to leave drinking and return to a normal life.
Alcoholism might or might not be a choice, but trying to get rid of it is completely up to you. Some of these methods might work for many, but some might have to apply or of these steps or more in order to achieve complete sobriety. Whatever the process is, once the behavioral change is achieved and an alcoholic manages to see past the withdrawal symptoms, the process becomes much easier to handle.