Choosing the Best Approach to Fight Your Alcohol Addiction
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism “approximately 17 million adults ages 18 and older have an alcohol use disorder (AUD).” Those suffering from Alcohol use disorder will often be unable to cut down or stop drinking, they may experience alcohol cravings, be unable to perform at work, had an alcohol related sickness, be unable to tend to family needs, experienced depression or other health problems related to drinking and experienced withdrawal symptoms when attempting to stop drinking. If you or a loved one has experienced any of these symptoms you need to consider treatment or another approach to fighting your alcohol addiction.
Options for Getting Help
Alcohol addiction treatment is not one-size fits all. Different kinds of treatment work for different people. For some individuals, recovery is best handled through group support such as AA Meetings, group counseling sessions or other peer support. Others may require medication to help them quit drinking. Alcohol addiction medications should be prescribed my a medical doctor and are usually used in conjunction with either individual or group counseling. Some common medications for treating alcohol addiction include Naltrexone, Acamprosate and disulfiram.
Accountability for sobriety may take monitoring as well. Options include breath testing and SCRAM Continuous Alcohol Monitoring which tests for alcohol consumption every 30 minutes. If alcohol addiction or dependence has led to legal troubles, a judge may require testing as a condition of release or sentencing to ensure that the person is not consuming any alcohol. Finally, many people are best served through a rehab facility. Rehab treatments can be inpatient or outpatient and will often be catered to the needs of the individual.
No matter what treatment you consider, now is the time to get help. Recognizing that you have a problem is the first step. Next, you need to commit to change. Contact your primary care physician and consider the options available to help aid your recovery.