Recognizing There is Alcohol Abuse
The first step in seeking help is to recognize that you, or someone close to you, has alcohol abuse symptoms. There is a change in personality from a calm person to one who is often agitated, quick-tempered, become physically and verbally abusive, drinks more and more by the week, and then cannot stop drinking on their own. This person has an alcohol use disorder (AUD).
If you, as the outsider, attempt to speak with your loved person, they may deny they have drinking problems. They stop drinking cold turkey, just to show you they are right, that they are not addicted. But, within a few days, they return to drinking again, sometimes, worse than before, although they still claim they are not abusing alcohol.
It may take an episode of personal traumatic importance, such as a potential loss of a spouse who wants to leave the marriage, for the alcoholic abuser to finally admit help is needed to get out of this situation. If you are in this situation as a non-abuser of alcohol, learn as much as you can about symptoms of alcohol abuse and what the best ways are of handling situations like this. Most of all, encourage your loved ones to visit a rehabilitation center and go with them.
You can also call San Diego rehabilitation center and set up an appointment to talk with a counselor about your loved one and how you should handle the situation. The counselor will also tell you about the services available to help your spouse or loved one get off alcohol and what is done afterward.
If you need help immediately to get counseling for this situation, call us for assistance or go to our website and fill out our form for a return call. We can give you all the information you need about working with your loved one.
How the Pandemic Triggered Greater Levels of Alcohol Abuse/Addiction
During the recent two-year pandemic, many people abused alcohol because of stress, worrying about catching COVID-19 and dying, or worrying about lack of money because they were locked down for so long. While some people thrived while in lockdown and getting to remain home to do things they enjoyed, others had problems with proximity issues with others on a 24/7 basis. They turn to alcohol to take off the edge of frustration and irritation felt about everyone surrounding that person all the time.
Either they could get past the lack of space and learn to interact with family members better, or they were in a constant state of wanting to get out of the house to go anywhere they could, other than going back home. The state of the economy also affected many who did not have income coming in, leaving personal finances in a poor state.
Those who continued to work, albeit at home on computers, had a better outlook on the situation and considered themselves lucky. Others, who took care of children and/or older family members, found themselves often irritated and distracted by constant family member interruptions. Whatever the individual circumstances, many turned to alcohol to relieve the stress caused by personal restrictions, lockdowns, financial losses, and uncertainty about the future.
What to Expect in a Rehabilitation Program?
Alcohol abuse changes the mind towards “needing” that drink to make it through one more hour, one more day, just one more week. It is a mental habit that turns into a physical need, much like smoking cigarettes, that also changes the physical chemistry of the alcohol abuser, including the mind’s chemical infrastructure.
While both the physical and mental states are dealt with in a rehabilitation center, it is important first to have the patient go through physical detoxification. The counselor is available to help encourage the patient to stay with the detox part of the program, as it can be very difficult. Then, in-depth mental health counseling follows shortly after those first weeks of detox. A counselor looks for that patient’s unique alcohol triggers and works with the patient to reset them to zero.
Each person is an individual and each program is customized for that patient’s particular set of needs. All that is needed is to take that first step of recognizing there is a case of alcoholic abuse. The next step is for the abuser to recognize that they have this problem, that they need help, and is willing to do something about it. Check out this list of alcohol abuse symptoms if you think you, or a loved one, maybe abusing alcohol.
Call Us Immediately if You or a Loved One Needs Help
Outpatient Alcohol and Drug Rehab in San Diego can help you with any substance addiction and/or mental issue you might have so you can regain a happy and functional lifestyle again. Call us for a free consultation and to set up an appointment to start getting help as soon as possible. 619-350-8220.
