Letting others know about your choice to stop drinking may help motivate you to stick with your decision. From monthlong sobriety challenges to the Sober Curious movement, more and more people are taking a closer look at the role alcohol plays in their lives. The growth stage is all about improving and moving forward.
- See the recommended questions to ask addiction doctors in Step 2.
- And they must continue to take training courses to keep their certification.
- Individuals are advised to talk to their doctors about the best form of primary treatment.
You can access professional telehealth care by phone or video chat. You can take self-guided online programs to reduce or quit drinking. You might put together a care plan that combines some or all of these alcohol addiction help choices. See the Frequently Asked Questions for helpful suggestions. Also, be sure to look for the other types of treatment providers—therapists with addiction specialties and alcohol treatment programs.
Abstinence stage
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), recovery is a process that involves remission from AUD and quitting heavy drinking for good. Recovery from alcohol addiction generally follows the stages of abstinence, withdrawal, repair, and growth. Helping someone with an alcohol use problem may be a challenge, but it is possible. More and more resources are becoming available to those struggling with substance use problems.
An alcohol anonymous hotline can help those struggling with alcoholism to find help during times of crisis. Get the best ways to search for a health care professional or program. He says the drug affects the brain and appears to remove the pleasure received from https://ecosoberhouse.com/ drinking alcohol. But he also made it clear, "We just don't know yet whether or not the medication is safe and effective for the treatment of alcohol use disorder." Find treatment programs in your state that treat recent onset of serious mental illnesses.
Alcohol Rehab Aftercare and Ongoing Support
For 3 to 4 weeks, write down every time you have a drink and how much you drink. Reviewing the results, you may be surprised at your weekly drinking habits. Once you've made the decision to change, the next step is establishing clear drinking goals. The more specific, realistic, and clear your goals, the better.
Overall, gather as much information as you can about the program or provider before making a decision on treatment. If you know someone who has first-hand knowledge of the program, it may help to ask about his or her personal experience. Certain medications have been shown to effectively help people stop or reduce their drinking and avoid relapse. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a medical condition that doctors diagnose when a patient’s drinking causes distress or harm. The condition can range from mild to severe and is diagnosed when a patient answers “yes” to two or more of the following questions.