Is Outpatient Detox From Drugs and Alcohol Right For You?

 

 The time has come, and you have made the decision to take-back control of your life and stop using drugs and alcohol. The only thing is, you just aren't sure if you can do it by yourself. It has only been a few hours, and you are already feeling the withdrawals pulling you in different directions, you consider using drugs and alcohol just to make the withdrawals stop. Now you realize that you need help. You want to quit, but the withdrawals are just too painful.

HELP IS RIGHT HERE

Help is available to you in the form of a medical detox from the specific drugs or chemicals that you are addicted to. Drug and alcohol detox is a process that safely removes the last of the drugs and chemicals from your body, while also treating the withdrawals and side effects of quitting. This is a miracle to anyone who has been addicted and tried to quit "cold turkey." The process of detoxing is made much easier, and gives patients the strength to continue on with treatment and strive toward lifelong sobriety.

OUTPATIENT DETOX TREATMENT

Outpatient detox is a great option for those individuals who are receiving counseling or drug addiction treatment that is not a residential rehab. It allows anyone to receive the much needed detox process, and make it work for your own particular schedule. It is safe, and is an option to those who may not be able to every quit using drugs and alcohol without the detox process to get you over the first severe withdrawals.

IS OUTPATIENT DETOX THE BEST OPTION FOR YOU?

Call and Speak with a New Beginnings Addiction Counselor Today, and We Will Answer All of Your Questions and Address any Concerns.

Do You Need Alcohol Abuse Treatment?

Often, the lines between social drinking and alcohol abuse are difficult for people to see. Many people enjoy having a drink or two when they go out and never develop a problem with it. However, there are people who can not function properly without alcohol. They need it to help them navigate social situations and to feel normal.

If this sounds like you, you are not alone. People have had problems with alcohol addiction for thousands of years. If you realize that you have a problem, you are on the right track to getting help. You can learn to live without alcohol and have a happy and fulfilling life.

If you have difficulty going without a drink, you may want to check yourself into a detox center or an alcohol abuse treatment facility. Both places can help you work your way through the medical symptoms of withdrawal. It is important that this be addressed. You may experience shaking or convulsions when you try to quit. The professional at detox and treatment centers are best equip to assist you with those symptoms.

After you have went through the withdrawal process, you will need to work on your personal issues that kept you addicted to it. If you do not go to a long term treatment center for this, there are other alternatives. Most communities have support groups that will help people that are just quitting drinking. The members are people who have already begun to work through their addiction.

Alcohol abuse and addiction is not something to be taken lightly. If you are addicted to booze, you need to seek help immediately. Once you have begun the process, you will be able to start putting your life back together. You deserve to live a fulfilling life free from alcohol.

Why is Alcohol Abuse Rising in Teens?

Unfortunately, alcohol abuse is increasing today, including among teenagers. There are many reasons for this fact. The influences of adults and social media are just a couple of them. Teens today face tremendous pressure to be cool and mature in unhealthy ways. Many of them are subjected to a number of social ills, alcoholism being just one of them.

The instant information that is provided by social media gives today's teen many opportunities to see their favorite stars and the popular kids around them partying to excess. These glamorized events encourage them to look to alcohol to look good to their peers. Unfortunately, the media even shows the downside as appealing. This can be the rich and famous making repeated trips into rehabilitation centers or skirting the law by paying high level lawyers to get them out of DUI's and other alcohol related offenses.

Teens do not only have to look to popular images to see alcohol consumption on the rise. Many of them are exposed to alcoholism in their own families. When teens see the adults in their lives coping with problems through alcohol addiction, it gives them the impression that this behavior is a normal, acceptable way to handle problems.

When they see the news on the Internet or television, it is often filled with depressing stories about the economy, the environment and politics. Teens are bombarded with images about a world that appears to be losing hope. Instead of looking to a future with dreams of college and a good career, they see a world of despair.

All of these things make teens think that drinking to excess is a simple way to deal with life. Unfortunately, alcohol abuse does not solve their problems. In fact, this attitude only exacerbates the depression and abuse already accepted by society.

The Requirement of Faith in Recovery

If you tell an addict they must have faith in order to recover, many would be deterred or feel a sense of defeat. Perhaps they believe they have no capacity for faith or think that because they have never had a relationship with God, they are disqualified from recovery. This is hardly the case.

There is an undeniable connection between faith and recovery from drug use. Even if you have no religious background or affiliation, you simply cannot get well without a small grain of faith. Even the simple, provisional belief that the Program can work and that you can be relieved of your addiction requires some level of faith. Does it not? You have tried to overcome your addiction on your own and you have failed. Now you must trust that something outside of yourself can save you and help you to find freedom from the bondage of addiction, even if that something is initially your recovery community and the Program. Faith in the God of the Bible may follow, but in order to get started you must simply be willing to acknowledge that your way has not worked, you are powerless over your addiction, and that something outside of yourself can save you. What do you have to lose?

Anyone Can Recover

Anyone can be an addict and anyone can recover. From white collars and cocaine addiction to blue collars swilling cheap vodka, the problem is the same, and thus, the solution is the same. Age, ethnic background, religion or lack thereof, education and socioeconomic status are not determinants of your success in recovery. Instead, what are required are complete and total honesty, a desire to recover and a belief, no matter how small, that God can restore you to sanity and help you to live in sobriety.

Hope Found in Scripture

Many addicts entering recovery have little knowledge of the Bible and even less interest in it. Perhaps they suffered as children at the hands of the Church. Perhaps they witnessed parishioners professing faith and then living in blatant and hurtful sin. Others simply see the Bible as outdated and irrelevant.

But as recovering addicts experience the miracle of sobriety and begin working through their history of resentments, many start to take a new look at God. They cannot deny the evidences of His love and grace in their own lives. Though they have done nothing to deserve it, God has blessed them with sobriety, a fellowship and the opportunity to know Him. They have been given new life. This marvel motivates many in recovery to want to know God better.

As they come to know God, many addicts begin to wonder how the Bible can help with addiction. Does Scripture speak into this struggle? Does the Bible have a relevant message of hope for addicts today?

The answer a resounding yes to both questions. The pages of Scripture are God’s revelation of Himself to His people. In the Bible He gives hope, He demonstrates His love through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ for sinners, and He teaches His people how to live in a difficult and fallen world. This is the message of hope and comfort an addict needs to hear.

How the Social Media Encourages Alcoholism

While alcoholism has been around since fermentation was discovered, it is being encouraged today like never before. Social media has given people the opportunity to share every thought and behavior at rates previously unseen. Unfortunately, this includes some very negative behaviors, including excessive consumption of alcohol. This means that everyone needs to be vigilant about how they spend their time surfing the web.

In the past hundred years, stars have often become alcoholics and glamorized the lifestyle of drinking and partying. Today, many of them send out "tweets" on Twitter talking about their favorite alcoholic beverages or making jokes about getting drunk. The paparazzi gets pictures of the rich and famous leaving bars and parties and, within minutes, these photos are often spread all over the Internet, making these poor choices appear "cool."

Additionally, people get extra pressure from their friends and classmates to drink to excess. Parties are promoted through facebook, Youtube and Twitter. Homemade videos show the popular people at universities partying their way through school, oblivious to the fact that others find this behavior inviting because they seek the same popularity.

Social media also encourages alcoholism by people sharing tasty recipes for all kinds of alcohols. When people see these "pinned" or "shared," they think that creating these drinks will make their party successful. Others may simply justify their drinking because they are creating pretty drinks and do not associate the behavior with less savory images of alcoholism.

It does not really matter which form of social media or who is behind it. The bottom line is that alcoholism is a serious problem. When people spend time on their favorite social media sites and see things that encourage drinking to excess, it influences their perception of consumption. For those with a predisposition to alcoholism, this can have a detrimental effect on their lives.

Recognizing Three Early Signs Of Alcoholism

Moderate consumption of alcohol is typically not a cause for concern. In fact, a very moderate amount of certain types of alcohol, like red wine, offers a few health benefits. When an individual begins to show signs of dependence on alcohol to relieve stress or to cope with a difficult situation, it is important to recognize what specific tendencies indicate that there may be a problem. It is important to get treatment as early as possible. This helps reduce the amount of damage that regular, repeated use of alcohol can cause on a person’s health. Here are three early signs of alcoholism:

1.     Using Alcohol On A Daily Basis

A person who consumes alcohol every day or several times a day needs to monitor their drinking carefully. Drinking one or two drinks per day does not necessarily indicate a drinking problem, and a person does not need to be getting completely drunk every day to have a drinking problem. If the amount of alcohol consumed daily increases steadily, it indicates that a physical dependence on the substance is forming.

2.    Downplaying Drinking Habits

If a person begins to hide their drinking from family and friends, it is an indication that on some level they are aware that their drinking is becoming a problem. If they become defensive about how much they drink when asked about it, it is almost certainly a sign that a person is beginning to struggle with alcohol.

3.    Experiencing Discomfort When Without Alcohol

A dependence on alcohol means that there are withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, nausea and anxiety to contend with when drinking stops. Most people experience these after an incident of heavy drinking as hangovers. For those who have an alcohol problem, hangovers are only part of the problem. If they find they must carry a flask with them it means they are trying to avoid having to do without it. If they are in an environment where drinking is not allowed, they may become irritable. This is a sign that they need to get help as soon as possible.

Alcoholism affects more than just the alcoholic. Alcoholism affects entire families. The sooner a problem can be recognized and treated, the better it is for everyone. Early treatment of alcohol addiction means less suffering and less health, financial and emotional problems down the road.

The Perpetual Disaster Of Drinking To Alleviate Depression

Sure, it's easy to reach for a drink to boost your mood. A few glasses or bottles later and your depression is cured! Isn't that cause for celebration? Certainly something to toast another drink to, right? Yet in the morning, what's different about your life? How has it changed at all, much less for the better? Using alcohol to negotiate depression is futile and it will keep you in a tailspin indefinitely.

Stop The Cycle

Drinking to get over depression never stops unless the consumption of alcohol is halted. Each day is just as painful and discouraging as the last, only with another episode of drinking added to it. Every time you reach for another drink, you inadvertently give yourself more reasons to be unhappy, thereby perpetuating the relationship between your alcohol and depression. It's truly a sad cycle to be caught in and the only way out is by resisting the temptation to keep drinking.

Look Inward

You may have legitimate cause to be depressed, such as trauma or loss in your life. You may also have a chemical or genetic condition that leads to frequently bouts with the blues. Quite often, a person's depression was temporary and alcohol became a permanent solution. Whatever the circumstances that led you to the cycle of drinking to solve your problems were, reexamine them and look for some other way to resolution.

Reach Outward

Nearly all people who learn to lean on alcohol need help getting away from it. People use alcohol to fill a void, numb the pain or to otherwise offset some negative in life and breaking from that is incredibly challenging. Look for local help in your area. People you can call upon anytime and groups you can visit on a regular basis. Without that network, breaking the dependency cycle may be near impossible. With help though, from people who have been where you are now, you've got a good chance to recover yourself emotionally and put your life back together. While sobriety may seem like a scary place, it is higher ground that can truly lift you up.

There's really no such thing as drinking to treat depression, because alcohol contributes to depression or in some cases, it's the absolute cause of it. If you are depressed, stop drinking and give yourself a real chance at getting over depression. Stop the cycle, look inward and then reach outward to a whole new world. One where you are welcomed and strengthened, and one where you can be truly happy.