Detoxification
After an alcoholic has identified the need for treatment, their first challenge will be to sign up with a medically managed detoxification program to safely get the alcohol out of their system. The person is treated with the same medications used for alcohol withdrawal, namely, benzodiazepines. During detoxification, the medication is measured carefully to prevent withdrawal and is then slowly reduced until withdrawal symptoms disappear. This usually requires a few days to a week.
Treating Alcoholism
Longer-term rehabilitation programs, day treatment programs and outpatient programs all involve education, therapy, addressing problems contributing to or resulting from the alcoholism, and learning skills to manage alcoholism over time. An alcoholic needs to recognize and control cravings for alcohol, resist social pressures to drink alcohol (even in small amounts), learn how to use others for support, deal with emotions, and anticipate high-risk relapse factors.
Some types of counseling teach alcoholics to identify situations and feelings that trigger the urge to drink and help them find alternative coping tools. These treatments are often provided on an outpatient basis.
Family support is important to recovery, so many programs also provide marital counseling and family therapy. Patients may also be linked with vital community resources, such as legal assistance, job training, childcare, and parenting classes.
A cure for alcoholism is not yet available. An alcoholic may have been sober and healthy for a long time, but even then, he or she is still susceptible to relapse and must continue to avoid alcohol at all costs. Just “cutting down” doesn't work. An alcoholic needs to cut out alcohol altogether for a successful and sustained recovery. This is often too difficult for many alcoholics, who “slip” more than once before becoming sober once and for all.
Causes for Alcoholism
Alcoholism and alcohol abuse affects about 17.6 million Americans. It is often hard for non-alcoholics to understand why someone does not just use their willpower to give up, but unfortunately the answer is not so simple.
Studies show that having an alcoholic family member makes it more likely for you to become addicted if you choose to drink. And genes aren't the only complication. Scientists now believe that other equally complex factors play an important role in causing alcoholism. A person's family, friends, culture, peer pressure, access to alcohol, and place of residence can all influence their path towards alcoholism.
Any alcoholic treated by a doctor should receive thiamine (vitamin B1). Alcoholics often have insufficient thiamine levels, which can lead to Wernicke's encephalopathy, a disorder characterized initially by the eyes looking in different directions from each other.
