What is Alcohol Addiction and How To treat Alcohol Addiction?
Alcohol addiction or alcoholism (alcohol use disorder – AUD) is a chronic, compulsive and progressive disease which includes not only physical, but also psychosocial problems
Alcoholism is the most severe form of alcohol abuse and implies the inability to control alcohol consumption. This form of addiction is also called alcohol use disorder. Sometimes the signs of alcohol abuse are easy to spot. However, sometimes they are hidden and take longer to surface. When alcohol addiction is detected at an early stage, alcohol detoxification is much easier.
Alcoholism is divided into three categories: mild, moderate and severe. Each category manifests itself in different symptoms and can cause harmful side effects. If left untreated, any form of alcohol abuse can spiral out of control.
Individuals struggling with alcoholism often feel as though they cannot function normally without alcohol. This can lead to numerous problems, as well as affect the addict’s professional and personal goals, relationships, and overall health. Over time, the serious side effects of constant alcohol abuse can worsen and cause health complications.
You don’t have to suffer alcohol addiction in silence. There are many alcoholism treatment options available to help you overcome alcohol abuse and achieve long-term sobriety.
If you feel like alcohol consumption is affecting your life, it is important to find alcoholism treatment clinics. The doctor will offer you professional medical help and detoxification from alcohol will be significantly simpler and more effective.
If you are troubled by the question “how to detox from alcohol”, it is important to first understand why alcohol addiction occurs. Alcoholism occurs as a result of a combination of genetic, psychological, environmental and social factors.
After a long period of alcohol consumption, the brain becomes dependent on alcohol because it produces certain chemicals. This is what makes it difficult for addicts to stop drinking. This results in unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.
A stressful environment, or a stressful everyday life, is often the reason why alcohol addiction manifests itself. This is often the case with certain professions such as medical professionals. Their daily lives can be extremely stressful. In order to reduce this risk factor, it is important to take time to relieve stress in healthy ways.
In addition, according to some research, those who start drinking at an early age have a higher chance of developing alcohol addiction. This is when physical dependence usually occurs, because alcohol consumption can become a habit.
Anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, or other mental health problems can increase the risk of developing alcoholism. It is easy to turn to alcohol when a person is feeling anxious or depressed. The effects of alcohol can seemingly temporarily alleviate these feelings.
Consumption of alcohol with medication can also lead to numerous complications. Some drugs increase the toxic effects of alcohol on the body. When an individual frequently consumes alcohol along with medication, they may become dependent on the effects that follow. Some of them are life-threatening.
Research has shown that if you have a parent or other relative who is an alcoholic, the risk of alcoholism automatically increases. Part of this risk is due to genetics, but another part is related to the environment.
If you’ve been wondering how to detox from alcohol, alcohol detox centers are the answer. Professional medical staff will help you effectively overcome all difficulties.
Who can become addicted to alcohol?
Anyone, at any time!
Youth aged 12 to 17: an estimated 414,000 adolescents aged 12 to 17 abuse alcohol. Of these, 163,000 men had problems due to alcoholism and 251,000 women.
Alcoholism leaves consequences not only for the addict, but also for everyone around him, especially his family.
Alcohol detoxification is crucial during treatment and the only answer to the question of how to cleanse the blood of alcohol.
The Centers for Control and Prevention of Alcohol Related Diseases define moderate alcohol consumption as: up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men. Any drink more than that requires alcohol detoxification.
Moderate consumption of alcohol is considered safe for most people over the age of 18. One drink is defined as:
Alcohol detoxification centers define binge drinking as drinking during pregnancy or in persons under the age of 18. Binge drinking is the consumption of large quantities of alcohol during one occasion.
For women, moderate alcoholism is considered to be four or more drinks, and for men five or more.
Heavy alcoholism is considered when women drink eight or more drinks per week, and men drink 15 or more drinks per week. Most people who drink excessively have no sense of an alcohol use disorder and/or believe they are not addicted to alcohol.
The first stage during recovery from alcoholism is alcohol detoxification. This phase is carried out with the help of medical professionals due to the high potential for the occurrence of serious and unpleasant symptoms due to treatment.
Alcohol is relaxing because it increases the effects of GABA, the neurotransmitter responsible for creating feelings of calmness and euphoria. It also reduces glutamate, a neurotransmitter that causes irritability. Excessive alcohol consumption makes it difficult to increase GABA and decrease glutamate, so more and more alcohol is needed to achieve the same outcome. Your body gets used to these changes and responds by producing more glutamate and less GABA.
When you suddenly stop drinking, these two neurotransmitters are no longer affected, but your body still produces too much glutamate and not GABA. As a result, you may become hyper excited. Due to excessive alcohol consumption, symptoms can become very serious, progressing to tremors, seizures and very high blood pressure.
Then you need alcohol detoxification, which is effectively carried out by clinics for alcoholics.
Alcohol detoxification is defined as a natural process that takes place in the body as it tries to get rid of toxins caused by excessive and long-term alcohol consumption.
Detoxification is a period of medical treatment, which includes counseling, during which the addict is helped to overcome physical and psychological dependence on alcohol.
Long-term alcohol abuse can lead to the development of tolerance and biological changes that create a false homeostasis. Disrupting this balance and restoring the addict to a healthy state is a process that is both necessary and delicate.
Alcohol detoxification centers are recommended, that is, seeking professional medical help to alleviate the side effects.
Alcohol addiction can be psychological or physical and it is important to treat both types of addiction equally.
Why people return to old and bad habits is often linked to the question of how long alcohol detoxification and relapse is really necessary for a person to truly break free from addiction.
For an addict to maintain sobriety, it takes time and commitment. Unfortunately, some people experience relapse immediately after treatment for alcoholism. Triggers, including a group of drinking friends, certain activities or circumstances can cause someone to revert to old habits.
Relapse does not mean that you have failed or that you cannot overcome alcoholism. It makes you aware of triggers and can motivate the person to seek additional help. This recognition of weakness can provide a better chance of long-term sobriety.
Alcohol detoxification causes symptoms to appear after drinking has stopped. The first unpleasant symptoms due to the treatment of alcoholism can appear two hours after the last drink. The most intense symptoms will be neutralized already after the first week, while milder ones can last from several weeks to a year. There is no precisely defined time frame for when a person will experience which symptoms, but it is possible to give a general overview of the potential feelings an addict will have.
Initial symptoms of alcohol detoxication are mild, but may worsen over time. Some of the early symptoms are headache, anxiety, tremors, nausea and irritability.
Symptoms may become more severe. Disorientation and shaking of the hands (tremor) are often manifested.
The symptoms will continue on the second day. Hallucinations and panic attacks are common during this period as the body expels alcohol.
During the rest of the first week of detoxification, various symptoms may come and go. At the same time, this is the time frame in which a person is most at risk of life-threatening events, such as delirium tremens.
Many symptoms will begin to fade. Although some of them may last for several weeks, they generally subside and can be controlled with medication.
Even after the most serious detoxification symptoms have subsided, it is possible to experience post-acute detoxification syndrome (PADS) – prolonged detoxification symptoms. These symptoms include anxiety, low energy, sleep problems and impaired reflexes. They can last from several months to a year.
The most unpleasant symptoms of alcohol withdrawal generally peak 10-30 hours after the last drink and begin to subside in 40-50 hours. Although delirium tremens is unlikely, 30 per cent of addicts who experience it will develop aspiration pneumonia. Medically assisted detoxification helps prevent complications. The patient’s health condition is continuously monitored and all painful consequences are alleviated.
Symptoms caused by alcohol detox can occur when an addict stops drinking alcohol suddenly after regular heavy drinking and can range from severe to mild. Severe symptoms can be very serious and in rare situations fatal. Therefore, the answer to the question of how to cleanse the blood of alcohol safely and effectively, is medical detoxification.
The most severe symptoms usually occur between the second and fifth day after giving up alcohol, which means that the first day or two is not a good indicator of the risk of serious problems.
Detoxification symptoms can be physical and psychological, and vary in severity from mild to severe.
Severe symptoms include hallucinations (seeing, hearing or feeling things that are not real), as well as seizures or delirium tremens.
Delirium tremens is a serious indicator of alcohol withdrawal.
It is important to know how to cleanse blood of alcohol in a safe and painless way. It is possible to partially or completely avoid the consequences of detoxification if the treatment method is properly adjusted. The right place is clinics for alcoholics, where patients have continuous care and the right help.
Many assume that the occasional beer or glass of wine is nothing to worry about. However, consuming any amount of alcohol can potentially lead to unwanted health consequences. How long it takes for the liver to detox from alcohol depends on how much alcohol a person has consumed.
Recent research shows that there is no such thing as a “safe” amount of alcohol, as even moderate drinking can negatively affect brain health.
Some of these effects can occur quickly after just one drink. Others, such as loss of consciousness or slurred speech, may develop after a few drinks. They may not last long, but that doesn’t make them insignificant. It is important to know how to effectively detox from alcohol so that treatment for alcoholism is effective once symptoms are experienced.
In addition, alcohol has a negative effect on the central nervous system, blood sugar levels, causes liver diseases, but also problems with the digestive and endocrine systems.
Sudden cessation of alcohol consumption can cause numerous physical and emotional problems that repeat until the alcohol is completely eliminated from the body. If you are wondering how to detox from alcohol, the answer is alcohol detoxification centers. Cleaning alcohol from the body is called detoxification.
Symptoms caused by alcohol detoxification can be dangerous. That is why it is of crucial importance that the addict has absolute medical help in order to go through the process of withdrawal from alcohol as easily, painlessly and safely as possible.
Detoxification is considered the first stage of treatment. It helps to cleanse the body of alcohol, but does not address the patterns of thinking and behavior that contribute to alcohol use. This is another reason why alcohol detoxification centers are important.
Inpatient treatment means staying in an institution for the duration of the treatment while you receive round-the-clock support, as well as intensive therapy in group and individual sessions.
Outpatient treatment involves treatment at home and attending group and individual therapy sessions at regularly scheduled appointments. This allows you to practice what you learn in therapy in real situations while managing triggers from the outside world.
Addicts who have moderate to severe symptoms due to alcohol detoxification, or those who are at risk of experiencing moderate to severe symptoms, usually require inpatient monitoring and treatment of symptoms in the acute phase.
Detoxification from alcohol is a demanding process and it is important to call for help in time.
Detoxification from alcohol in a clinic for alcoholics involves several different steps.
First, the patient is referred to a psychiatrist, where a personal and family history of addiction is taken. The goal is for the patient and the doctor to get to know each other better, in order to evaluate the patient’s condition.
After that, it is necessary to perform laboratory analyses (blood count, biochemistry, tests for HIV and hepatitis, urine analysis). Also, the patient is referred to a specialist examination by an internist. After taking the medical history, the internist decides whether the patient will be subjected to additional analyses, which include gastroscopy, ultrasound, scanner, and the like.
This is followed by psychodiagnostics, where cognitive functions are assessed and personality is assessed through tests.
Psychotherapy, one of the most important parts of treatment, is a process where a psychologist and a pedagogue work on the cause of alcoholism. The patient is focused on changing the way of thinking and attitudes that led to the disease of alcohol addiction. Pharmacotherapy is also possible, depending on how the patient responds to psychotherapy.
In addition, the staff of the MedTiM clinic provides education for both patients and family members, with the aim of making it easier for them to deal with the problem of addiction and addiction treatment. It is important to learn how to recognize triggers and stressors from the outside world. That way, the addict will not succumb to temptation again.
The MedTiM clinic gathers first-class experts in the treatment of addiction who are available 24/7, both during treatment and during the recovery period. We also provide regenerative procedures such as hyperbaric chamber, plasmapheresis, massage/lymphatic drainage and others.
MedTiM – the team that always wins.
Alcohol addiction or alcoholism (alcohol use disorder – AUD) is a chronic, compulsive and progressive disease which includes not only physical, but also psychosocial problems
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