Do Alcohol Rehab Centers Cure Alcoholism?
Like drug addiction, alcoholism can have devastating effects in a person’s life, leaving him or her helpless to exert any power of will over compulsive drinking behaviors. Anyone struggling with alcoholism has likely made multiple attempts to stop drinking only to succumb to overwhelming cravings.
The mechanisms that drive compulsive drinking behaviors operate in much the same way as a chronic medical disease.
Alcohol rehab centers specialize in helping a person overcome the effects of alcoholism in their day-to-day lives. This entails breaking the body’s dependence on alcohol’s effects while developing the type of mindset needed to live a sober lifestyle.
While alcohol rehab centers don’t necessarily cure alcoholism, through ongoing treatment help a person can learn how to take back control of his or her life from the effects of alcohol addiction.
Alcoholism’s Effects
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, someone struggling with full-blown alcoholism exhibits a range of telltale signs, including:
Rehab centers help you develop an alcohol-free lifestyle.
- Continuing to drink in spite of negative consequences
- Intense alcohol cravings
- Loss of control over intake amounts
- Relationship problems
- Problems with the law
- Decline in work performance or job loss
- Frequent withdrawal episodes
In effect, alcoholism works in much the same way as a chronic, progressive disease. Alcohol rehab centers equip recovering alcoholics with the tools for managing alcoholism’s effects in their day-to-day lives.
Not sure if your insurance will help cover your treatment costs? Call our helpline at 800-481-6320Who Answers? for more information.
Alcohol Rehab Center Treatment Objectives
Treating the Physical Dependency
During the early stages of drinking, alcohol’s effects on the brain interfere with neurotransmitter production rates while weakening the cells that produce these chemicals. These developments breed physical dependence on alcohol’s effects over time.
Breaking this dependency becomes the first stage in the recovery process Detox-based alcohol rehab center treatment provides the level of emotional support and monitoring needed to help a person make it through withdrawal and stop drinking.
Treating the Addiction Mindset
After so many weeks or month of alcohol abuse, compulsive drinking behaviors breed an addiction-based mindset. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism, most of the time spent in an alcohol rehab center entails undoing the psychological effects of alcoholism. This is accomplished through ongoing psychotherapy, group therapy, drug education training and counseling.
Developing an Alcohol-Free Lifestyle
Compulsive drinking behavior not only breeds a mindset, but also a lifestyle all its own. This lifestyle accounts for the broken relationships, legal problems and overall life problems that alcoholism leaves in its wake. Developing an alcohol-free lifestyle becomes the ultimate goal of rehab center treatment.
Through ongoing behavioral therapies and relapse prevention training, alcohol rehab center treatment equips those in recovery with the tools needed to overcome alcohol cravings on a day-to-day basis.
What Will It Take for My Loved One to Get Alcohol Rehab Help?
Treatment Considerations
Recovering from alcoholism has more to do with learning to manage the physical and psychological aftereffects of alcohol abuse than being cured altogether. In effect, alcoholism changes the way the brain works in fundamental ways.
Alcohol rehab centers help recovering alcoholics “retrain” the brain by developing healthy coping skills for managing daily life.
If you or someone you know are considering alcohol rehab center treatment and have more questions, or need help finding a program that meets your needs, please feel free to call our toll-free helpline at 800-481-6320Who Answers? to speak with one of our addictions specialists.
