Dealing With Your Alcohol Problem

Suspecting that you have an alcohol problem can be scary. You might recognize the damage you're doing to your body and your family but feel worried that you can't give up drinking. However, before you despair too much, explore these actions and realize that there's still hope.

Find Addiction Recovery Clinics

Your knowledge about alcoholism might not be vast. For that reason, seeking professionals is key. You might feel reluctant about such a decision because you have familial and financial obligations that mean you can't just go off to an inpatient treatment center for weeks. Luckily, some addiction recovery clinics provide outpatient services that permit the treatment and guidance needed to get you healthier. You may be able to enter a program that only requires your physical presence weekly.

Get Mental Counseling

There is a reason that you started drinking so frequently and heavily. There could be several reasons. Even if you're able to stop drinking, you may still have unresolved feelings or thoughts that could cause a relapse. Until you get to the root of what made you start drinking, you could continue to have problems staying away from liquor. Counseling can help you explore yourself and enable you to learn new coping skills and deal with old problems so you're more able to avoid alcohol. You might want to find addiction recovery clinics that offer these services as part of their programs.

Identify Supporters

Not everyone in your life will support your addiction recovery journey. You might be surrounded by people who don't think you have any problem at all or those who think that you're being a drama queen. For that reason, you should identify those who are most likely to lend you support as you start to grapple with your alcohol addiction. Those people should be encouraging and available to talk to you as much as possible without judging you or insulting you. They could be relatives, but if not, you might have a close friend or two who are willing to be that support for you.

Don't Stop Drinking

You may have an impulse to stop drinking at once when you have identified a problem with alcohol. However, if your body is truly addicted to the substance, you could go into bodily withdrawals that are dangerous to your health. Instead, seek addiction recovery clinics that can do a full workup on you and advise you about how to best decrease your alcohol intake over time.

Contact a local addiction recovery clinic to learn more about their treatment options.