Addiction in any form can lead to a troublesome outcome. Whether it’s from alcohol or drugs, the situation can be bleak if not tackled appropriately. If you have made the conscious decision to not continue your addiction, this is most certainly the best decision you could make. From the moment you realized that you have an addiction problem, in any form, the responsibility in your hands is to ensure that you are working towards removing it from your life. In this instance, you may want to look at https://enterhealth.com/ for further information.
Addicts change their lifestyle and adapt to behaviors that are affected by alcohol and other substances and along the way, friends, family and a job may be lost. However, at the end of the process is to embark on a new way of life, with a healthy outlook, and it is most certainly possible.
How do I know it is actually an addiction?
There are many factors related to the problem like social environment, mental health genetics and childhood environment. People with a family history and people who are in close contact with drinkers and who suffer from mental problems like anxiety, depression or other mental disorder are at high risk of addiction in some form. Alcohol is a psychoactive substance that affects the nervous system and can change the way that someone views their life and the things around them. Being addicted means being dependent and needing this substance to either feel euphoric or to allow them peace through the day. It may not seem obvious at first, perhaps you are compelled to drink every evening. You should always consult a GP or professional to speak to them about your symptoms and your fears. Chronic drinking causes damage to many physical bodily systems and some are even immediate life-threatening. Certain issues that are likely to arise are:
Cognitive impairment – In alcohol addicts, brain damage occurs which affects the quality of memory and can deteriorate to the point of dementia.
Physiological damage – damage to the organs of the digestive system and liver – Drinking alcohol for example, often causes inflammation of the liver which over time can develop into cirrhosis of the liver.
The onset of cancer – Studies have found that there is a direct link between excessive alcohol consumption and an increase in the development of cancer in the organs of the gastrointestinal tract and liver.
The body gets used to consuming the drink so the addict gradually increases the amounts of drinking to get the same effect, physical or mental. When you try to stop drinking, you can experience physical symptoms of tremor, hyperhidrosis, muscle contraction, increased blood pressure, rapid heart rate and loss of appetite. These symptoms are unpleasant and should not be dealt with alone. Rehab can have a great outcome and most certainly will allow you to work through any issues that have arisen to lead you to this situation.
Withdrawal treatment can last forever if you want it to
The rehab process is done in two stages: physical rehab and mental rehab. Both of these can have a great long term outcome. In the process of physical withdrawal, you have to deal with the physical withdrawal symptoms as we mentioned above, but it is also necessary to deal with the psychological and mental problems and reach a state where you are able to stay clean from alcohol or any other substances, and not feel the need to return to using them.
Finding out your triggers and reasons why is not an easy task. In the process of mental withdrawal you must deal with unresolved problems from the past, problems that have brought you into a state of alcohol addiction.
At the same time, rehab staff will look at crises and issues in the patient’s life that have fallen apart due to addiction must be repaired slowly. Job loss, family loss, social problems may all have been affected. Mental therapy can help you take your destiny into your own hands once again. The process is considered successful only after a long period in which the patient manages to control the amounts of drinking, disconnects from the previous environment and lives a normative, healthy and productive life. So you must certainly be willing to make this change. Once you have detoxified your body of anything that shouldn’t be there, you can learn to rebuild. Drugs and alcohol most certainly have a negative impact on the body and it may have made you see life in a warped way; once your rehab is over, you may see life differently, for the better.
