For the most part we have all heard the word “alcoholism”. The definition of the word is an addiction to the consumption of alcoholic liquor or the mental illness and compulsive behavior resulting from alcohol dependency. It results in negative factors to the person’s health, social standing, family relationships, and their behavior in general. They are unable to stop consuming alcohol. In 1956, the American Medical Association declared alcoholism a disease.
There are many factors that contribute to someone’s alcoholism. Many times genetics play a role in someone that has the disease. If their parents, grandparents, or other close family relatives have the problem, many times it is passed on. Social factors such as spending a lot of time with people or a partner that drinks often can increase the chances that someone will be affected. These days, in the world of the internet and television, we are constantly confronted by ads depicting how great drinking alcohol is. For the person suffering from alcoholism, beach scenes with good looking people around, rarely, if ever, happen anymore. The baffling part of that is the alcoholic, in his or her mind, believes that all this glamourous stuff will happen for them; despite no evidence to support it. Time is also a factor. Drinking over long periods of time or binge drinking increases the chances of the person being diagnosed with alcoholism.
Alcoholism will tear someone to pieces. It effects every area of their life. People that are viewed as the nicest in the world become dangerously anti-social and dangerous when drinking. They do things that not only jeopardize their life, but everyone they come into contact with. Drinking and driving continues to be a problem in our country. Many times when someone drinks alcoholically, they do not think about, nor do they care, that they are driving under the influence. It doesn’t cross their minds that this is dangerous and that they could kill someone. Nationally there are over 1 million DUI arrests per year. There are over 12,000 fatalities on our roads per year due to alcohol. The alcoholic often times has problems keeping a job. They have families that rely on them to provide yet they drink and their employers can’t keep them. They neglect their children, spouses, and loved ones. Alcoholism is a sad predicament. Many of us know an alcoholic and we wonder how such a good person can be so reckless and uncaring. The intentions of the alcoholic are much different than their actions. They don’t wake up on a regular basis planning on doing all the destructive things that happen. Many times they will say to themselves that they are not going to drink that day, only to be as drunk as they were the day before.
To break this pattern of obsessive drinking, most of the time, they need to go to an alcohol detox first. Without professional medical personnel to help, the withdrawal to alcohol can be deadly. From a physical standpoint, the body is telling the brain that it has to have alcohol and it has to have it now. You can be physically detoxed from alcohol in under two weeks in most cases. Alcoholism is not only a physical issue it is also a mental issue. What the patient in an alcohol rehab needs is to find coping mechanisms so that there is no return to drinking. At Clearbrook Manor we have treated this disease for decades. We have a full medical alcohol detox on site coupled with an inpatient program to help someone recover from this debilitating disease. Please call us at 1-800-582-6241 to speak with our Admissions Specialists and get on the road to recovery.
