Such e-health tools have been shown to help people overcome alcohol problems. Your health care provider can help you evaluate the pros and cons of each treatment setting. For serious alcohol use disorder, you may need a stay at a residential treatment facility. Most residential treatment programs include individual and group therapy, support groups, educational lectures, family involvement, and activity therapy. You’re likely to start by seeing your primary health care provider.
- More resources for a variety of healthcare professionals can be found in the Additional Links for Patient Care.
- American Addiction Centers (AAC) is committed to delivering original, truthful, accurate, unbiased, and medically current information.
- NIAAA’s Alcohol Treatment Navigator can guide you to providers who offer evidence-based behavioral health treatment near you, as well as telehealth and online options.
- You doctor also can refer you to a treatment center or experts who can help.
An Ongoing Process
People who’re dependent on alcohol may need to learn skills and coping mechanisms to help avoid alcohol once you leave a treatment center or return to familiar environments. If you or someone you know is living with an AUD, the good news is that there are many different treatment options, and your doctor can help you choose the best one for you. They may recommend detoxification, medication, or relapse prevention training.
What are the symptoms of alcohol use disorder?
AUD is characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health consequences. Health care providers diagnose AUD when a person has two or more of the symptoms listed below. AUD can be mild (the presence of two to three symptoms), moderate (the presence of four to five symptoms), or severe (the presence of six or more symptoms). This guide is written for individuals—and their family and friends—who are looking for options to address alcohol problems.
The counselor provides information about the individual’s drinking pattern and potential risks. After the individual receives personalized feedback, the counselor will work with them to set goals and provide ideas for helping to make a change. Motivational enhancement is conducted over a short period of time to build and strengthen motivation to change drinking behavior. The therapy focuses on identifying the pros and cons of seeking treatment, forming a plan for making changes in one’s drinking, building confidence, and developing the skills needed to stick to the plan. While in rehab, I was actually told a lot of other things that turned out to have no basis in scientific evidence. The challenge of this stage is to essentially develop and maintain healthy life skills that will serve you for a lifetime.
Alcohol use disorder increases the risk of liver disease (hepatitis and cirrhosis), heart disease, stomach ulcers, brain damage, stroke and other health problems. The first step in getting help for alcoholism is finding a rehab or treatment facility that provides research-based treatment aimed at helping the individual recover and manage the condition. Comprehensive treatment gives individuals the needed tools to stay sober for the long-term and enjoy productive lives despite the disorder. Nevertheless, alcohol abuse can result in severe risks to physical and mental health, and to the individual’s relationships, responsibilities, and other pursuits. As described by the West Virginia University School of Public Health, even in the short-term, alcohol use has a high risk of injury and other dangers. The inability to stop or control drinking can throw lives into chaos and do serious harm to relationships and the person’s ability to live a productive, healthy life.
How do I take care of myself?
Depending on the amount and duration of drinking and any symptoms, detoxification (often simply called “detox”) from alcohol can be done as an outpatient, or as an inpatient in a hospital or drug treatment facility. During the withdrawal process, the doctor may prescribe a class of antianxiety drugs called benzodiazepines for a short period in order to reduce withdrawal symptoms. Many diseases and disorders do not have cures; however, treatments have been devised that can help people to live long, healthy lives in recovery, which means that these individuals have the condition under control. Similarly, alcoholism can be managed through treatment and recovery with diligence and commitment.
People assigned female at birth (AFAB) should limit drinking to one drink a day. Heavy drinking in this population is four or more drinks a day or eight drinks a week. American Addiction Centers (AAC) is committed to delivering original, truthful, accurate, unbiased, and medically current information. We strive to create content that is clear, concise, and easy to understand. Some people are surprised to learn that there are medications on the market approved to treat AUD. The newer types of these medications work by offsetting changes in the brain caused fetal alcohol syndrome famous people by AUD.
Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD)
NIAAA’s Alcohol Treatment Navigator can guide you to providers who offer evidence-based behavioral health treatment near you, as well as telehealth and online options. Studies show most people with this condition recover, meaning they reduce how much they drink, or stop drinking altogether. They may start drinking to cope with stressful events like losing a job, going through a divorce, or dealing with a death in their family or a close friend. Talk to your healthcare provider if you’re under stress and think you may be at risk for relapse.
This process, however, can bring about the unpleasant and potentially serious symptoms of alcohol withdrawal syndrome. These include increased heart rate, sweating, anxiety, tremors, nausea and vomiting, heart palpitations, and insomnia. In more severe cases, people may also have seizures or hallucinations. About 30% of people with alcohol use disorder are able to abstain from alcohol permanently without the help of formal treatment or a self-help program. Two of three people seeking treatment do reduce their intake and improve their overall health. Some people will go through periods where they remain sober, but then relapse.
No cure, however, does not mean there is no hope for long-term recovery. Like other chronic diseases, such as diabetes or heart disease, alcoholism and its symptoms can be successfully managed with proper treatment. I have come to believe that an uncompromising “abstinence-only” model is a holdover from the very beginnings of the recovery movement, almost 100 years ago, and our understanding has greatly evolved since then. That said, mutual help groups today do have a place in some people’s recovery and they can encourage the work of changing and maintaining change. Recovery from AUD is marked by stages of abstinence, withdrawal, repair, and growth.
Your doctor may refer you to one-on-one therapy or group counseling. The road to recovering from AUD can be a long process that requires various treatments or therapies. Contributors to this article for the NIAAA Core Resource on Alcohol include the writers for the full article, content contributors to subsections, reviewers, and editorial staff.