High Point, North Carolina
Located in the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina, High Point recently reached over 100,000 residents, making it the ninth largest municipality in North Carolina. Known for its textile, furniture, and bus manufacturing, High Point remains an ever-expanding place of industry. Buyers and exhibitors from around the world visit the semi-annual High Point Market, earning its official slogan, “North Carolina’s International City.” Even with all the buses in the world, however, there is no way to run from alcoholism.
Alcoholism is indiscriminate and can ultimately transform perfect health into terrifying illness. It is an undeniable truth that alcoholism can destroy the lives of its victims and those around it. The problem is that too often alcoholics and drug offenders are incarcerated: addiction is a disease, not a crime, and needs to be treated with professional, medical care and rehabilitation. We need to treat the addiction, not punish it.
Alcoholism: What You Need to Know
There is an extensive difference between having a single glass of wine, or a single bottle of beer with dinner and abusing alcohol. Alcoholism, like drug abuse, is now classified as a disease and mental illness. The ways we look at and treat alcoholism have been modified and show a drastic increase in success. Alcoholism has a variety of problems it can cause on a person, affecting the victim both psychologically and physically. There are two primary methods of alcohol abuse: consistent drinking and binge drinking.
Consistent drinking is when multiple drinks are consumed throughout the day: this breeds a high tolerance to alcohol and a dependence on the substance. The more you consume and the more often you consume the more your body becomes dependent on alcohol, making withdrawal symptoms worse. The fear of withdrawal symptoms is often what prevents some from quitting, given that symptoms can be pretty awful. This is why detox and treatment are so important.
Binge drinking is the consumption of four or more drinks within a short period of time, usually two hours. This form of alcohol abuse creates a greater risk for side-effects such as memory loss and alcohol poisoning. For the most part, binge drinking seems to happen in party scenarios between the ages of 17-28, but it is not exclusive to either of those factors. Alcohol poisoning affects the body in several ways and none of which are worth the buzz those six shots provided. Symptoms such as seizures, confusion, vomiting, clammy skin, and even dulled responses: the last one may not seem like it would be fatal, but with it comes a suppressed gag reflex which can cause you to choke or, even worse, drown in your own vomit. Disgusting? Yes, and yet it is something that is very possible with alcohol poisoning, which is why we so strongly discourage binge drinking. It’s just not worth it.
While the short-term effects of alcohol can be bad, the long-term effects are even worse and can be agonizing. Most people know that alcoholism is tied to liver disease/failure, but the long-term abuse of alcohol can also cause heart problems like heart attacks and hypertension. There are even digestive issues such as pancreatitis. Even the mind isn’t safe from alcohol abuse: stroke, memory loss, and dementia have all been found to be prevalent in people with a long history of alcohol abuse.
The ABT Approach
At A Better Today we do our best to insure we offer all we can with medical supervision of withdrawals and treatment. The first step towards rehab is detox: the process of removing the harmful chemicals and toxins in your body. During this period there are many symptoms that can arise as a result of your body being so heavily dependent on alcohol and receiving none. The good news is these symptoms can be managed and aided through certain medications and the compassionate, knowledgeable, and skilled staff at ABT.
Withdrawal can be a scary phase: there are some severe side-effects of alcohol withdrawal and these alone can cause some people to continue drinking just so they can avoid these symptoms. The unfortunate truth is that this can actually make the problem worse. The longer this issue goes on the deeper into the rabbit hole you go, and the harder it will be to bring you out.
A Better Today works with our clients to create individualized treatments tailored specifically to each individual situation and severity of dependence. Our therapists all possess Master’s level education, specializing in substance abuse and dependency. Our goal is to help you not only be free of this horrific disease but also to help you stay sober for the rest of your life. We build skills and teach ways to resist urges and future relapse. When it comes to addiction there is no “one-size-fits-all” treatment, which is why we tailor our treatment programs to the individual.
There are different ways to treat substance abuse, each method is greatly effective in its own right. Therapy is often used in treatment for substance abuse, and there are a few different ways to go about that as well. ABT’s primary methods are group and individual therapy. Group or individual sessions with a Master’s level educated therapist who will work with you to bring out the underlying reasons for substance abuse. We heavily encourage, even after rehabilitation is finished, our clients to continue their individual therapy sessions in order to have every tool possible in order to overcome this issue and stay sober.
The goal with therapy, whether group or individual, is to uncover any hidden reasons for drinking. While the reasons might seem clear (stress at work, family drama) there can often be even more underlying factors that are contributing to alcohol abuse. Once these are uncovered our therapists can begin to work with clients and help them create strategies they can use to resist these triggers and avoid abusing alcohol again. This is especially helpful in individual therapy, as many times people might find it difficult to divulge personal information around others. With a one-on-one session, people tend to open up a little easier.
Other methods of therapy are available, such as family therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, music and art therapy, and even equine therapy. Yes, even horses can be used as a method of therapy, in fact it has shown substantial success in helping our clients understand how to interact with society and other people by incorporating compassion, care, and responsibility with treatment. A Better Today offers a variety of therapy methods because we take the term “individualized treatment” to heart. We know there are many ways to approach therapy and we offer these options in order to help you find what works best for you.
Travelling and Aftercare
Home has the heart, but it also has the triggers. Triggers are anything that can send us spiraling back to old behaviors and habits. They can literally be anything from a friend you used to drink with, to seeing a familiar bar or liquor store. Anything that brings back memories and triggers an emotional response to the idea of drinking. There are certainly ways to counter and resist these triggers, but without the proper skills and treatment it can be difficult to do on your own.
Because of all the triggers that exist at home we heavily encourage travelling for treatment. Coming to A Better Today will allow you to get away from these triggers so that your experience can as beneficial as possible. Nobody wants a relapse, especially not after all the hard work you’ve done to recover.
During treatment you will learn the skills and techniques to resist triggers and temptations, but these will always be practiced in a safe environment. Once you have left this environment actually putting these skills into regular rotation can be another matter entirely, so it’s important to have a solid plan that will keep you accountable. This is where mutual support groups and 12-step meetings can be especially beneficial. Groups like Alcoholics Anonymous can help you remain sober and keep you accountable.
There is also transitional living, which offers recovering substance abusers structured living while working to get back on their feet.
There are also situations where, after going through ABT’s treatment program, you can join the ABT family and alumni. This will give you the opportunity to help others in need, share your personal experiences, and give insight to those struggling with substance abuse themselves.
If the only thing stopping you from getting treatment, or getting treatment for your loved one is the cost of treatment, do not worry. ABT accepts most insurance providers, which will generally cover most of or the entire cost of treatment. We can also set you up on a payment plan. We want to help you, we want to aid your loved one and get them back to a healthy and productive life. Call now to speak to a specialist and get all the information you need to start your journey for a better today, and a brighter tomorrow.
Call (520) 288-8484
