Minneapolis: The Bigger Twin

As the larger of the Twin Cities, Minneapolis contains nearly 3.8 million residents and lies on both banks of the Mississippi River. The name Minneapolis comes from a combination of the Sioux language and Greek, coming together to form the “city of waters.” Minneapolis is also home to the renowned Skyway System which connects nearly 5 miles of the downtown area, making it possible to work, eat, shop and live without ever going outside. Some might say going outside is a good thing, but they may sing a different tune when the Minnesota winter hits and the snow is up to their knees.

Minneapolis grew as a city around the Saint Anthony Falls, the tallest waterfall along the Mississippi River, giving the city a regular supply of water power as it flourished. Along the falls and river functioned roughly seventeen sawmills that used said water power to operate. Come 1871, the western river bank held over 20 businesses including iron works, cotton mills, wool mills, flour mills, and a railroad machine shop.

Ever heard of the Better Business Bureau? If you’ve ever worked in management, or had to do inspections and reports, you probably have. The first BBB was established in Minneapolis back in 1912, and has since been an important part of making sure businesses are operating ethically.

Like many cities, however, Minneapolis is struck by a disease that corrupts and destroys its inhabitants: alcoholism. Alcohol abuse is very prevalent in our society and needs to be treated with care and compassion as opposed to incarceration.

How Alcohol Can Ruin You

When it comes to alcohol we as a society seem to be pretty candid about its consumption and use. We have comedians that make jokes about family alcoholics as they grew up, making unfortunate situations seem lighter through the act of comedy. Television shows make light of drunk activities through sitcoms, and even adult cartoons mock binge drinking. Here at A Better Today we take alcoholism very seriously, and while one drink on occasion is in no way a bad thing, the abuse of alcohol is something that requires expert attention.

We don’t want there to be any confusion: in moderation alcohol can be a social lubricant; it can taste good, and some doctors even prescribe a glass of wine a day to help with matters of the heart. The issue isn’t alcohol itself but the abuse of it, whether via continuous drinking or binge drinking. Even binge drinking once can have severe effects on the mind and body, the most common of which being alcohol poisoning. If you’ve never had alcohol poisoning, consider yourself lucky as it is a very serious, sometimes fatal, side-effect. It effects your breathing, body temperature, gag reflex, and your heart rate, any one of which could lead to a comatose state or even death. This condition requires immediate medical attention, that is how serious it is.

Long-term effects of alcohol abuse can lead to pancreatitis, cancer, liver disease, heart trouble, memory loss, confusion, and worst of all delirium tremens (DT). DT is when you experience severe hallucinations, visual, audio, tactile in nature, and is incredibly unpleasant for the individual. Like alcohol poisoning, DT can be fatal and requires instant attention by medical professionals.

DT can be caused if your body is used to a certain intake of alcohol and doesn’t receive the regular dose it is used to. While it is more commonly associated as a withdrawal symptom from severe alcohol abuse, it can occur if you haven’t consumed as much as you are used to. While this is very rare, it can happen and needs to be monitored.

A Better Today wants to help: alcohol can disrupt your career and personal relationships just as much as your physical and mental health. At ABT we employ the most educated, highly knowledgeable staff with skill and experience to help you through the stages of withdrawal and sobriety.

Getting Rid of the Poison

There’s no easy or sugar-coating way to say it: detox is rough. This is the first step one must take on the road to recovery, it is also probably the hardest. During detox your body will start flushing out all the harmful toxins that it ingested during the substance abuse and, depending on the severity of the abuse, will go through withdrawal. There are many symptoms that can occur while detoxing from alcohol, and some of them can be very dangerous. It is because of the danger and difficulty of withdrawal during this phase that we at A Better Today heavily encourage enrolling inpatient detox facilities. The expert staff will be there to monitor your withdrawal symptoms and offer specialized treatment in order to assure your success.

Detox in and of itself is not recovery or treatment, and it is very important that this be recognized. Even when the body is clean and sober, your mind will still have triggers that urge you to drink again. These triggers can be anything from seeing a familiar bar, bumping into an old friend you used to binge drink with, or even being reminded of “old times” by a familiar place or person. Triggers can be anywhere and anything that sends your mind back to the memory of getting drunk, but in truth only cause us damage. This is why detox is only the first step in treatment, and why it is heavily encouraged to continue treatment after detox through one or more various methods.

The Treatment You Deserve

Alcoholism is a very serious condition. As such, it requires very serious treatment targeted at understanding it and facing the problem from various angles. A Better Today knows that you don’t treat the common cold the same way you would treat cancer. The same can be said with alcohol dependency and substance abuse: different situations and different severities of abuse require different approaches and methods of treatment. We create specialized treatment programs for the individual, specifically tailored to your circumstances to get the most out of your recovery.

As we said before, treatment can come in a variety of ways. The most widely known is through 12-Step programs provided by mutual-support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous. These groups offer a community built on peer support, safety, and anonymity in order to help its members feel comfortable with sharing their experiences. Members of these groups range from recovering alcoholics to those who have recovered and are continuing the meetings as a matter of keeping themselves accountable. Sobriety is a constant battle for some, and for those who continue to struggle through the urges, continuing to attend these support groups strengthens them and bolsters their resolve.
Another way to go through recovery is called Behavioral Treatment: a one-on-one sit down with a medical professional who will help you identify the underlying reasons you drink. These reasons may be obvious, or they may be kept hidden in the shadows of your mind; either way the professionals at ABT can help you see and understand them better. This is a popular method with those who may feel uncomfortable sharing their personal issues and life with a group of people they consider strangers. BT can be especially effective when there are multiple, underlying issues present that cause you to resort to drinking in excess to hide, escape from, or forget your problems.

How Can I Help?

You may be the friend, sibling, parent, or spouse of someone suffering from alcohol dependency. If this is the case, then you are likely looking for a way to talk to them about their issues and get them to see that they are in trouble. Not just medical trouble, but emotional and psychological trouble. They may become abusive when they drink excessively, or go out and cause trouble somewhere outside of the home. If you’re looking for a way to help your loved one and prevent further problems, then you need an intervention.

Interventionists are ready and available to give you the expert, specialized advice on how to handle and approach an intervention for the one you love. These events can be coordinated and led by the interventionist to prevent anyone from getting too heated and to keep the event on the right track.

Families get frustrated with one another sometimes: pride and overly defensive attitudes can prevent the alcoholic seeing things clearly and cause more damage as opposed to helping, so it is imperative that interventions are done properly. There are many different ways to conduct an intervention, many of which are often tailored towards very specific circumstances. This being the case, we encourage speaking with a specialist as soon as possible so that you can get all the knowledge necessary to host the most appropriate, productive intervention possible.

The goal is to get the alcoholic to understand that their dependency on excessive drinking is causing damage to themselves, and sometimes those around them. They need help, and you’re just the right person to help them get there. Call now, act now, for a better today and a brighter tomorrow.

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