Pinning for Recovery from Pembroke Pines, Florida
Pembroke Pines is a city of approximately 163,000 people in the balmy, sunshine state of Florida. However, in the shadows lurks a sinister force: alcoholism. Alcoholism is pervasive. There is nowhere in the world that hasn’t suffered from its calamitous effects. Pembroke Pines is no exception.
Alcoholism is abused more than any other drug in the nation. According to The Drug Free World, of the 3.9 million Americans who received treatment for substance abuse in 2005, 2.5 million of them were treated for alcoholism. And according to the Pew Center, 5.3 million adults were drinking at the time of their arrest in 2008. Given that, there are a multitude of people who receive incarceration instead of treatment for their alcoholism. That doesn’t help anybody.
There are many different types of drinkers, and not everyone who drinks will develop a dependency. The difference between someone who is at risk of developing a dependence and someone who isn’t comes down to the ability to have self-control. There are a several factors that combine to make someone more susceptible to alcoholism, but one of those is definitively not ineptitude or moral failing. People who fall into alcoholism are not wretched, hell bent on hurting others and themselves. They are often hurting, looking for help and unfortunately the message they need can’t be found in a bottle.
How Alcoholism Develops in the Brain
When someone first gets drunk, they will generally feel a rush of euphoria shooting through them. This euphoria happens as the brain releases dopamine in its reward center. In essence, the brain thinks it’s being rewarded in the presence of alcohol. Naturally, people who are down on their luck gravitate towards things that will make them feel better. And for people who drink alcohol, it’s liquid bliss.
However, the unfortunate part of alcoholism is that the euphoria diminishes over time. The peak feelings of bliss and joy are harder and harder to obtain. Often times, in order to try and recapture those euphoric moments, people will try and drink more. This leads to increased tolerance, which could put someone at risk to develop a dependency. When someone’s tolerance goes up, yet they are determined to continue catching the buzz, they could be setting themselves up for a crash. Fortunately, there are treatment centers that are dedicated to helping people get out of the quagmire of addiction. A Better Today (ABT) is one of those centers.
Treatment at A Better Today
One of the things that sets ABT apart from most treatment centers is that they hire people who are in recovery. As such, the ABT staff members are equipped with both expertise and empathy. Another component of ABT is individuality. ABT doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all philosophy when it comes to treatment. When you take people for who they are, and don’t treat them like another statistic, there’s a greater potential for long-term healing.
When a client first comes to treatment they will go through detox, which cleanses the body of alcohol and prepares the mind for the therapeutic portion of treatment. Detox is frightening for a myriad of reasons. Naturally, people who have developed a dependence on a substance won’t want to quit. Moreover, there are several unpleasant withdrawal symptoms associated with detox that can keep someone from seeking treatment. Some of the common withdrawal symptoms include shaking, vomiting and insomnia. However, ABT can mitigate these symptoms with medications.
When someone develops a dependency on alcohol, their body adjusts to the presence of alcohol so that, when deprived, it will go into a state of shock. This state of shock is responsible for the withdrawal symptoms, and generally they won’t last longer than 14 days. After the client finishes detox, they have cleansed the body and are ready to heal their mind.
Rehabilitating the Mind
Alcoholism takes a significant toll on the body over time, however, the patterns of abuse also wreaks havoc on the mind. ABT understands that the mind is complicated, everybody has a history that will attract them towards certain therapeutic models over others. As such, we make sure that people have a diversity of therapeutic options. Some of the main therapeutic methods are: group, individual, family, equine, art, music, fitness and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Of those therapeutic methods, the three most prominent ones are: group, individual and family therapy. Clients attend group therapy every day, and it consists of people coming together and healing as a collective. For many of the group therapy sessions, there is counselor who has a master’s degree available to serve as administrator. In the group therapy sessions, clients will relearn how to interact with people and express emotions in a positive, non-judgmental way. As people fall into alcoholism, they can lose social skills since they have manicured their life in a way where their only end game is alcohol. They learn to lie, cheat and steal to satiate their craving—a craving that can never be satiated. Another important dimension of group therapy is that it serves to motivate people who are in recovery. People hear each other’s stories of sobriety and glean motivation.
Individual therapy involves two components: meeting with an individual therapist and a life coach on a weekly basis. With the individual therapist, the client will learn coping skills to live in recovery. They will be given the tools to engage sobriety. The therapists are also trained in co-occurring disorders. Patients who have co-occurring disorders struggle with addiction and mental health issues. For a lot of people with mental health issues, they self-medicate with drugs or alcohol in order to feel normal. However, over time, substance abuse will not fix their mental health issues or make them better. It might just ease it temporarily, but it could exacerbate it in the long run.
Additionally, healing the family goes a long way in treating the individual. Whole families provide the necessary support to keep the loved one accountable and affirmed. We offer family therapy sessions to equip family members with knowledge about addiction and the tools to heal. Addiction is highly stigmatized, so part of family therapy is removing the shame that might have been attached to the loved one struggling with substance abuse.
As the client goes through these various phases of treatment, they will slowly recover. They will learn to love themselves, communicate in a way that honors their spirit and engage with society in positive, affirming ways. Though there is no cure for alcoholism, there will come a point where the client is ready to leave the facility. Everybody has their own timetable for finishing treatment at ABT. Some people it might take 30 days, some more. It really just depends on the person. Once the person has completed treatment, they will have the option of going to a sober living facility or back to their home. It is strongly suggested that client seek out a sober living facility as it decreases the potential for relapse.
Intervention
If your loved one is struggling with alcohol dependence, you may feel powerless in getting them help. You may feel hurt by their behavior and that they are hopeless. However, don’t give up on your loved one! They are worth a million chances. One of the best ways to get your loved one help is through an intervention. An intervention is a process of bringing loved ones together to help address the substance abuser’s use. It is a great way to help the user understand the degree of their use. Some people who abuse substances are not aware of the harm their use causes others. When they are faced with the reality that their use impacts others in negative ways, it might catalyze them to get help.
Traveling for Treatment and Payment
If your loved one makes the life affirming decision to get treatment, then it’s strongly suggested that they travel for treatment. Leaving the environment that lead to abuse in the first place can go a long way in making sure that the treatment goes effectively. Traveling for treatment is a fresh start.
One of the greatest perceived barriers to treatment is price. People assume that they won’t be able to afford treatment, so they don’t seek it out. However, ABT does a stellar job offering several treatment options and scholarships to help with the costs. ABT also accepts most insurance plans, which pay for most if not all of the treatment costs.
Getting treatment is a life or death issue. Too many people are dying. Too many people aren’t getting the help they need. Choose life. Choose health. Choose today.
