Looking for Alcohol Treatment from Lubbock, Texas?
People usually associate UFO sightings with Roswell, New Mexico. However, Lubbock is also known for its share of paranormal activity. In fact, the city was home to one of the first UFO cases in United States history. Through August and September of 1951, an unusual formation of lights cast over the city. The validity of paranormal activity and intelligent life outside of the earth is a subject of much debate. Unlike the speculation surrounding the existence of aliens or intelligent life on other planets, the United States unquestionably has a problem with alcohol—a substance that alienates and destroys.
According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, approximately 30 people die every day in motor vehicle crashes involving alcohol. People who abuse alcohol are setting themselves up for a crash. As with many drugs, alcohol effects the brain’s dopamine levels. Dopamine is located in the reward center of the brain and when people drink alcohol they are tricked into thinking they are being rewarded. When someone first starts drinking, they experience intense feelings of euphoria. However, over the duration of the person’s alcohol use, the dopamine levels level out over time. Unfortunately, people succumb to alcohol abuse when they chase the feeling that they first had when they began drinking.
Alcohol is a depressant that effects the body like a stimulant. As aforementioned, the stimulation created by alcohol diminishes over time leaving the pain and hurt that the person may have been trying to escape is still present. When the user tries to consume more alcohol to feel the same intense sensation, they run the risk of developing an alcohol dependence. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, approximately 17 percent of men and 8 percent of women will be dependent on alcohol in in their lifetime. It’s an epidemic that’s has effected society since its inception. A lot of the times people who are dependent on alcohol either waste away at bars or behind jail cell bars, rather than getting the treatment that they need.
A Better Today (ABT) is leading the charge to make sure that people receive the help they need. In the past, people saw alcoholism as a moral failing. People who were drunks were shunned and shamed. In recent years, scientific research determined that alcoholism is a disease rather than dependent on a moral choice that a person makes. People who drink do not do so because they are bad people; they are actually incapable of stopping on their own and need help in order to abstain from alcohol. ABT is committed to saving lives and healing families.
Treatment at A Better Today
The core of ABT’s curriculum focuses on individuality and community. We offer a dynamic, diverse community that’s grounded in support and encouragement. We know that healing doesn’t happen on an island, people need others to heal them from the wounds that are often inflicted by society. ABT serves as a second family to those who need it. We seek to honor everyone’s unique path in recovery. In this way we honor individuality. When the individual is honored and whole, the community will benefit and vice versa.
The first step of treatment at ABT is a medically supervised withdrawal process, commonly referred to as detox. Before undergoing that process, our client will receive a medical examination that determines the best course of treatment. The examination will consist of questions relating to the client’s medical history and more importantly, an in depth substance abuse history. It’s imperative that the client answers honestly because it eliminates the remote possibility of complications during the withdrawal process. Our staff won’t shame anyone due to their previous alcohol or drug use, they are here to help. ABT doesn’t believe on judging someone by their past because we are here to make sure that each client has a bright future.
Following the medical examination, a client will be ready for detox. Detox is a scary word to anyone because it’s often associated with extreme discomfort but it’s more unappealing to those who are dependent on a substance. Beyond the idea of giving up something that they are physically, mentally and chemically dependent on, detox comes with a handful of difficult withdrawal symptoms. When someone becomes chemically dependent on alcohol, their mind adjusts to its presence so that when they stop, the mind goes into a state of shock. This state of shock is accompanied by symptoms that are asymmetrical to the ones associated with drinking. Since alcohol is a depressant, it relaxes the body. During detox, the client will experience shaking, vomiting, insomnia and that’s the milder symptoms. In rare cases a client can experience hallucinations and tremors. These are the opposite of a body relaxed. Fortunately, ABT provides clients with medications to help offset the withdrawal effects. Everybody has their own timetable for finishing detox, but it generally doesn’t take longer than 14 days. When someone finishes detox, they have cleansed their body and they are ready to heal their mind through rehab.
At ABT we’re proud of our various therapeutic methods and their diversity. We offer group, individual, art, music and cognitive behavioral therapy. We know that everyone won’t respond positively to every method, so we try to offer several. Two of the more prominent therapeutic methods we use are individual and group therapy.
Individual therapy is important because it helps people learn about the root of their abuse and develop positive coping skills. The therapists we pair with clients have master’s degrees or higher. They are also trained in co-occurring disorders. Many people who abuse alcohol suffer from mental disorders, which they attempt to mask with alcohol. Alcohol isn’t a sufficient treatment mechanism and, in some cases, it can exacerbate any underlying mental issues. Through individual therapy, the client gathers the tools for sobriety.
Group therapy helps clients re-learn social skills that might have fallen by the wayside during alcohol abuse. It also is a great way for the clients to motivate each other. People abuse alcohol for various reasons. Sometimes people use it to connect with others. They might feel insecure and that alcohol helps them connect with their “true selves.” However, alcohol abuse isolates. People who abuse alcohol, generally abuse others—whether that be physically or mentally. Learning to live in society without alcohol goes a long way in making sure that the client will have long-term success in their sobriety. Remaining sober is difficult, but a strong, supportive community can play a big role in helping them stay the course.
Another dimension of group therapy is the 12-step method. The program provides a set of recovery steps to help maintain sobriety. ABT does not endorse any specific higher power but rather leaves that up to each client to determine. We accept everybody, regardless of faith. ABT also offers family therapy to help heal wounds inflicted through alcohol abuse.
After going through our various therapy methods, we believe our clients will have the tools for sobriety. Everybody has their own timetable for completing rehab. Once someone has completed rehab, they will have the option of going home or living in a transitional facility. Transitional facilities (or sober living facilities) are places where people newly out of rehab can ease back into society at their own pace.
Intervention and Traveling for Treatment
One of the most effective ways to help someone who is struggling with alcoholism is to schedule an intervention. An intervention is a gathering of loved ones who read prepared statements that urge the loved one to get help. It is strongly suggested that you hire an intervention specialist to help administer the process. A specialist has training in psychology and conflict management and can serve as a neutral, objective process. ABT can give you the resources to hire an interventionist. If your loved one agrees to treatment, it’s important to suggest that they travel for rehab. Getting away from the environment where they developed an alcohol dependence is crucial for recovery.
Paying for Treatment
One of the most consistently overblown ideas is that treatment is too expensive for most people. However, we make sure that affordability isn’t a block for people seeking treatment. We offer several payment options to help mitigate the costs and we accept most insurance plans, which may pay for most if not all of the treatment cost.
Our company believes in family. We believe in your family’s ability to heal. We also believe that we can be a second family for those struggling with alcoholism. Even when people leave our treatment centers, they are still a part of the ABT family. We offers alumni programs to help people connected. We believe that nobody can have enough family members and ABT is a great family to lean on. Lean on us.
