Struggling with Alcohol Abuse in Colorado?
Colorado is home to the Rocky Mountains—one of the most impressive geological monuments in the United States. The mountain range spans approximately 3,000 miles and stretches upwards of 14,000 feet at its peak. People who abuse alcohol often experience euphoric peaks that make it hard to quit, regardless of the depressive valleys. Alcohol abuse is a series of highs and lows that can obliterate any form of security sought by the abuser and their loved ones.
Drinking alcohol can in many ways blur the user’s appreciation for plateaus or normalcy. Their lives are spent seeking deliverance through delusion, euphoria through destruction and peace through chaos. It’s really easy to slip into alcohol dependence, especially considering the prevalence of abuse in our country and how many people are predisposed to dependency. Alcohol dependency is a disease that is in many ways inherited. People who have the genetic undergirding will have a hard time not seeking the peaks of happiness, no matter the potential cliffs.
The Pitfalls of Alcohol Abuse: How to Tell if Your Loved One Needs Help?
Alcohol is ubiquitous in our society. It is in many ways a national past time in itself. It brings many different people together but abuse often tears people apart. The pathway towards abuse is different for each person and there are a host of factors that determine if someone will gravitate towards it. Yet, the common denominator for every person who develops a dependence is this: they are in serious need of help.
Thankfully, there are a lot of obvious signs to determine if someone you love has developed a dependence on alcohol. Some of the signs include: neglect of responsibilities, mood changes, elusiveness and lying. As your loved one begins to display these characteristics it’s important to try and intervene. The road of dependency is laden with chaos and often leads to death. Though an intervention may seem risky and messy, it is something that could save a life. People who abuse alcohol not only threaten their own lives, they threaten everyone around them—they are a cyclone of chaos hell bent on maintaining their buzz regardless of the damages.
How to Intervene for your Loved One Who Has an Alcohol Problem
It’s never too early to schedule an intervention if you think your loved one has developed a dependency on alcohol. Some people wait till something tragic happens to schedule an intervention but alcohol abuse is a life or death issue and it’s better to avoid the tragedy before it happens. That said, there’s a lot that goes into holding an intervention. It’s not exactly as it’s portrayed on television. Interventions are a process and not an event.
The first thing to do if you’re seeking an intervention for your loved one is call A Better Today and help us connect you with a professional interventionist. A professional interventionist is trained in conflict management and psychology so they will be the best person to help administer the process.
Trying to get someone who abuses alcohol to get help is going to be difficult. They have learned to twist everything around them to maintain their buzz. There are several factors that determine the success of the intervention. If an intervention doesn’t go well and there isn’t a loving environment it could lead your loved one to delve even further into their abuse.
After you select an intervention specialist there will be a pre-intervention interview process where you will divulge to the specialist the history of your loved one’s abuse. This step is paramount to the interventionists ability to orient the meeting. After the interview, a script will be created that incorporates personal statements from the family. Making sure that the script is stuck to is just as important as picking the right team to intervene. Some relatives will be more effective than others and some will be complete disasters. So, make sure you pick the right team and create an effective script.
If the intervention goes well the person will seek out treatment. For many people who abuse substances they are upheld and enabled by their environment. Traveling away from the comfort of family and friends could be the best way to put them on a path of recovery. A Better Today could be the facility to exorcise the demons that have strangled the life of your loved one.
How Does Detox and Withdrawal Work At A Better Today?
When someone makes the decision to seek out help with their addiction it’s a huge first step. A lot of people are afraid to make that jump because of the perceived struggle of detox. Detox itself is pretty harmless as it simply cleanses the body of toxins, but it’s the withdrawal symptoms that cause fear in a lot of people. Lots of people who abuse alcohol are willing to continue spinning in cycles of delusion and destruction if it means avoiding the withdrawal symptoms of detox.
While it is true that the withdrawal symptoms are intense and could result in death, a lot of these symptoms can be mediated by proper medical care. In order to recover effectively from alcohol abuse it is suggested that the patient go through inpatient treatment at a rehab facility. Though the patient could choose to do outpatient, it is proven that inpatient works better because of the supervision and group dimensions.
At the ABT inpatient facility, there’s a trained staff that is equipped with the right tools to make sure that the person going through detox is comfortable and feels safe.
The ABT team will administer various calming medications to help the body as it reacts to being cut off from alcohol. Because of alcohol dependency, the body has learned to live with alcohol in its system and the immediate reaction of the body is to overcompensate and go into overdrive when it is deprived. But, this process of cleansing usually takes only about 14 days and after that the client will go through therapy to recover their mind. Detox is about cleansing the body and is the first step of recovery, however, therapy at ABT will cleanse and equip the mind with the tools to work through alcohol abuse.
Rehabilitating the Mind at A Better Today
When the patient has completed detox they will then go through rehab, which combines group and individual therapy approaches to provide the tools for healthy living. In group sessions the patient will encounter peers who are going through similar trials. They will learn to express their emotions in a group setting and gain motivation from other’s healing process.
In individual therapy, the client will get matched with a trained expert in the field of psychology to go over the various pathways towards destruction that are hardwired in their brain. As the patient goes through both phases of recovery they will be able to face the world without the need to seek out alcohol.
At ABT we make sure that everyone’s recovery time and process is uniquely tailored to their disposition and history. It may take someone as short as 30 days to go through rehab, but for some it may take longer. There is no pressure applied by the staff to get a certain quota. We aren’t trying to churn people out as fast as we can, we are trying to help people with individualized care.
A big road block preventing people from seeking care is the financial aspect. They assume that it will be too expensive to get the medical and therapeutic attention that they need so they continue in their dependence. However, at ABT we have several payment options and we take most insurances, which in many cases can pay most if not all of your treatment costs.
Finishing the rehab is not the end of recovery. Rehab simply provides people with the tools to cope with the realities of life. After rehab it’s advised to seek out 12-step programs and other forms of therapy. In the 12-step programs you will get the chance to connect with peers who are trying to remain sober and obtain a sponsor who will help nurture and guide you through the process. Recovery is an everyday battle but it doesn’t have to be fought alone. Alcohol abuse isolates people from their families and friends and in recovery you are able to re-connect those severed ties and learn to love and value yourself again.
At ABT, we are committed to providing lifesaving care to those who are in need of a new start. Our team is determined to providing you with an alternative lifestyle that isn’t caught up in the fog of drunkenness. You are worthy of treatment and your family and friends deserve to experience who you are without the distortion of alcohol. Take the first step and experience freedom.
