Southern California Outpatient Rehab for Alcoholism

Southern California Outpatient Rehab for Alcoholism

You may see nothing wrong with pouring yourself a drink at the end of a stressful day. A drink before a meal can improve digestion. In fact, about 56% of Americans admitted that they consumed alcohol in the past month.

The problems appear when people engage in binge drinking and heavy alcohol use.

Around 16 million American adults have a drinking problem. Moreover, close to 27% of people reported that they consumed large quantities of alcohol (more than five drinks per session) in the past month.

Alcohol abuse represents a serious problem in the United States. Few seek specialized help in an inpatient or outpatient rehab facility and of those that do receive proper care, between 40% and 60% will relapse after treatment. Although regaining control over your life is not impossible, patients need not only holistic care but also a strong support network.

What Are the Concerns of Alcohol Poisoning?

When a person consumes excessive amounts of alcohol, their liver eventually becomes unable to process it, and the blood alcohol concentration spikes to toxic levels. As such, drinking too much too quickly can lead to coma or even death.

Alcohol has a sedative effect on the nerves that are responsible for handling involuntary actions, such as breathing and the gag reflex. High quantities can affect these vital functions, causing them to cease completely. Moreover, alcohol can also irritate the stomach and cause excessive vomiting, but because the gag reflex is sedated, patients risk choking, especially if they’ve lost consciousness.

Other signs of alcohol poisoning include:

• Irregular or slow breathing
• Confusion
• Seizures
• Hypothermia

Is Detox Needed to Stop Use?

As mentioned already, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying an occasional glass of wine during dinner or with friends, but if you need alcohol to go about your regular day and suppress any negative emotions or thoughts, then you are in dire need of help.

Don’t assume that you can just stop drinking on your own. Alcohol withdrawal can be difficult to overcome without proper help and even life-threatening. Over 5% of patients that try to detox on their own will experience seizures. Delirium tremens (DT) is another severe complication with a high mortality rate among alcohol addicts. Between 5% and 25% of patients exhibiting DT can experience cardiovascular collapse.

Excessive alcohol intake leads to the activation of the GABA-A receptor, responsible for controlling the nervous system. A sudden change in behavior, such as abruptly ceasing to consume alcohol will impair GABA-A stimulation and cause a variety of health problems like tremors, tachycardia, seizures, anxiety, confusion, and so on. Because of the severity of the withdrawal symptoms, most patients will continue drinking to alleviate their agony.6023

Do Individuals Receive Unique Recovery Plans and If So, How Are They Created?

Although alcohol abuse tends to manifest in the same way, it doesn’t mean that all patients must undergo the same treatment. Doctors must consider the patient’s health history, co-occurring mental disorders as well as their socio-economic and cultural background before creating a treatment plan. Professionals should also try to understand the triggers that led to addiction in the first place, such as abuse, past traumatic events, mental health issues, and so on to assess the specific needs of the patients and provide them with the best care.

Individualized recovery plans can encompass a variety of treatment options, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy that focuses on relapse prevention, family counseling aimed at improving interpersonal dynamics, and group therapies that offer support and insights from people with similar conditions. Alternative therapies like painting, singing, meditation, fitness and so on also play a crucial role in helping patients manage their emotions and avoid relapses after medical detox.

What Does the Program Timeline Look like?

Because the treatment plan often takes shape according to the patient’s needs, it can be difficult to present a standard timeline for recovery. Different people will heal at different rates. However, patients can expect to encounter a few important milestones in their recovery.

Most patients ongoing treatment for alcohol abuse will experience depression in the first weeks. As the body is flushing the substance out of the system, the brain needs time to adjust to the lack of external stimuli. After about a month, however, the symptoms will improve considerably.

In the next three months, patients will undergo one-on-one therapy sessions and focus on developing the skills necessary to prevent relapse. The doctors can also recommend a nutrition and exercise plan to help the body get back in shape.

One of the biggest difficulties patients will encounter is maintaining their sobriety after treatment. Due to their improved health and psychological state, they might think that it’s OK to meet with their old drinking friends. However, most patients overestimate their capacity to resist temptations and fall into the same reckless behaviors that led to addiction. Avoiding temptations at all costs and sticking to healthy routines is paramount in the first six months after recovery.

Six months to one year after detox, the patient’s ability to control urges and resist temptations has increased dramatically. However, they should still attend weekly group meetings to continue on the path to recovery.

What Types of Holistic Treatment Options Are Often Offered at Alcohol Rehab?

Alcohol rehab facilities offer a variety of holistic treatment options that address not only the patient’s addiction but the underlying causes as well. Most treatment plants combine conventional therapies with alternative ones to enable physical and emotional healing and provide patients with the tools they need to control their urges and live a normal life.

Meditation is perhaps one of the most beneficial alternative therapies for alcohol abuse. Learning how to silence, deal with anxiety and negative thoughts can enable patients to become more self-aware and live in the moment. People that meditate develop a clear thought process and change their attitude regarding unhealthy behavior patterns.

Expressing oneself through music, drawing, and acting can also help patients control their emotions and stick with the recovery plan.

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