Telehealth Options for Alcohol Treatment National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism NIAAA

Once you leave a rehabilitation program, you may face challenges and temptations that can lead to relapse. Aftercare programs are designed to give individuals ongoing assistance and continued support to maintain long-term sobriety. It requires immediate treatment to relieve symptoms and avoid complications. Advanced stages of the disease include neurological symptoms such as severe confusion and disorientation. These symptoms may make it difficult for you or a loved one to recognize signs of the condition, so early diagnosis is key.

• Ways you can help include avoiding alcohol when you’re together or opting out of drinking in social situations.
• For example, many rely heavily on 12-step programming, such as those used in AA, that incorporates a set of guided principles to help with recovery.
• While getting sober is an important first step, it is only the beginning of your recovery from alcohol addiction or heavy drinking.
• The person with the drinking problem needs to take responsibility for their actions.
• Regardless of the type of support system, it’s helpful to get involved in at least one when getting sober.

You might feel like life is slipping out of your control, as if you’re entering a gradual but dangerous spiral. Or your addiction may be something you’ve struggled with for a long time, and it repeatedly weighs on your work, relationships, and mental and physical health. You might feel stuck in place, ashamed of repeated relapses and your inability to stay sober. Whether you’re looking for an inpatient or outpatient alcohol rehab center, finding the right treatment program is an important step on the road to recovery.

Stage 2: Research possible treatment options

The truth is, drinking every day is not a prerequisite for alcohol use disorder. Some of the most dangerous alcohol use conditions often involve binge drinking or drinking large amounts of alcohol in one sitting, rather than consuming a few drinks daily. If you have health insurance, call the number on the back of your card to ask https://ecosoberhouse.com/ about your mental health and substance abuse coverage. Find out what your out-of-pocket costs will be, including deductible and co-payment amounts. When alcoholism affects a spouse or partner, it’s possible to become too wrapped up in their well-being. You may get to the point where you feel compelled to help your person get well.

She also suggests joining a peer-support community like Lionrock.life where you can gain support and advice from other people who are also working to reduce their drinking. Ashley Loeb Blassingame — a certified alcohol and drug counselor, relapse prevention specialist, and interventionist — had several tips for reducing alcohol consumption. Over the last eight years of her life, Kathy Johnson struggled with her addiction. She went to rehab multiple times and fell into a continuous cycle of alcohol addiction.

How do you find a treatment program to offer at the intervention?

For example, many rely heavily on 12-step programming, such as those used in AA, that incorporates a set of guided principles to help with recovery. Along with nursing care, intensive inpatient services also include therapy to tend to your emotional and cognitive well-being. If you don’t control codependency, it can lead into more serious complications such as obsessive behavior, blame, and mental health issues.

Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome happens due to a lack of thiamine. This essential vitamin changes (converts) sugar alcohol addiction help into energy. When you have too little thiamine, your brain doesn’t have enough energy to work properly.

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Before attending events where alcohol might be served, set the intention that you will only drink a certain amount. To aid you in becoming more aware of your drinking, she recommends using smartphone apps like Sunnyside or Reframe to track your consumption. The authors note that the brain’s frontal regions play several important roles, including decision-making, emotional regulation, and working memory. Less volume in these regions could make people less able to perform these functions. Low risk drinkers, on the other hand, had significant differences from non-drinkers in the precentral and rostral middle frontal cortex.

When these symptoms become long term, they cause lasting brain and nerve cell damage. This causes severe memory loss and the inability to form new memories, leading to Korsakoff syndrome. Reach out to us today by filling out the contact form below with your name, contact information, and a brief message about your recovery journey. If your story is chosen, a member of our team will reach out to you. These chemical signals are generally referred to as neurotransmitters. They are an essential part of the brain’s ability to function, including regulating virtually all of the body’s organs and managing daily tasks, like working, eating, and sleeping.

They looked at those who entered treatment and either stopped drinking; resumed drinking, but at low-risk levels; or resumed drinking at higher-risk levels. There are four certified drug and alcohol counselors working in UC Davis Health’s Emergency Department as patient navigators. One of them is Tommie Trevino, who has been part of the program since its inception. If you or a loved one has Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, the outlook depends on the severity of symptoms and a timely diagnosis. Immediate treatment can help reverse symptoms and avoid long-term complications. Left untreated, Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome may lead to disability and even death.