We do hear about alcoholics and alcoholism all the time as a lot of people suffer from this disease round the world. Yes! Alcoholism is a disease. Also known as alcohol dependence over many a country, it can be classified as one of the addictive disorders that make a person dependant on consumption of alcoholic products. This uncontrolled intake of alcohol is a serious issue as it can lead to several organ failures, mental disorder, violent nature and disorders that may lead to death. There are cases of thousands of deaths reported due to excessive alcohol consumption each year and the numbers keep growing with passing time. However one good thing about alcoholism is that it is completely treatable. All one needs to do is gather the inner strength to do it and seek help from a rehabilitation center or experts who understand the pro’s and con’s of the trade. These rehabilitation centers are situated all over the world and are more than eager to help once approached.
Alcoholism does not just occur due to a person’s failure to stop themselves from consuming alcohol. It can be a family trait, or a result of inherent lifestyle. Researchers suggest there are cases where influences caused by genes may also lead to alcoholism but it is ultimately certain factors such as availability of alcohol, stress, hereditary likeliness of alcohols that leads to these problems. As I said earlier, alcoholism is absolutely treatable but it is not curable. Alcoholics always tend to relapse and start drinking alcohol all over again ever after a long gap of regular drinking. Hence the best option is not to drink at all. This is exactly what the treatment and rehabilitation centers try and enforce so as to keep things normal.
Treatment centers employ carefully studied and created rehabilitation program’s with expert involvement to help reduce a person’s dependency on alcohol. These include physical, counseling and medical sessions regularly over a continuous period of time that aims on reducing alcohol intake and a better life. Some institutes for help and rehabilitation resort to meditation as well to help stabilize people who become violent or mentally unstable as a result of no alcohol.
Generally, the medication provided for alcohol dependence include “disulfiram”, “naltrexone”, and “acamprosate” to help attain abstinence. Most of these medications are either provided orally or by injection. However the medication part of anti alcoholic program is not as easy as it seems. Most patients suffer from side effects like shivering, nausea, sweating when suddenly asked to stop alcohol intake suddenly. Hence, certain drugs are also provided alongside to help deal with the agony. Also, different people respond to the same drugs in separate fashions which required further observations. Though researchers are continuously in a process of finding more and more drugs for treatment, there is no such drug which can cure all of it at one time. Together all these things and a person’s will is basically the key that helps reduce dependence on alcohols and maintain sobriety.
