Friday, October 26, 2012

Road to recovery: Triumph over alcohol addiction

Jennie Reedy — Anyone who has experienced alcoholism for any length of time knows how damaging it can be to your body, mind, and life. Alcohol dependency ruins relationships and prevents people from accomplishing the things they want to in their lives. Heavy drinking can also reduce your lifespan and harm your cognitive ability.

And as addiction professionals admonish folks, the road to recovery can be difficult, and yet one can triumph over alcohol with the right support.

Alcohol’s Hold

People drink because they want to escape. Alcohol promises relief from problems, anxieties, toxic relationships, and negative emotions. A night of drinking seems to promise a night of worry-free fun, but nothing is gained, except more misery when the effects of alcohol wear off. Long-term alcohol intake causes more pain that it cures. Alcoholism becomes a vicious cycle. A night of drinking can lead to feeling of guilt, regret, and a physical hangover. For people who abuse alcohol, these are feelings they want to drink away! As physical dependence creeps in, alcoholics can become shaky and nervous if they go too long without a drink.

Staying Quit

Many people can give up alcohol for a few days or even weeks. They can make it through the withdrawals, gain support from friends, throughout their stash of liquor, and make a plan for the better. After a period of time, though, the appeal of cutting loose for “just one night” or celebrating with a drink for a “super-special occasion” is too much to resist. This is because behaviors and emotional responses are built in deeper than willpower or the threat of losing everything. Alcoholics still have the attitude of heavy drinkers, even if they have stopped drinking.

Conquering Your Subconscious

Before people become alcoholics, their subconscious minds don’t have built-in emotional responses and habits. This part of the subconscious is still there to help them overcome their drinking, but it’s much harder to get into touch with because of all the time spent as a person dependent on alcohol. Self-hypnosis can help people who abuse alcohol to use their subconscious to kick the habit once and for all. This type of treatment can help them learn how gain the mindset of a non-drinker and overcome the knee-jerk environmental responses. It’s the difference between quitting for now and quitting for good.

Calling a Professional

A lot of different treatments work best when combined with help from a medical professional or addiction specialist. Support groups or meetings can also be a piece of the puzzle when overcoming alcoholism. Combining home hypnosis treatments with other tactics can make for a deadly attack on alcohol dependency.



About the Author

Working as a paralegal in beautiful San Diego CA, Jennie enjoys working on a diverse range of cases.