Alcoholism, or alcohol dependence, is not just an addiction, it is a disease that is often progressive and can even be fatal.
Years of substance abuse will make an alcoholic develop an extremely high tolerance for the effects of alcohol. What would normally be enough to make regular drinkers pass out will just be enough for an alcoholic to achieve a buzz.
An alcoholic’s body has become so efficient at adapting to the regular intake of alcohol that it seems to take steps to anticipate the next binge in order to process the alcohol and leave the alcoholic as functional as possible.
It is this high tolerance to alcohol that makes it hard for someone who is alcohol dependent to kick the habit, leaving most alcoholics who wish to cure themselves seeking professional alcohol detox treatment to deal with their addiction. These treatments subject the patient to a detoxification process which makes the body readjust to an existence wherein alcohol is no longer present in their systems.
Detoxification cuts the body off from its regular dose of alcohol, and as soon as this process starts, the alcoholic immediately experiences acute withdrawal symptoms. Once the alcoholic makes it through and successfully detoxifies from alcohol, they still have to contend with long term alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Even if an alcoholic successfully finishes the alcohol detox and checks out of rehab, they are still in danger of falling back to a dependence on alcohol. They will continue to experience long term alcohol withdrawal symptoms up to one year after they had their last drink. This is why they have to be vigilant against drinking alcohol long after they have finished alcohol addiction therapy.
The most common long term symptom one suffers after the treatment of alcoholism is delirium tremens. Headaches, fevers and flu may be present for weeks after the start of therapy, and rapid mood swings and irritability may also occur.
But almost everyone seems to agree that the hardest thing to deal with are the cravings that the alcoholic has to endure. These cravings will make the recovering alcoholic want to get a tall, stiff glass of liquor, tempting them to get back to their old life of alcohol dependency. Addiction therapy tries to help these recovering alcoholics deal with these symptoms as well as the temptations that they will no doubt have to face for a long time.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.