Alcohol Abuse Treatment - Alcohol Rehab Directory

What is considered alcohol abuse in North Carolina? Alcohol abuse means having unhealthy or dangerous drinking habits, such as drinking every day or drinking too much at a time. Alcohol abuse can harm your relationships, cause you to miss work, and lead to legal problems such as driving while drunk (intoxicated). When you abuse alcohol, you continue to drink even though you know your drinking is causing problems.

If you live in North Carolina and continue to have alcohol abuse problems, it can lead to alcohol dependence. Alcohol dependence is also called alcoholism. You are physically or mentally addicted to alcohol. You have a strong need, or craving, to drink. You feel like you must drink just to get by. Alcoholism is a long-term serious health issue. It's not a weakness or a lack of willpower. Like many other health problems, it has a course that can be predicted, has known symptoms, and is influenced by your genes and your life situation.

You might be dependent on alcohol if you have three or more of the following problems in a year:

• You cannot quit drinking or control how much you drink.
• You need to drink more to get the same effect.
• You have withdrawal symptoms when you stop drinking. These include feeling sick to your stomach, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety.
• You spend a lot of time drinking and recovering from drinking, or you have given up other activities so you can drink.
• You have tried to quit drinking or to cut back the amount you drink but haven't been able to.
• You continue to drink even though it harms your relationships and causes you to develop physical problems.

If you are abusing alcohol and are not dependent on it, you may be able to cut back or quit on your own. But most people need help when they quit drinking. If you can't stop drinking alcohol on your own, a North Carolina alcohol abuse treatment program can help you get through the first cravings for alcohol and learn how to stay sober. When you first seek alcohol abuse treatment, you may be asked questions about your drinking, health problems, work, and living situation. Be open and honest to get the best treatment possible. Your alcohol abuse treatment team may write a treatment plan, which includes your treatment goals and ways to reach those goals. This helps you stay on track.

Once entered into North Carolina alcohol abuse treatment you will complete an alcohol detox process. There are many different aspects to alcohol detox. The first is the medical aspect. Most programs have a medical doctor on staff in order to assist you through the alcohol detox process. This ensures you safety. The staff will do their best to set your mind at ease in order to ensure that the alcohol detox process goes as smoothly as possible.

The second aspect of alcohol detox is physical. Many North Carolina alcohol detox facilities have an in-house nutritionist or dietitian. The nutritionist will put you on the right meal plan in order for your body to perform the best that it can during the alcohol detox process. If the body is being fed well the rest of the detox is much more comfortable.

The third aspect of alcohol detox is the emotional aspect. Successful programs employ a highly trained team of counselors to assist you in the area of emotions. Alcohol detox can be an extremely emotional time. The staff is there to help you move forward through their emotions.

In the end, it is important to remember that North Carolina alcohol rehab centers are not a magic pill and that a successful recovery hinges on one thing above all else: the addict has to WANT to be clean. After alcohol rehab is complete, it is equally important that the recovering addict stay motivated and continue to WANT a better, sober life. There are lots of resources that will be helpful to the addict during this period after alcohol rehab, including outpatient counseling services and support groups. The most important statistic to remember is this: for those who truly want recovery, the success rate is 100 percent.