Both alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction are problems that make you lose out in life – money, friends, family, opportunities, hope, goals – but the good news is that both issues can be treated at an alcohol rehab. It helps to know whether you are dealing with alcohol abuse or alcohol addiction when seeking treatment; this is the best way to make sure that you choose an alcohol rehab center that offers the addiction treatment services that will best help you to heal.

What is Alcohol Abuse?

It is estimated that about 10 percent of women and 20 percent of men in the United States have an alcohol abuse problem. Is it a problem for you? Here are some facts that may help you determine whether or not your alcohol issues are abuse or addiction:

• Alcohol abuse may be defined by periods of abstinence followed by periods of bingeing.
• Alcohol abuse usually develops between the ages of 18 and 25.
• The first instance of alcohol abuse generally happens during the teen years.

A dysfunctional relationship defines the periods of bingeing when alcohol abuse is an issue. For example, you may attempt to escape stress or drown extreme emotions at the bar or in a bottle rather than finding healthier outlets. When this happens regularly and you experience problems in your relationships, with the law, or at work as a result, then alcohol abuse is a problem.

What is Alcohol Addiction?

About 4 percent of women and 10 percent of men live with alcohol addiction, making it the third most common mental illness in the United States, affecting more than 14 million people. The number of bad effects on your life when alcohol addiction is a problem are almost limitless. Many will lose their homes, their livelihood, their families, their health – their day-to-day quality of life. Despite all these problems, alcoholics still devote the better part of their time to getting more alcohol, drinking heavily, and trying to stay drunk. Those living with an alcohol addiction will continue to drink despite all these problems.

Do You Need Alcohol Rehab Help?

If you recognized your own life in the above descriptions of alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction, and you cannot stop drinking for any lengthy period of time on your own, then alcohol rehab can help. Contact us today at The Orchid to learn more about our addiction treatment service options and get started on your own personal path to recovery.

Congratulations! You’ve signed up to go to alcohol rehab but you’ve got a couple of days or a week before you can actually leave. Whether it’s by your choice or due to availability at the alcohol addiction treatment center you’ve chosen, you’re faced with how you should be spending the next few days. Most alcoholics will think the same thing: drink as much as you can while you can before heading off to treatment. But is that the safest choice? Should you try and quit drinking altogether? How else can you fill your time before going off to treatment?

The Dangers of Binge Drinking Before Alcohol Rehab

There are so many possible risks that you take on when you choose to binge drink before heading to alcohol addiction treatment: drunk driving accident, accident due to negligence under the influence, alcohol poisoning, overdose when mixing alcohol with other drugs, violence and assault, et cetera. Additionally, if you spend days before going to alcohol rehab drinking to excess, you’re going to feel horrible when you first arrive. The first couple of days will be difficult enough physically – you’ll only make it worse by drinking with the intent to overdo it.

The Dangers of Quitting Drinking Before Alcohol Rehab

For those who experience withdrawal symptoms when they try to stop drinking, it isn’t recommended to try to quit cold turkey unless you have medical professionals there to supervise and advise. The withdrawal symptoms can be managed and you will be much more comfortable until you are in the alcohol detox portion of your rehab program and have access to medications designed to treat your symptoms, reduce cravings, and help you more quickly –and safely – get the alcohol out of your system.

Even if you don’t have withdrawal symptoms beyond a serious hangover when you stop drinking, it’s likely that you will still feel ill when you quit by yourself and crave alcohol even more. Trying to do this without the help of doctors and counselors can weaken your resolve to go to treatment and take away your chance at getting better and starting a new life for yourself in recovery.

So What Do You Do Before Leaving for Alcohol Rehab?

Take it easy. Drink minimally to avoid making yourself feel worse at rehab but not so little that you begin to go through withdrawal symptoms. Get lots of rest. Drink lots of water. Spend time with supportive family and friends and take the first baby steps toward your dreams for future versions of yourself.

It was all over the headlines when Christina Aguilera was arrested and jailed briefly for public intoxication while her boyfriend, Matthew Rutler, was charged with a DUI for driving the car under the influence of alcohol.

Aguilera didn’t seem to take the incident or the media rush to tell the world very seriously. She said: “We’re only able to be seen through the microscope of the media and what people gossip about. You take the good with the bad. It’s by telling our stories, sharing our experiences and really giving a firsthand look at us as human beings [that shows] who we really are apart from what we seem to be.”

Though she had to address the issue of the recent media attention for her drunken night out, her focus remains on her upcoming show, The Voice, where she will be a judge picking out talent based only on the voice of the contestant rather than their appearance. She’s hoping to pass along the lessons she’s learned through her fame to aspiring stars.

Aguilera says: “I am ready to share it all so I’m really excited. I hope we can find the next biggest thing. But I’m not looking for vocal acrobatics. I really sincerely want to be moved by raw talent. The Voice isn’t about tearing people down. I want to bring people up. I want to empower them and give them all the tools I had. I love that I get to be a part of that.”

Finding Balance Between the Good and the Bad in Drug Addiction Recovery

Though it’s important not to get too bogged down when you relapse in alcohol addiction recovery,  it’s also important to take it seriously enough to analyze the situation, figure out what triggered it, and make a plan that ensures it doesn’t happen again. It’s a balance. Those who are flippant about the situation will learn nothing from it and those who feel so guilty that they can’t move forward will both experience the same result: another relapse. Life in recovery is a series of events and emotions that may or may not trigger the temptation to relapse and the individual learning through experience how to stop themselves from making poor decisions that only worsen the situation.

Getting Started in Treatment: How Balance is Achieved

Attending an inpatient drug and alcohol rehab program is one of the best ways to begin gathering the tools you need to fight off relapse in recovery. Here you will meet medical professionals who can treat your physical addiction, psychological professionals who can give you guidance as you navigate through the emotional battlefield that may have brought you to addiction, and peers who are going through the same issues. The longer you stay, the more tools you will gather and the more time you will have to develop a firmer foundation for your long-term recovery.

Call now to find out how The Orchid can get you started.

Journaling is a great way to process your recovery. It gives you the opportunity to vent about things that upset you in a productive way that doesn’t hurt your chances of making the situation better, explore your feelings about different options and future possibilities and to work through issues related drug and alcohol addiction recovery. Here are a few journaling ideas to get you started after drug rehab:

• Ask yourself a question. Pick a theoretical question, any question, and run with it. Does God exist? Is chocolate and marshmallow as good as chocolate and peanut butter? Is attitude important in getting what you want in the world? Whatever your question, explore your thoughts on the issue.
• Make a to-do list. Whether it’s a list for the grocery store, errands you need to run, people you need to call, or a combination, if you’ve got your journal with you, you may as well use it to help you get things done.
• Work the steps. If you attend 12-step meetings, journals are a great resource as you work the steps. You are often asked to assess your part in a particular issue or list people you need to make amends to or to explore past events. Even after you’ve worked the steps, you can always revisit the 4^th step or others that held meaning for you when the situation arises.
• Vent about something that bothers. Irritations will happen. People will piss you off. Rather than taking it out on them and making the situation worse, vent about it in your journal. It’s a much better outlet than relapsing.
• Talk about what happened in therapy. Personal therapy and group therapy sessions are great resources in recovery. Each session can give you a lot of food for thought. It will help you to make progress in your treatment as you work through what was discussed, be able to look back on what has happened in sessions, and create a plan for future sessions.
• Map out a budget. Money is of constant concern to most people, but when you’re in recovery is can be a high-priority focus. Use your journal to map out your budget and figure out how to manage your money now that you aren’t spending every cent on drugs and alcohol.
• Draw. Drawing pictures of what you see around you or abstract pictures that define your thoughts can be extremely therapeutic. Use your journal to draw with pencils, inks or even experiment with watercolors.
• Take pictures. Photography offers the same therapeutic effect as drawing and writing. Explore your view of the world and include some of your favorite shots in your journal.

Women are creative beings and using journals to explore different modes of creativity is an a great way to discover your authentic self in recovery. How will you use your journal to progress after drug and alcohol rehab? 

There is no excuse for any kind of physical aggression against someone you love. Addiction, intoxication, a bad day at work, even poor choices on the part of the victim – there is nothing that can make domestic violence okay or acceptable.

It doesn’t matter what you did. No one who loves you should ever put their hands on you violently with intent to harm. If you are living in a relationship characterized by domestic violence, do not wait for apologies and promises that it won’t happen again. It always happens again. Leave now, take your children with you, and get somewhere safe where you will be protected.

Alcohol Addiction and Domestic Violence

One of the most common excuses for domestic violence is, “I was drunk.” Many women who are victims of domestic violence even blame themselves for the attacks, saying that they were drunk too and yelling at their partner, nagging him, breaking his possessions or trying to order him out of the house. Alcohol addiction breeds domestic violence, and if it happens once – even if he promises never to drink again – it will most certainly happen again.

Few can stop drinking on their own even when domestic violence isn’t part of the picture. If your partner is violent when under the influence but does not choose alcohol rehab immediately, you should not stay in the house.

Getting Help for Yourself

In the cycle of violence, after the attacker hurts the victim, he or she will often follow up with apologies shortly. When they sober up, there are often long, dramatic promises to get treatment or to make other big changes. If the victim accepts the apology, the days that follow are generally nicer than they were before the attack. The attacker is on his or her best behavior, often attentive and sober. The promise to get treatment falls to the wayside as time passes. Soon, the attacker is having a drink, then two, then more and the victim is quickly back in the position of being physically and verbally attacked.

Getting Help for Your Partner

If you are the victim of domestic violence, you cannot stay in the relationship in an attempt to help your partner. If he or she was going to get help at an alcohol rehab, they would already be gone. If he or she were able to stop drinking alone, then they would have. Your primary responsibility is to make sure that you are physically safe and that your children are no longer subjected to this violence. If your partner has not yet hit you in front of your children, it’s coming. If your partner has not yet struck your child, that too will happen the first time your child tries to defend you from attacks.

Statistics tell us that abused women attempt to leave as many as five times before they make it a reality. Unfortunately, many of them do so in an ambulance, beaten severely or beaten to death by their partner.

If You Need Help

If you are the victim of domestic violence whether or not it is due to alcohol addiction, contact an emergency safe house near you immediately. Ensuring your physical safety and the safety of your children should be your first priority.