Recent world events have a lot of folks feeling isolated, frustrated and frightened. Managing that stress may lead some to unhealthy choices, such as regular alcohol use, that can lead to dangerous addictions. Getting treatment for excessive alcohol use may need to start with a supervised medical detox to support your body and brain through the rigors of cleansing your system. Do Ohio alcohol treatment centers include medical detox programs? It’s important to note that a medical detox is just one step in the recovery process. Addiction is an incredibly complicated disease that may require
- drugs to reduce the pain of withdrawal
- psychiatric assessment and support as alcohol leaves your body
- psychological counseling for underlying mental health challenges
- family therapy to break generations of shame around alcohol
Fighting addiction is not a matter of willpower. It’s not something to be embarrassed about. If you need help to overcome an alcohol addiction, taking the step of undergoing medical detox may be the courageous step that can help your entire family begin the healing process.
Genetics, Culture and Shame
You may have a family history of alcohol abuse. The genetic predisposition toward alcoholism doesn’t mean you’re doomed to developing the addiction, but it may well mean that you have spent your life learning to live with addiction as a normal part of your life. You may have grown up understanding that adults were occasionally volatile or dangerous. You may have grown up knowing that your needs were second to shielding an alcoholic parent from pressure and challenge. Often, those who grow up with an alcoholic parent develop a rigid mindset about drugs and about the alcoholic parent in particular. No matter your personal alcohol use pattern, it’s critically important to understand that a family with an alcoholic is a family that has the disease. Alcoholism has tendrils that will wrap around your life. Even if you leave, it will come with you and you may well benefit from private or family counseling. For an alcoholic, the pressure to drink is often made worse by our culture.
Alcohol is part of everything fun, at least per the advertisements. From football games to holiday gatherings, you need a beer or a glass of wine to properly celebrate. If you’re going to be a knowledgeable, elegant fellow, you need brandy or whiskey in hand. Going through a medical detox may be required by
- the court system if you get a DUI
- family members who have had enough
- yourself if you just can’t hide or manage the addiction anymore
If you can find a drug treatment program that can provide you with medical detox support prior to starting counseling and group meetings, you may prefer the privacy of moving right from medical detox to in-patient treatment. However, if your medical detox is imposed by others, you may have some memories of the detox process that you’re not proud of or comfortable with; moving from one medical detox facility to another facility for treatment may help you avoid shame. Shame is the ugly lid that we use to cover up the damage that alcoholism is doing to our lives. Shame may lead some family members to be rigidly anti-liquor; such folks seem to believe that everyone who uses alcohol has a problem. Shame can also lead folks to hide their alcohol use. There are still aspects of our culture that consider addiction to be a choice and not a disease. Like it or not, you may have to overcome this concept to be able to ask for help. You may also get this attitude from others.
Shame and secrecy can actually lead you to build a habit or practice of using alcohol privately. You may have alcohol just for you in your car, your purse, your briefcase and even your office. Sadly, we live in a culture that makes it much easier to hide your alcohol use than it is to ask for help. Starting with a supervised medical detox can keep your body healthy while your system clears out the toxins left by alcohol. It will likely be quite uncomfortable, but it will keep you safe. Your treatment choices after this detox may be in-patient or out-patient, depending on your responsibilities and financial situation. Ready to get started? Call us today at 833-497-3812.