Need to Stop Drinking? Medical Detox

The realisation that drinking is costing you more than just money may seem depressing, but it needn't be. It is that very thought itself that actually needs nurturing, because it could be the necessary motivation needed to seek help. There is a choice; you can either open another bottle to kill the depressing thought, or you can decide that the moment has come to change your lifestyle.

 

Whether or not you carry the genetic cluster predisposing you to binge drinking, only you can decide (regardless of whatever others may say) when enough is enough. However, it is usually a mistake to think that you can control your own drinking, and the fact usually is that if your drinking has gone out of control you will need help. But do not think that you will be alone. This is a path well trodden by millions.

Alcoholism like most addictions including food (too much or too little), behaviours or other substance abuse is known as a 'dual diagnosis' condition where the heavy drinking is usually a manifestation of a form of underlying depression. So, abstinence alone is only a part of the solution, and abstinence without treatment is likely to be a highly unpleasant experience which inevitably results in relapse.

 

Furthermore, ethanol is a powerful toxin and with the effects of years of drinking it is not something that can be treated overnight, especially following a binge. An initial medical detox usually takes a week, but can take longer depending on the degree of damage or when other substances are also involved (such as prescription medicines). Only once the fog starts to lift can the next phase of treatment commence, and this is the big part. Many people get through the initial detox OK only then to feel sufficiently better to subsequently relapse, often within hours of leaving the clinic. So, in order to break the vicious cycle it is therefore highly advisable to go into a treatment centre or rehab...

 

However, the reality is that drinking, like any form of addiction only goes in one direction, and so unless the advice to attend rehab is taken then matters will only get considerably worse. The decision is counter-intuitive and that is why it is such a tough one to take. However, behavioural change is required which by definition means that someone else's advice has to be taken. As international rehabs expert, Jef Mullins describes, you have to go against impulse.

 

 

Most people stay in rehab for anything up to a month or two, and this is probably the single most important investment in anybody's life, and so it is critical to find the best rehab to suit the needs of the individual. See - 'How to Find the Best Rehab'. Top of the list is to find a place where the patient will be safe and unable to drink, and other factors include the following:

• The way your enquiry is responded to
• The feel of the place
• The quality and enthusiasm of the staff
• The variety of treatment approaches
• The quality of their systems
• Their reputation online
• Options within your budget

However, there is also a big emphasis on the need for change as well as, arguably for a high degree of pampering during what is going to be a life-changing event. In these circumstances, yes, finding the best clinical team is paramount, but so is the location and environment. It is for this reason that some clinics including the boutique behavioural change treatment centre, WER International have their locations in some of the most beautiful - and appropriate parts of the world, including Kerala on the Indian Ocean coast.

 

Most patients would prefer to go into a safe environment, nor are they attracted to a large treatment facility, where they will be squeezed into a pre-existing treatment program over which they will have little individual choice. It actually takes courage instead, to go somewhere special and to find the right inspirational location with high quality accomodation and food. Most of all to be in an environment where they can receive individualised care with compassion and professionalism. Patients are then in a position to open up safely about their troubles and begin the healing process. They do not wish to be rushed or labelled, but to take those first tentative steps into making the changes that they wish to make.