Alcohol Awareness Month - What's the Biggest Lesson We Can Learn? by:Gloria MacTaggart

No one has to live with an alcohol or drug problem

, and no family has to endure the frustration and fear caused by addiction.

April is Alcohol Awareness Month. There have been six of them so far. Have they made any difference whatsoever? It's probably helped some people who acknowledge that they have a drinking problem - although about 95% of those who need treatment don't acknowledge that at all - and it's probably helped a few people find resources to get help for a family member. But it's not going to help people who think help isn't possible - and that's probably the biggest lesson to be learned.

It's quite amazing to think that there are tens of millions of people are coping with alcohol or drug abuse in their family and think they can't do anything about it. They've tried - they've talked, cajoled, yelled, cried, pleaded, lectured and laid down the law. None of it's worked, so, therefore, "nothing works."

Well, one thing is true: talking, cajoling, yelling, crying, pleading, lecturing and laying down the law rarely works.

But, it's not true that 'nothing' works. Alcohol and drug rehab in a long-term residential addiction treatment center works. And intervention works.

There are two basic factors you're dealing with. First is the physical effect created by the alcohol or drugs and the consequences of quitting.

If someone drinks relatively moderately (even though it may be enough to be categorized as a drinking problem) and has only been drinking for a short time (not decades), there's a good chance they can stop drinking without serious physical consequences. It may not last long, but they can stop.

However, if someone is a heavy drinker and has been drinking for a long time, quitting can be unbearably painful - only another drink will give them any relief - and even medically dangerous. In fact, it shouldn't be done without professional supervision. A good alcohol rehab program can get someone off alcohol safely.

Whether or not a person can quit taking drugs, from a physical standpoint only, depends on the drug, how long they've been taking it, and their own metabolism. Stopping marijuana, for example, doesn't usually have serious side effects. Nor is there usually much of a problem with psychedelics.

But with just about every other drug - including prescription drugs - the side effects of stopping can be extremely painful and also, in some cases, medically dangerous.

The second factor is psychological dependence. The person started drinking or taking drugs for a reason and until that reason is addressed and a resolution found, quitting is unlikely.

Some people manage to quit for short periods of time - again, that's dependant on what they've been using and for how long - but when things get tough, or their 'issues' exert enough internal pressure, they'll start again.

A person who quits for a while and then starts again, or someone unable or unwilling to quit at all, needs to go into a long-term residential alcohol and drug addiction treatment center where they can be helped to get off the alcohol or drugs, and address the issues that caused the problem in the first place.

And if they can't be persuaded to do so by a friend or family member, an interventionist can help you.

If there's one lesson to be learned during this April, it's that help is possible. No one has to live with alcohol or drug addiction, and no family member has to live with the frustration and fear that goes along with it.

About the author

Gloria MacTaggart is a freelance writer that contributes articles on health.

info@drugrehabreferral.com

http://www.drugrehabreferral.com

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