subject: Signs of alcoholism – a clue for overcoming addiction [print this page] Signs of alcoholism a clue for overcoming addiction
Overcoming addiction to alcohol is a tedious process. It can be done in 2 stages, the first stage being the early recovery and the later part being the long term soberness. It is very essential, for treating or overcoming and alcohol addiction, to recognize the signs of alcoholism and to be clear with the causes that led the victim to this phase of addiction. It is a known fact that addiction does not occur over a night. It is a long term process supported by the subject himself.
The first stage of overcoming addiction is the recovery phase. This is when the victim is completely abandoned from the use of alcohol. This stage, basically, acts as a stage of shock for the person when his world seems to have turned upside down. There is no more alcohol to hold on to when the person experiences physical and mental displeasure. He finds himself more vulnerable to the environment, since the only friend of his, alcohol, has been taken away from him. This is the situation when many of the addicts run away from rehab, or at least try to but are unsuccessful. While the subject feels he is getting more and more ill without alcohol, actually he is getting better. These are called withdrawal symptoms nausea, headaches, hangovers, vomiting, stomach upsets, etc. Apart from physical ailments, withdrawal symptoms bring neurological damages and the person begins to assume illusions as true. This condition is just as if the flame of a lamp shines the best when it is about to die. The pains and signs of alcoholism show up in their highest when they are about to fade away. It is this stage that the addict needs to sustain well for overcoming addiction to alcohol.
The target of the next stage is to achieve long term soberness. By this time, the signs of alcoholism have, almost, vanished. This phase, along with medications and other treatments, requires that the victim must have courage to restart his life again. But this isn't as simple as pressing the restart button of a computer. It is a lot more painful. This is because the person has to begin his life all over again, since there is no more alcohol to support him in the bad times. The patient, now, needs to be responsible for his own good and bad times, prevent them and support himself when they arrive. Just like when a close friend or a lover gets excluded from one's life and they have to begin to relive, similarly one has to begin to learn to live again after exclusion of alcohol from life.
