subject: The First Steps Towards Total Recovery From Alcohol Addiction [print this page] If you find yourself having difficulties getting through one day without a drop of alcohol, you may as well acknowledge that you have a drinking problem. Alcohol addiction is considered a disease, one that is also treatable. However, the success in alcohol addiction treatment will depend on the addicted person's desire to want to quit. Accepting that there is indeed a drinking problem and consequently wanting to be purged of this addiction would be the first steps that could set the person or the alcoholic on his way to recovery. This fit is never an easy task and will take a long time that many of us anticipate. A person who wants to help someone be cured of alcohol addiction should have the proper knowledge on how to handle the situation and the person with the goal of wooing him into kicking the habit.
The inability of an alcoholic to see any apparent negative results or outcomes will make it doubly harder for him to see and recognize the alcohol problem for what it truly is at the beginning of the condition. Play it by ear first. Keep a close watch and let things progress for a bit, eventually pouncing when the right opportunity comes to point out the negative results associated with the alcohol addiction. You should let them understand he or she is responsible for what happens and should be ready to face the issues. Do not be ready to offer help when they call. Let this be the jarring wake up call that will make him or her realize that whatever he does will have a consequence that will greatly influence the lives of other people, not only his.
Be discreet in your intervention. Help the addicted person in such a way that they won't be able to readily tell that you are actually doing something. But be circumspect and careful. Know when to push and to pull back. Know when to say something and when to say nothing. This is to avoid appearing judgmental, especially to that specific person. During the times when they are drunk, make sure to talk to them normally, especially if you know they can hear and understand you all right. When they are sober, talk to them as well. Keeping a listening ear open to whatever they have to say, even if they are still in denial over the whole alcohol addiction problem.
Once you break the barriers and drive sense into the person and they admit that they want help, you can start pushing them to get treatment. Intervention at this stage would have to be entrusted into the hands of someone who is vastly knowledgeable about alcohol addiction and alcoholism in general. Nevertheless, you should realize that you play an important role in the treatment process and road to recovery for the alcoholic person. One ideal way to assist him would be to sign him with the Alcoholics Anonymous program. Make sure that you accompany him during the first sessions. Thereafter, then let him or her continue attending the program alone after several session.
It pays to keep in mind that relapses may be inevitable for some people. The best thing you could do, really, is to stay behind them, constantly reminding them not to give in to it, and praising them for their positive advances. Starting the treatment for alcoholic addiction until such time that they are pronounced completely recovered is not an easy or a quick journey. Patience is an important trait to have throughout the treatment as you let the whole process take its course.
