| Question: If an alcoholic is unwilling to get | | | | drink. |
| help, what can you do about it? | | | | |
| | | | Once an alcoholic is in treatment, they more |
| Alcoholics don't respond very well to advice, | | | | than likely will be asked to start attending |
| suggestions, or threats. One would imagine | | | | Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings, usually |
| that under these circumstances an alcoholic | | | | daily. It is not easy to know when or if an |
| is doomed to oblivion. You must realize the | | | | alcoholic is "ready" for (AA). You can't make |
| alcoholic is desperate to get more and more | | | | the decision for them. People bounce in and |
| alcohol, and he or she may lie, cheat and | | | | out of (AA) all the time. |
| steal in order to do so. | | | | |
| | | | The right alcohol recovery program depends |
| Very simply, an alcoholic is a person whose | | | | upon the severity and nature of the alcoholic |
| life is controlled by alcohol. They are sick. | | | | and most importantly their personal level of |
| | | | commitment and motivation. A big part of |
| Question: If the alcoholic is sick why | | | | getting the alcoholic into treatment, is |
| doesn't he or she just go to the hospital? | | | | overcoming the hurdle they face of actually |
| | | | going to treatment. |
| Because in the early stages of alcoholism, | | | | |
| the alcoholic does not appear sick, in pain, | | | | Many of the hurdles are self imposed, yet |
| or visibly abnormal. Alcoholics do not | | | | like fortified brick walls - to the alcoholic |
| comprehend that they are about to become a | | | | they are impassible. The walls are |
| very sick person, and neither do the people | | | | constructed from fear, shame, embarrassment, |
| around them. | | | | and denial. The uncertainty of what they must |
| | | | face is enough to trigger enough stress that |
| By the time an alcoholic is in the late | | | | they simply refuse to go. |
| stage, he or she is often irrational, | | | | |
| deluded, and unable to understand what has | | | | It may never be completely understood what |
| happened. The alcoholic is simply not aware | | | | causes alcoholism, and (AA) is only one of |
| of what is going on in his or her body and is | | | | many recognized treatments for alcoholism. |
| in a complete state of denial. | | | | The difference is its track record for |
| | | | success. More than 700,000 Americans receive |
| Being an alcoholic is not a curse. The | | | | alcoholism treatment of one kind or another |
| alcoholic is a sick person and should be | | | | on any given day. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) |
| treated as one. Alcoholics are born with a | | | | is one of the best treatment options for a |
| hereditary, genetic predisposition to | | | | recovering alcoholic. |
| addiction having to do with brain chemistry. | | | | |
| Alcoholics need to ingest alcohol before the | | | | Overcoming denial and enabling is often the |
| addiction takes hold. Alcoholism is a | | | | first step to successful recovery for the |
| progressive disease, and without treatment it | | | | alcoholic. Treatment only works if the |
| only gets worse. | | | | alcoholic wants it. Forcing a treatment |
| | | | program on an alcoholic does not work. If an |
| If an alcoholic is unwilling to seek help, is | | | | alcoholic is going to get anything positive |
| there any way to get them into treatment? | | | | out of an alcohol treatment program, they |
| | | | must be a willing participant. |
| Sure the courts force alcoholics into | | | | |
| treatment all the time. Rehab centers are | | | | The (AA) membership knows the routine as far |
| overflowing with people who don't want to be | | | | as the alcoholic is concerned. They are all |
| there. The real question is, will forcing an | | | | recovering alcoholics too. They supply the |
| alcoholic into treatment guarantee recovery? | | | | means, knowledge, and opportunity. It's up to |
| The answer is no. | | | | the alcoholic to take action. It's part of |
| | | | the reason why (AA) is so effective. Very |
| A perfect example is the alcoholic with | | | | simply, they understand the alcoholic is a |
| multiple DUI arrests. These folks have all | | | | person whose life is controlled by alcohol. |
| been through one or more alcohol treatment | | | | |
| programs. Why didn't any of them stick? The | | | | Nagging the alcoholic is not the answer to |
| answer is the alcoholic refused to admit to | | | | successful recovery. Or is it an effective |
| themselves they have a problem. | | | | method to get an alcoholic to stop drinking. |
| | | | The choice must be made by the alcoholic. |
| No alcoholic is hopeless. If you're trying to | | | | |
| get an alcoholic sober, learn to accept the | | | | Admitting you're an alcoholic is not a |
| fact that the alcoholic is sick, from an | | | | requirement for membership to (AA), it is |
| illness he cannot control, and neither can | | | | however, the #1 requirement to your recovery. |
| you. The alcoholic is addicted and an addict | | | | Don't Drink Today - and get involved. Listen |
| cannot stop on their own volition. | | | | to a speaker. Hear their story. In many cases |
| | | | you'll find it's not all that different from |
| The first step in treating the alcoholic is | | | | yours. |
| the detoxification stage. The alcoholic must | | | | |
| truly want to stop drinking or detoxification | | | | If you don't like the first meeting you |
| becomes a temporary solution. The biggest | | | | attend, go to a different one. It's not like |
| symptom to overcome for an alcoholic is their | | | | they're difficult to find. Eventually you |
| denial of having a drinking problem. An | | | | will find a meeting you like, with people who |
| alcoholic is "someone who could be helped and | | | | care and are will help you through the |
| is worth helping only if they decide not to | | | | recovery process. |