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Article #23: Help For The Alcoholic

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






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