Alcohol Addiction Treatment in Laredo, TX
Alcohol addiction is not only a serious problem, it can be life-threatening if a person tries to withdraw from alcohol on their own. For this reason, a person with alcohol addiction should seek alcohol addiction treatment at a center for alcohol addiction treatment in Laredo.
Sometimes a legal substance can have devastating and addictive effects on a person's life. This is true for a person who struggles with alcohol addiction. Alcohol addiction occurs when a person loses control over their relationship with alcohol and can no longer control how much they drink. A person who suffers from alcohol addiction will experience strong cravings for alcohol and will experience withdrawal symptoms if they haven't had a drink in a while. Our drug detox in Laredo will work to rid the addict of these physical dependencies.
Alcohol Addiction Signs and Symptoms
Alcohol addiction can be difficult to recognize in a loved one because they may often do much of their drinking in secret. Sometimes a loved one may pass off a person's heavy drinking as simply social drinking. Regardless of how much or how often a person drinks, a person has a drinking problem when drinking has led to problems in their life. This can be personal, professional, legal, and/or health problems. When a person has these problems, they can benefit from alcohol addiction treatment in Laredo.
Additional symptoms a person may experience that could indicate the need for alcohol addiction treatment include:
- Lying to others about drinking habits.
- Frequently "blacking out" or losing consciousness due to drinking.
- The person always drinks more than they say they will.
- A person experiences side effects from withdrawals when they stop drinking. Examples can include shaking, racing heartbeat, and body aches.
- Experiencing legal problems due to drinking, such as arrests for drunk and disorderly contact or driving under the influence.
- Changes in physical appearance, such as a deterioration in appearance and lack of personal hygiene.
- A person starts to neglect family, friends, work, and other activities they once enjoyed.
Several risk factors exist that put a person at greater risk for struggling with alcohol addiction. Examples of these include having a family history of alcoholism or associating with others who are very heavy drinkers. Those who suffer from a mental health condition are also at risk and may require treatment for dual diagnosis in Laredo. Examples of these conditions include anxiety, bipolar disorder, or depression. Sometimes someone with a mental illness may use alcohol as a form of self-medication to try and escape the symptoms associated with addiction.
Why Should I Enter an Alcohol Addiction Treatment Center?
According to HelpGuide.org, patient denial is one of the biggest reasons a person doesn't seek alcohol addiction treatment. They may not see their drinking as problematic and can blame others or their circumstances for why they drink so much. A person may also refrain from seeking alcohol addiction drug rehab in Laredo because they believe they can quit drinking any time they want to. However, a drinking problem is a disease, just like high blood pressure or diabetes is. Rarely can a person simply overcome this disease without professional alcohol addiction rehab.
Another problem with alcohol withdrawals that is largely unique to alcohol abuse is the severity of symptoms a person can experience due to alcohol withdrawals. Alcohol withdrawal can lead to a condition known as the delirium tremens or DTs. This condition causes hallucinations, delirium, seizures, and rapid heart rate. A person is at greatest risk for DTs if they drink 4 to 5 pints of wine, 7 to 8 pints of beer or 1 pint of hard liquor every day, according to the National Institutes of Health. Those who have been a heavy drinker for more than 10 years or who have gone through alcohol withdrawals before are also at a greater risk. Through alcohol addiction treatment in Laredo, a person can receive medical support should the DTs occur.
Alcohol problems are not only a physical dependence, they are also a problem of mental dependence on alcohol. This means alcohol is rarely as easy to quit as a person wants it to be. By seeking treatment at an alcohol addiction treatment facility, a person can also receive help to learn how to break their personal reliance on alcohol to get through each day.
Alcohol addiction treatment is associated with a high rate of success. According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, anywhere from 40 to 70 percent of people who get treatment for alcohol addiction remain alcohol-free and an estimated 33 percent do not have withdrawal symptoms or ill effects from drinking after one year.