Call 888-647-0579 to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.

Who Answers?

5 Tips for Success in Alcohol Addiction Treatment

Compared to other types of addiction rehab, alcohol addiction treatment carries a 50 to 60 percent success rate, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. People who enter alcohol addiction treatment and follow the program greatly increase their likelihood of a successful recovery.

Truth be told, recovering from an alcohol addiction is no easy process, even in cases where a person does follow the program. As with any challenge or pursuit, employing a few helpful tips can make the recovery process easier in the long run.

Here are five tips for success in alcohol addiction treatment that can help ease the process along –

1. Choosing the Right Treatment Program

Making recovery your priority and taking things day by day are indispensable tips in your recovery.

While standardized methods for treating alcohol addiction do exist, programs that use a cookie-cutter approach to treatment may not be able to address a person’s individual treatment needs. Ideally, any one person’s treatment plan should be matched to his or her specific needs, whether those needs be medical care, psychological treatment or any other treatment needs.

Effective alcohol addiction treatment programs start the process off by conducting a thorough assessment of a person’s condition. Information gathered from the assessment becomes the basis of a person’s treatment plan.

2. Developing a Support Network

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, alcoholism has disease-like effects on the brain and body that persist much like the effects from any other kind of disease. Likewise, alcoholics develop an addiction lifestyle that reflects the psychological mindset created by alcoholism.

Developing a support network (friends, sponsors and treatment professionals) throughout the recovery process enables a person to establish the type of lifestyle that supports long-term sobriety.

3. “One Day at a Time”

Long-term sobriety happens on a day-by-day basis. While long-term sobriety is ultimately the goal to shoot for, a “one day at a time” mindset can help keep a person from feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of never drinking again.

A day-by-day approach entails setting small, reachable goals that support the overall goal of sobriety. In effect, the bulk of each day should entail staying busy, working towards personal goals and having a little fun along the way.

4. Aftercare Planning

For people coming off long histories of alcohol abuse, achieving long-term sobriety means having needed resources and supports in place. Once a person completes treatment, it’s important to remain engaged in the recovery process for as long as he or she intends to remain sober.

Alcohol addiction treatment programs are a great place to gather referrals to other addiction-related community services. Addiction services to consider include:

Local 12-step support groups
Therapists
Physicians

5. Make Recovery a Top Priority

In many ways, recovering from alcohol addiction entails doing the exact opposite of what you used to do when drinking. Just as alcohol was a top priority in your life before recovery, recovery becomes “the” top priority for maintaining sobriety.

As a top priority, maintaining sobriety must dictate the type of friends a person has and the types of activities in which he or she engages. After completing treatment, 12-step support group meetings should become a regular part of a person’s life.

More Treatment & Detox Articles

Is Executive Drug Treatment Right for Me?

Substance abuse is a serious problem that affects thousands of people both rich and poor. Suffering from drug addiction does not have to be the end of your career and you don’t have to feel like there is no hope for you if you are a business professional who is addicted to drugs. Executive drug….

Alcohol and Stress: Is There a Connection?

Not everyone drinks in response to stress. A number of factors, including genetics, usual drinking behavior, experiences with alcohol or other drugs, and social support, help determine whether a person will drink during a stressful situation. Does drinking help people relax? Researchers aren’t quite sure. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism,….

FTC, Florida Attorney General Charge Promoters of Bogus Alcohol Cure

The Federal Trade Commission is suing a company that touted a phony cure for alcoholism, charging that it tricked hundreds of problem drinkers into paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for a service prescribing ineffective concoctions of natural supplements, and then threatened to reveal the drinkers’ alcohol problems if they canceled their memberships. Filed jointly….

Alcohol attitudes

Overconsumption of alcohol has claimed another victim. This case hits close to home because it took the life of a 19-year-old Kansas University student. Autopsy results have not been released, but the father of Jason Wren has cited mounting evidence that a night of excessive drinking cost his son his life. Jason reportedly consumed multiple….

Professionals Are Drinking The Working Classes Under The Table

Britain’s alcohol epidemic is being fuelled by stressed middle-class drinkers, it was revealed yesterday. As figures showed drink-related deaths more than doubling since the early 1990s, research also revealed that white- collar workers are more likely to consume alcohol every day than the working classes. Most admit their heaviest drinking is done at home, with….