Types of Alcoholism & How Treatment Centers Can Help
Living with an alcoholic can be extremely hard and stressful and being addicted to alcohol can cause both psychological and physical damage to a person’s body. Since alcohol is the number one abused drug in the world there are many people who suffer from alcohol addiction and since alcohol addiction effect millions of Americans, there are numerous treatment centers located in the United States to help people overcome their addiction.
Types of Alcoholism
Most people have a picture in their head when they think of what an alcoholic looks like, such as a homeless man walking down the street with no shoes and poor hygiene. However, there are different types of alcoholics because people can be addicted to alcohol is different ways.
According to www.my-alcohol-addict.com, alcoholics can be categorized into different types of groups, below is a list of groups regarding different types of alcoholism:
Young Adult – Generally become alcoholics in their early twenties. Drink less frequently than other alcoholics, but when they do drink they tend to binge drink. Young adult alcoholics are usually fairly functional in society with occasional lapses that people wonder about.
Young Antisocial – Generally become alcoholic while still in their teens. They tend to be manipulative or exploitive of other people, often violating their rights and often end up in trouble with the law early in life.
Functional – These are generally working middle-aged adults who manage to maintain reasonably stable relationships and work lives. They generally don’t drink every day. They are similar to social drinkers, drinking three or four times per week. However, when they do drink, they become intoxicated, often drinking more than five drinks in one setting.
Chronic – This is the type most people think of when they think of what an alcoholic is like, although these represent only one in ten alcoholics. Chronic alcoholics are usually men with poor relationship and work histories and rink whenever they can. Sometimes these men end up homeless.
Treatment Options for Alcoholics
There are a wide variety of treatment center options available to people who wish to stop drinking. Inpatient rehabs are one of the options available for people to go to get help with their alcohol addiction. At an inpatient center a person will live at the treatment center and receive around the clock care while they are there. Furthermore, a patient of an inpatient treatment center will have all of the resources they need such as doctors and therapists to help them through their cleansing process.
Outpatient centers are another option for alcoholics to choose. At an outpatient center a person will receive treatment, usually during the day, to help them overcome their addiction. Outpatient programs typically consist of therapy sessions and strategies, which will differ with each outpatient center, to help a person get and stay clean from alcohol.
Inpatient and outpatient treatment centers both will provide a person with therapy sessions, needed medication, necessary medical resources, and support as well as education to help a person deal with the struggles and hardships of coming off of alcohol.