Quit Drinking Confessions

Just over two years ago years ago I was a chronic alcoholic and my life was in ruins. I had been addicted to alcohol for over 25 years, but still found it hard to admit that I had a serious problem. I halfheartedly tried to quit drinking alcohol but every time I failed, I just couldn't imagine a life without it. I also tried to control my drinking, but that didn't work either.

I'd start every day off with a can of strong cider and I'd continue to drink throughout the day. I would frequently drive my car whilst under the influence of alcohol, putting other people as well as myself in danger. I'm embarrassed and disgusted to admit it now, but I would frequently wake up in the morning after a heavy night's drinking, not only with a hangover but in a puddle of my own urine.

I was serially unfaithful and put myself at risk of contracting venereal diseases and giving them to my partner. I frequently had blackouts and awoke in strange places with no recollection of how I got there. I would always do things that I regretted whilst under the influence of alcohol and yet despite all this I continued to drink. I finally decided that enough was enough after an unsuccessful attempt at suicide and I haven't drunk since.

Here is the exact formula that I used to quit drinking alcohol and I am certain that if you follow these simple steps you will be able to give up drinking for good too.

Accept that you've got a problem

Being able to accept that you've got a problem with alcohol is the first step that you need to take. The person who is ready to quit drinking alcohol is the person who is not in denial. The alcoholic's first line of defence is always to say that they are not an alcoholic and to reel off lame excuses for their habit. It took me over 25 years to be able to say that I was an alcoholic and to stop making excuses for my addiction.

Make a commitment to quit drinking alcohol

Once you have admitted to yourself that you are an alcoholic, the next thing that you need to do is to look at the reasons why you are drinking and ask yourself some questions. For example, why is the thought of life without alcohol unbearable? What motivates you to drink? why do you continue to drink even though it's destroying your relationships and your health? I'm sure you can think of many other questions, just grab a pen and paper and write down everything that comes to mind.

Seek medical help

If you are a chronic alcoholic then you will need to quit alcohol under medical supervision. Make an appointment to see a physician and talk to them honestly about your drinking and your intention to stop. They will be able to prescribe you with medication to make the withdrawal process a comfortable experience.

Stop drinking

Once you have stopped drinking alcohol it will be necessary in the early days to avoid the people and places you associate with alcohol. It may be a good idea you to find a support group where you can discuss your feelings and ask for help should you need to. I would recommend that you look at SMART and Rational Recovery as these are two great resources available to you on the Internet. I personally wouldn't recommend Alcoholics Anonymous as I didn't find them to be helpful and I don't believe that their recovery statistics are that great, but that is only my opinion.

Make a plan

Once you have stopped drinking alcohol you need to come up with a strategy to keep yourself from returning to it. In the early days of stopping drinking you will come up with all manner of excuses to return to it. You may decide that you will be able to control it, you will start to see it as less of a problem, you will start to remember only the good times that you had drinking etc. For every argument you will need to have a solid counter argument. So think about all of the reasons why returning to drinking might be an option and write them down along with all of the reasons why you want to stay stopped.

Get support from your family and friends

Tell your family and friends how serious you are about stopping drinking and ask them to be considerate of your decision. Ask them not to drink around you in the early days and avoid having alcohol in the house. Their support will make not drinking a lot easier.

Keep a diary

It's a very good idea to keep a diary when you stop drinking and it can serve as a powerful tool in your recovery. Writing down how you are feeling and all the problems that you are experiencing can be liberating and will keep you firmly committed to overcoming your addiction.
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An Overview of Alcohol Addiction Rehab Center

Alcohol rehab centers are basically aimed to facilitate the alcoholics physically, mentally and spiritually and also help them to rediscover themselves in an alcohol free environment. The success rate of recovery from rehab center is real and they save lives every day.

This is not necessary that, every addicted human being make a positive response after one therapy. Some of them need more extra treatment for log term. A good rehab center provides almost every facility along with the crucial treatment facilities.

An alcohol rehabilitation center offers a lot of facilities for their patients. Fortunately all the rehabilitation centers have most common treatment methodologies. The recovery or treatment methodologies are: detoxification using prescribed drugs and proper diet control, after detoxification - physical and mental recovery through counseling.

Most of the rehabilitation centers conduct a self test to determine the addiction level. This session includes some questions like - the person is a regular drinker or not? Did he can't remember after drinking? Does the person stop drinking just immediate after one or two drinks - and so may assessment like questions. The person should answer those questions honestly.

After determining the condition of the person, the responsible professionals will suggest the probable course of actions. First of all rehab centers make a research on addict, to find out the reason for addiction. Then they specify the treatment process and recommended therapy. After implementing the treatment they look after on prevention. The prevention also includes a huge variety of therapies. This process of treatment includes - yoga, music therapy, Ayurveda and meditation. The most common features of any rehab centers are: hall for meditation, library, research centers, play ground, swimming pool along with accommodation.

Over the last century, researchers find out a very efficient treatment methodologies called 12 steps program, although every therapy is effective for a certain degree. Now a day a growing number of rehabilitation centers have developed their own treatment approaches by combining all the treatment methodologies. The effectiveness of the therapy hidden under individual care, that means one or more expert stuffs will make an outline for the treatment and maintain it.

The way of healing is different for each addicted people. So only the experts can distinguish the exact path and how to treat them. But the foremost thing is what's the issue involved? You cannot treat the addiction until you will know the real cause of addiction.

Rehabilitation centers have experienced for individual and group counseling to prevent the relapse of alcoholism. Now the question is how the alcohol rehabilitation centers can help the addicts? Just stopping alcohol intake is not a permanent solution without paying attention on the mental or emotional issues of addicts. The patient needs support in every sphere of his life.
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Various Treatment For Alcohol Addiction

Those that need alcohol addiction recovery have options to select from. It is very important for anyone that is considering the treatment of their condition to spend a few minutes learning more about their locations and help that is available. Depending on your circumstances, including your funds, your ability to meet the demands and the seriousness of your condition will help you to determine which the ultimate right choice is for you. Alcohol addiction recovery is necessary and life saving no matter what.

Options To Think About

Selecting an alcohol addiction treatment program is something that you have to do. Take some time to talk to each program or opportunity that you have to determine if it is likely to help you overall. There are many drug and alcohol rehab centers around the world, but the one around the corner may be just the right choice for you. Here are some things that should be considered.

· What is the need that you have? Alcohol addiction recovery is often paired with other substance abuse including tobacco and illegal drugs. If this is necessary, a drug and alcohol rehab center is necessary as it will help to work on all substance abuse problems. · Motivation is the key. If you do not have the necessary motivation to pull through on your own, you absolutely need to check yourself into a facility. If you leave it to yourself to attend AA, you may not do it. Alcohol addiction recovery is never easy. But if you will not be able to commit to de-toxing, check yourself in for treatment. · Teens that are facing teen drug addiction have many opportunities too. There are teen drug rehab centers around the country that can help them. Their own doctor can provide a bit of feedback into the severity of their condition to help you to decide on which one.

Alcohol addiction recovery is a very difficult road. A drug and alcohol rehab center may be the best choice for you. Once you are assessed for your specific situation and needs, your doctors and therapists will begin to work with you. You will likely spend time in one on one meetings learning about your own personal situation. You will likely attend many informational courses to learn about the various results of your actions. You will likely work on building your self esteem and creating a better outlook for yourself.

While alcohol addiction recovery is a long, very difficult road, it is the road to truly healing. Although you need to admit that you have a problem for healing to begin, you can get this help and get alcohol, drug detox to help you to focus. Slowing winding you down from the drugs and alcohol you are on is just one method of doing this. Additionally, the goal will be to craft a life that is better for you.

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Explaining Alcohol Addiction Rehab

Alcohol addiction treatment rehab is the not discussed as much in the public domain as drug rehab, with stories most weeks in the press about celebrities going in to residential rehabilitation centres for drug addiction. Alcohol rehab in a residential environment is an intensive treatment method, which can stop the inevitable decline of the alcoholic towards a premature death. Whilst in alcohol addiction rehab, other addictions are often uncovered as well and can be very successfully treated. In short, anyone with a dependence upon alcohol can benefit from alcohol addiction rehab – you don’t have to lose everything before benefiting from specialist treatment for alcoholism.

What happens in alcohol rehab?
Alcohol addiction rehab clinics are very often residential programmes, where the individual stays in accommodation in or around the treatment facility. They provide addiction counselling to help dependent drinkers overcome their illness. The initial phase of treatment within an alcohol rehab is typically very intensive, running 7 days a week, with group and individual counselling, complementary therapies such as art, drama, and music, as well as social activities to help people learn how to interact with others without the need for alcohol.

Do alcohol rehab center deal with other addictions?
The intensive nature of the treatment at an alcohol rehab will very often uncover underlying addictions. Once the individual has been detoxed from alcohol, other addictive behaviours may spring up – this is called cross-addiction, which is where the individual will become addicted to another substance or behaviour, when they stop drinking alcohol. Cross-addiction can be carefully monitored and managed within an alcohol rehababiliation clinic, with the individual who is affected learning about how to manage their condition.
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"Quiz" Treatment for Alcohol Addiction

The short quiz is commonly referred to as " The 20 Questions" and the original, developed by researchers in the addiction field, has been adjusted many times over the years to include all mood-altering substances and prescription medications. As a quick provider in indicating areas of concern, it has proven a valuable tool keyed to behavior among substance abusers and those who may be drinking too much alcohol.

If you or someone you know feels they may have a problem with alcohol, drugs or prescription pills we recommend answering the following questions as honestly as you can! All that's needed is a simple "yes" or "no" and you'll gain a perspective on what you should be doing to turn things around promptly .


* Have I been gulping drinks rather than sipping them?



* When I'm under pressure do I drink or do drugs more than usual?



* Has drinking and substance abuse made me more impulsive and less rational?



* Do I feel guilty about drinking and doing drugs?



* Have I lost time from work because of my dependencies on alcohol and prescription meds?



* Has my drinking and drug use caused abusive conduct at home with my spouse and children?



* Do I continue drinking when companions have stopped?



* Do I sneak drinks or pop pills before or during social events?



* Have I ever had an auto accident because of drinking or substance abuse?



* Do I forget things that happened when I drink or use drugs?



* If alcohol is not available at a social event am I uncomfortable?



* Am I harder to get along with after drinking for a while?



* Do I still claim I can stop drinking and doing drugs whenever I want?



* Do I crave a drink at any special time every day?



* Do I ever need a drink first thing in the morning or a pill to get going?



* Did I ever hide a bottle or a "stash at home?"



* Do I prefer to drink alone so it's possible to drink more?



* Have I lost a job because of my drug use or drinking?



* Do I ever need a drink or a couple of pills to get rid of the "shakes?"



* Do chemical substances or alcohol help me build confidence?


If you answered "yes" to several of these questions it may be time for you to take a closer look at your drinking or use of mood altering drugs. If you took the test for someone else you might want to confront that person now with your results. Those who did answer "yes" should strongly consider consulting with a treatment professional now. One doesn't jump to conclusions but this test will point out the proper direction to take.

Many of us have wondered about "social drinking" and others have pondered the "borders" of substance abuse. When does alcohol or some other mood-altering substance become a concern and how can we tell if we're headed for trouble? The tests helps! When was " alcohol" first discovered and by whom? Has alcoholism and addiction always been a problem among different societies? Why are some groups more than others effected and why do I drink differently than others. These doubts and recurring questions are more and more troubling as dependency grows and addiction to drugs and alcohol becomes a true fear.

The 20 Questions can help advance such a plan. Doubts accompany almost any intake of mood altering substances when capacity limits have been exceeded. Excesses are actually symptomatic and recognized as markers where guilt begins and we ponder major changes in behavior with alcohol or prescription drug intake. It's a point universally shared and may be most important for anyone interested in avoiding the consequences of alcoholism and drug dependency. So how do we know if we've turned the corner on our drinking and it's become an addiction? In the early days of alcoholism and drug treatment therapists and counselors would say: "If you think you have a problem with alcohol or drugs you almost certainly do!" That would often suffice as a personal diagnosis and was followed by a list of behaviors that usually accompany frequent and obsessive bouts with alcohol.

The next step requires honesty with ones self. Since denial is, however, a prime symptom of alcoholism and drug addiction that may not be as easy as it sounds. A clearer answer lies in the person's conduct. We can be sure we're headed for possible alcoholism and addiction if our consumption of any chemical substance has begun to adversely affect a major part of our life.

According to professionals in addiction and alcoholism treatment there is another way of saying it: "An alcoholic or addict is a person who excessively and uncontrollably uses any substances to the point where it interferes with health, family or employment." We recommend you take the " 20 Questions " honestly and follow up with action if the results you get indicate more problems ahead.

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