Alcohol Addiction Treatment & Rehab in Prescott, AZ

The first step to recovering from alcohol addiction is admitting there is a problem. If you have a loved one who may not be ready to come to terms with their dependence, it is important that you be persistent and keep trying to start a conversation with them about their wellbeing. You cannot force someone to seek help, but the knowledge that you are there and that you are concerned may be the push they need to seek treatment for alcoholism.

If you have a son, daughter, parent, or loved one that is in need of alcoholism treatment in Arizona, there are several things you can do:

• Learn about alcohol use disorder to gain a better understanding of what they are going through.
• Let them know you are available and that you are concerned for their wellbeing.
• Practice what you are going to say to them ahead of time. Approach them from a place of compassion and adopt a nonjudgmental tone.
• Understand that they may be resistant to you and be prepared for this possibility. Remember, they may not realize they have a problem or may be in denial.
• Offer your support and urge them to seek treatment. If they vow to cut back on drinking out of their own accord, ask them to make a concrete commitment and check in with their progress.
• In situations where someone refuses to acknowledge an obvious problem, it may be best to organize an intervention with the help of an experienced professional.

Treatment for alcohol abuse disorder can include:

• Detoxification: Individuals who struggle with the disease might experience severe withdrawal symptoms. A detox program, which usually lasts 4 days to a week, can help prevent symptoms.
• Residential programs: Such programs include many services, including individual or group alcohol addiction therapy, support groups, and other helpful strategies and forms of treatment.
• Counseling: Many treatment programs also include counseling, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which is often used to address alcohol dependency.

Understanding the Levels of Drinking: From Moderate to Severe

It's important to understand the different levels of drinking in order to recognize when alcohol use has become a problem. From moderate drinking to severe alcohol abuse, each level carries its own set of risks and consequences. By being aware of these levels, individuals can better assess their own drinking habits and seek help if needed.

Here are the levels of drinking:

• Moderate drinking: This level involves consuming alcohol in a responsible manner, such as having a drink with dinner or socializing with friends. Moderate drinking does not typically lead to negative consequences or health issues.
• At-risk drinking: At-risk drinking is characterized by consuming alcohol in a way that increases the risk of developing alcohol-related problems. This may include binge drinking or regularly exceeding recommended limits.
• Alcohol abuse: Alcohol abuse involves a pattern of drinking that leads to negative consequences, such as legal issues, relationship problems, or health complications. Individuals who abuse alcohol may struggle to control their drinking and may continue to do so despite the negative impact on their lives.
• Alcohol dependence: Also known as alcoholism, alcohol dependence is a severe form of alcohol abuse that involves physical and psychological dependence on alcohol. Individuals with alcohol dependence may experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop drinking and may continue to drink despite knowing the harm it causes.

By understanding the levels of drinking, individuals can assess their behavior and seek appropriate help if they recognize signs of alcohol abuse or dependence. Decision Point Center offers personalized alcohol addiction treatment programs to address each individual's unique needs and challenges.

Once a person agrees to seek treatment, the first step is typically detoxification. Alcohol withdrawal is an uncomfortable experience and is one that you should not attempt to endure alone. In many cases, individuals who attempt to quit drinking "cold turkey" without professional help may relapse immediately due to the symptoms of withdrawal, putting a stop to their recovery journey before it can even begin.

Withdrawal symptoms may begin in as little as six hours after a person's last drink. Symptoms of alcohol withdrawal typically involve the following:

• First 6 to 12 hours: Feelings of anxiety, agitation, headaches, nausea, vomiting, food cravings.
• 12 to 24 hours: Disorientation, tremors, dehydration, seizures
• 48 hours: Insomnia, blood pressure spikes, fever, sweating, confusion

Arizona alcohol abuse treatment is generally covered by insurance. To make the rehabilitation process as stress-free as possible, Decision Point Center accepts a variety of insurance plans. We know this may be a difficult time for you and your loved ones, and we want to be reasonably flexible, so that this process is easier on everyone.

Decision Point Center is proud to accept:

 People who struggle with alcoholism can have mild, moderate, or severe symptoms. Some people withdraw from normal life to feed their addiction, but others can function almost normally.

In any case, keep an eye out for the following signs and symptoms of alcoholism:

• Avoiding school, work, or family responsibilities so you have more time to drink
• Losing interest in hobbies and activities that were once important to you
• Drinking despite negative effects on your relationships and career
• Constantly thinking about your next drink
• Engaging in risky behavior after drinking (fighting, driving, having unprotected sex)
• Needing more and more alcohol to feel intoxicated
• Storing alcohol in odd places to conceal it from others
• Frequent blackouts and lost time
• Experiencing withdrawal symptoms when you stop drinking
• Inability to cut back or quit drinking

Many of these symptoms are behavioral, but increased tolerance and withdrawal are largely physical. Someone with alcoholism might be sick or hungover all the time – or experience insomnia, shakiness, nausea, sweating, a racing heart, or even seizures when they stop drinking. Another symptom, in extreme cases, is experiencing hallucination due to alcohol withdrawal. It's at this point many start considering where to get help for alcoholism.

If you are experiencing two or more of the symptoms above, it’s time to get help. Visit our admissions pageto get started.

If you’ve ever done something embarrassing or regrettable while under the influence of alcohol, you probably have a good idea of the immediate effects of alcohol use, and embarrassment is one of the more minor concerns. While drunk, your judgment is impaired, which can lead to risky behavior and harmful outcomes. One extreme example is when intoxicated people decide to drink and drive and cause car accidents and/or get arrested for a DUI.

Alcohol can also blur your vision and cause your speech to become slurred. Many people drink to cope with social anxiety, but there are better and healthier ways to cope with anxiety.

One of the scariest effects of alcohol use is blacking out. This happens when you continue to interact with people and make decisions, but you are unable to remember or experience any of these events.

Alcohol use can even cause you to lose your ability to function entirely and pass out. Passing out is dangerous because your brain and body effectively “turn off,” which can lead to falls, choking on your own vomit, and/or failure to notice alcohol poisoning.

Using alcohol can not only cause a bad night (and a serious hangover), but it can also create a slew of adverse health effects over time. Drinking is extremely hard on your liverand can lead to harmful long-term effects, such as:

• Liver damage and disease
• Pancreatitis
• Damage to the heart (cardiomyopathy)
• Stomach ulcers
• High blood pressure
• Increased risk of stroke
• Cancer
• Problems with the immune system
• Osteoporosis
• Brain and nerve damage
• Vitamin deficiencies
• Sexual dysfunction

Additionally, long-term use of alcohol can cause serious mental health concerns, like anxiety and depression.

Alcohol use coupled with a mental health disorder is what is called a co-occurring disorder, or a dual diagnosis. Fortunately, Decision Point Center can help.

Alcohol Can Change Your Brain

Your brain and body are designed to adapt to your environment, so if frequent alcohol use becomes part of your environment, your brain will adapt accordingly. Once the brain changes to accommodate an alcohol addiction, it does not “unadapt,” so some of the changes your brain makes will continue to create problems throughout your life. As we mentioned earlier, alcohol addiction can make you more susceptible to mental illnesses and co-occurring disorders.

Anyone can develop this disease, though there are several factors that can increase a person’s risk of developing alcohol abuse disorder.

Here are some of the factors that are commonly linked to the development of alcohol abuse disorder:

• Depression: Individuals who struggle with depression might try to reduce their symptoms by drinking. Unfortunately, too much alcohol consumption often aggravates this condition.
• Stress: When a person’s stress levels are high, it can drive a person to consume alcohol in an effort to relieve it. Certain stress hormones are actually linked to excessive alcohol consumption.
• Ease of access: For those who have substantially easy access to alcohol, there is a greater risk of alcohol abuse. In fact, according to one study, alcohol-related deaths decrease when taxes on alcohol increase.
• Social drinking: In some cases, alcohol abuse disorder starts due to social drinking. When a person’s friends regularly drink, this can easily influence one’s drinking behavior, resulting in excessive alcohol consumption.
• Genetics: If someone’s family has a history of alcohol abuse or substance abuse, this might make him or her more likely to abuse alcohol as well.

You May Be Drinking More than You Realize

Alcohol affects men and women differently due to their hormones, their muscle to fat ratio, and how water is concentrated in their bodies.

Generally speaking, women absorb more alcohol and metabolize it more slowly, so they are more likely to sustain long-term damage for alcohol. Men on the other hand, may drink more excessively and engage in riskier behaviors.

Both men and women have a tendency to drink more alcohol than they realize. This is because beverages at restaurants and bars can have up to 3 standard drinks worth of alcohol.

A standard drink contains 14 grams (or 0.6 ounces) of pure alcohol. For popular beverages, this means 1 drink is:

• 12 ounces of regular beer
• 5 ounces of wine
• 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits
• 8 to 9 ounces of malt liquor

Binge drinking is a high-risk drinking pattern that is becoming increasingly common in modern America. While a person does not need to be dependent on alcohol to binge drink, doing so can quickly lead down the path to a much deeper drinking problem.

Some facts about binge drinking courtesy of the CDC:

• 37 million US adults admit to binge drinking at least once per week, consuming 7 drinks per binge on average.
• Adults age 18 to 34 are most likely to engage in binge drinking, while adults age 35 and older who binge drink are more likely to drink more per binge.
• Binge drinking is responsible for almost half the deaths and three-quarters of the costs due to excessive alcohol use.
• Excessive drinking accounts for 1 in 10 total deaths among working-age adults aged 20 to 64 years.

Other behaviors and health conditions commonly connected to binge drinking include:

• Hypertension, heart disease, and stroke
• Violence
• Liver disease
• Certain types of cancer
• Injuries and accidents
• Unintended pregnancy
• Sexually transmitted diseases
• Miscarriages

Many people enjoy having a drink from time to time and can do so safely in moderation. Some studies have even suggested a possible link between moderate drinking and certain health benefits. But how much is too much? At what point does drinking alcohol go from being relatively safe to dangerous?

Drinking patterns are generally broken down into the following categories:

• Moderate: According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, moderate alcohol consumption is defined as up to 1 drink per day for women and 2 drinks per day for men. This is generally considered low-risk.
• Heavy: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines heavy drinking as 15 or more drinks per week for men and 8 or more drinks per week for women. Heavy drinkers have a higher risk of developing alcohol use disorder than moderate drinkers.
• Binge drinking: The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines binge drinking as the practice of drinking an amount of alcohol that brings the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08% or higher. This generally equates to consuming 5 or more drinks for men or 4 or more drinks for women in a time period of two hours. Any form of binge drinking can increase an individual's risk of alcohol use disorder.
• Extreme binge drinking: Binge drinking far beyond the 0.08% BAC threshold can be considered extreme binge drinking. Sometimes referred to as "high intensity drinking," some studies define this as drinking more than double the gender-specific binge drinking thresholds, or 10 drinks for men and 8 for women.
• Alcoholism: Alcoholism occurs when a person's drinking habits transition beyond abusing alcohol to developing a physical dependency for it, requiring them to drink constantly to avoid experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms.

Learn More About Our Inpatient Alcohol Rehab Program

When you leave our Arizona alcohol rehab facility and begin the rest of your life, Decision Point Center is committed to finding you a support system to help you transition back into the world. Being able to turn to others is a vital part of your long-term sobriety, which is why we ensure patients participate in 12-step recovery meetings, in addition to Celebrate Recovery.

Maintain an addiction-free lifestyle and prevent relapse by calling Decision Point Center now. With our Arizona alcohol rehab professionals, hope is always possible.

To learn more about insurance coverage, treatment programs, and for other questions, contact us now at (844) 292-5010.

Recommended Reading

• America's Alcohol Problem
• Hobbies for Recovering Alcoholics
• Binge Drinking: College Students and Early Alcoholism
• "Deaths of Despair" from Alcohol Use at an All-Time High
• Alcohol Abuse Can Make Veterans' PTSD Symptoms Worse
• U.S. Mortality Rates Up Due to Alcoholism
• Beyond Binge Drinking: Spotting Harmful Drinking Patterns
• How You Can Escape the Cycle of Alcohol Use Disorders