August 12th, 2016
Alcoholism is a disease that cuts across all social classes, ethnicities, genders, and cultures. Alcohol is generally regarded as a drug which can distort your judgment, reducing an individual’s ability to maintain a rational perspective. Alcoholism is a debilitating condition that often requires treatment, and Free By The Sea can help you – or a family member who may be struggling with this challenge.
Generally classified as a depressant, if a pattern of heavy drinking persists and results in repeated and significant distress and problems functioning in your daily life, including possibly a depressed outlook on life, then you may very well have alcohol-related problems. Alcoholism is a pattern of use disorder involving alcohol usage where an individual has problems controlling their drinking, may have a tendency towards being preoccupied with alcohol, is continuing to use alcohol even when it causes issues, or is having to drink more and more just to get the same effect, including having withdrawal symptoms when you rapidly decrease or stop drinking.
You can be hopeful, however, that treatment, along with personal motivation, social support, and otherwise good health, can increase your likelihood of recovery. Recovery is affected by your level of alcohol usage disorder, which can range from mild to severe. It’s important to address even a mild disorder with early treatment because even a mild disorder can escalate, leading to more significant issues. Treatment and rehab for alcoholism are possible and recommended for those individuals seeking help. This can include alcohol detox, counseling, and other forms of treatment, all designed to help build a practice of abstinence. Abstinence is a difficult hurdle to overcome and address, because it requires that all of an individual’s ability to abstain is functioning all of the time – in spite of stimuli from society that may cause an individual to want to drink – which is one of the reasons why relapsing is such a challenge for many alcoholics and other individuals who may have problems with alcohol usage.
Not drinking is the safest course of treatment for most people with alcoholism. Anyone who is seeking to make a change must, first of all, identify the problem. The very first step in treating alcoholism – as a problem – is accepting that you have a problem with alcohol that is psychologically affecting your life in the form of a disorder. Confronting an addiction and accepting that drinking is having a damaging effect on your life is a sign that you’re ready to stop drinking and that you are willing to get the support you need, so you can recover from alcoholism and develop the resources you need to abstain from alcohol.
No one is perfect, but everyone has the ability to acknowledge a problem or issue and address it, and it’s vitally important to address the signs and symptoms of alcohol use disorder as quickly and effectively as possible, which is why pursuing treatment, such as at Free By The Sea, is so vital. Please call Free by the Sea today at (360) 777-7050 for more information.
Dr. Richard Crabbe joined our team in 2019 as our psychiatrist and medical director. He attended the University of Ghana Medical School where he became a Medical Doctor in 1977. From 1978 through 1984, he was a medical officer in the Ghana Navy and provided a variety of services from general medicine to surgeries. He received his Certificate in General Psychology from the American Board of Psychology and Neurology in 2002.
