Alcohol can quickly go from the drink you use to have fun with to alcohol addiction. Too much alcohol can lead to issues like memory loss, confusion, nausea and vomiting, and even erectile dysfunction. It can even expose you to long-term illnesses like pneumonia, liver disease, hepatitis, certain cancers, and more if left untreated.

It can be natural to like the feeling of alcohol at first because it can take the feeling of anxiety and stress away temporarily, and you will feel like you are loosening up. But at the same time, that is the feeling that some people can grow to depend on.

Are you questioning if you have lost control of yourself with alcohol? Have others accused you of being an alcoholic? Or, maybe you feel like you have a problem and do not know how to confirm it and take the next steps required.

Here is your guide to alcohol addiction.

Review Your Environment

If you think you have problems with alcohol, you should take a step back and analyze what type of environment you are putting yourself in. Answer these questions for yourself.

 Do you ever hang out with your friends and family without drinking? Do you drink alone? Do you drink alone often? Do you feel like you NEED alcohol to tolerate certain people or aspects of your life?

If you said yes to any of those questions, you need to take a step back and see if you are dependent on alcohol. Try to see what you are like when you are not drinking in those scenarios.

A step further could be cutting friends off who are nothing more than “drinking buddies” if you are looking for a more supportive environment. This may take some effort, as about 1/6 of adults binge drink.

If you said yes to these questions AND cannot take the necessary actions in your current environment, you may even have to ask, where is there alcohol detox near me?

Exercise and Meditate

One of the top reasons people drink alcohol heavily is because of stress. If people feel stressed, they could turn to alcohol because it temporarily relieves the feelings that come with stress. It can make you feel more carefree.

Depression can also be a big reason people binge drink, which can go hand in hand with stress.

For both of these, two of the biggest ways to counter those feelings are exercise and meditation.

Meditation has the ability to relax your mind and get a better grip on your emotions. Exercise, especially in the morning, is a physical way to relieve stressful feelings and give you more energy to get through a day.

These combined will help you be able to relax and boost your morale. If you can find healthier ways to counter stress, depression, or even anxiety, you will find yourself having less of a need to drink those feelings away.

Residential Treatment

If you feel like you cannot control your addiction to alcohol on your own, the step you need to take is residential treatment. This will require a major commitment, both financially and mentally.

You will have to relocate away from your home, surroundings, and friends, and loved ones. Most importantly, you will have to distance yourself from alcohol.

Residential treatment centers typically have a process to get new patients adjusted to their facility. This includes putting them through detox to fight possible withdrawal symptoms, which can get very extreme.

Other steps include therapy to talk patients through recovery, developing skills to fight their addiction, getting patients ready to go back into the real world, and relapse prevention to make sure you do not end up back there.

Besides actually not drinking, residential treatment may be the most difficult step for an alcoholic to face. This is because it forces you to acknowledge that you have a problem and cannot face it alone.

For those that feel like they need to stay overnight, they may need to ask, where is there an inpatient rehab near me?

Connect With Relatable People

One of the easiest ways for two strangers to connect and become better acquainted is to share a common bond. For alcoholics, this can be finding other people that have also had their problems controlling themselves with alcohol.

Groups like Alcoholics Anonymous have become big for this reason. It is usually the one place in an addict’s life where everyone around you can understand exactly what you are going through and exactly what you are thinking.

Finding people you can share with, connect with, and depend on can make or break your recovery process. Some people turn to Sober Living Facilities that can have several people in recovery under one roof to support each other.

If you have other people with this mindset, they can also help hold you accountable for your actions and encourage you to stay on the right track. The best rehab centers you will not feel alone on your road to recovery.

Treat Your Alcohol Addiction

So reading through this, you may have seen signs that you suffer from alcohol addiction. Maybe you are encouraged by the possible results shown.

You may be asking, where is there alcohol treatment near me? Well, if you are in the Kansas City area, check our resources out to see if our recovery center is right for you.

Programs offered include residential treatment, detox, an inpatient program, outpatient program, interventions, family therapy, sober living facilities, and more.

Get away from alcohol while having professionals by your side to give you the help you need.