Drug Addiction Treatment Blog

Alcoholism and the Family

Alcoholism is commonly referred to as ‘the family disease’ in the substance abuse treatment and recovery field because it is just as damaging to family members as it is to the alcoholic. In fact, more family problems stem from alcohol abuse than any other source. According to the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration and the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services 76,000,000 have been affected by alcoholism in their family. That means that one out of every four families is traumatized by ‘the family disease.’

When a Parent Is An Alcoholic

If a woman is an alcoholic and actively drinking when she gets pregnant, her alcoholism affects the child from conception. Chances of birth defects, learning disabilities, miscarriage and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome are a risk even with just one or two drinks. For a pregnant alcoholic, the effects on the baby are severe. Children who grow up in families in which one or both of the parents are alcoholics tend to share a few characteristics:

· Guilt
· Fear
· Shame
· Depression
· Low self-esteem
· Fear of abandonment
· Co-dependency
· Loneliness

The risks of alcohol abuse in relationships with children can be disastrous for child development. Young children often have nightmares and issues with bed wetting and feel responsible for the fights and yelling that accompany alcoholism. They are often tense and cry easily. Older children are often self-conscious and depressed, have trouble in school, and difficulty developing strong friendships and relationships. They are more apt to develop phobias and become alcoholics themselves due to the low self-image that propels their parents’ alcoholism. Unstable home environments lead to early drug use, which in turn leads to a life of addiction.

When a Teenager Is an Alcoholic

When a child is an alcoholic, the disease can be just as disruptive to members of the family. Other siblings may act out in order to get some of the attention that seems to continually focus on the alcoholic. Parents are more apt to be depressed, spend more time at work, and in general, demonstrate unstable mood swings that shift in relation to the alcoholic teenager’s unpredictable behavior.

Parents may feel guilty about one child’s alcoholism and blame each other, causing further rifts in the family’s stability.

Finding Alcoholism Help

Whether or not the alcoholic turns to alcohol rehab, family members need their own recovery. There are a number of support groups and organizations focused on helping the family members of alcoholics. Local meetings, online meetings, and one on one therapy are all options. If you have trouble finding a support group you can call an alcohol rehab or addiction helpline. An addiction helpline can locate an alcohol rehab or support group for you in any part of the country. For additional information please call 1-800-99-DETOX.

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Drug addiction treatment, unlike other types of health care, is more difficult to identify as to which centers provide quality treatment. If you need an orthopedist or dentist you can generally ask one of your neighbors or friends and chances are they are using a physician they trust. When it comes to drug addiction treatment, we do not want to discuss this issue with our neighbors and generally have no idea where to go. Even if we open the yellow pages we find quite a few ads and still do not really know which is the best drug rehab.

If you do not know anyone in the addiction treatment field, the best way to identify an addiction treatment center in your area is to use the services provided by an addiction helpline. An addiction helpline will have first hand knowledge of the quality rehabs in your area, as well as, the ones that match your needs. The helpline should be toll free and not charge you anything for the referral and evaluation. If they do, go to another one. Secondly, the helpline should not be receiving any reimbursement from the addiction treatment center they are referring to. If they are, it will skew their decisions as to where they refer.

Several of the addiction helplines I know of are 1-800-99-DETOX, 1-800-511-9225 and 1-800-759-3430.

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For many years drug rehabs just admitted patients into their rehab and expected them to grasp the program. There was very little individualized care and I am not speaking of individual therapy. I am speaking of being able effectively treat a person’s core issues that don’t fit into the design of a general rehab center. An example would be a person seeking drug addiction treatment with an eating disorder, a history of sexual trauma, dual diagnosis or may be gay with severe issues of internalized homophobia or coming out.

Today drug rehabs across the nation actually specialize in providing drug addiction treatment for “special groups”. You can find rehabs that specialize in dual diagnosis treatment or drug addiction treatment for the gay and lesbian.These rehabs, although certainly able to provide drug addiction treatment, are designed in a way to better address these particular issues. The staff is trained in a manner that allows them to view the patients needs a bit differently which effects the way they provide their clinical services.

Adopting this type of approach to drug addiction treatment is no different than other healthcare providers have been doing for some time. There are now hospitals that specialize in cancer treatment, organ transplants etc. Now rehabs are catching up and the results demonstrate that. To locate drug rehabs such as these I have listed a number of websites which specialize in these areas;

dual diagnosis treatment - www.dual-diagnosis-treatment-center.com

LGBT rehab program - www.gay-rehab.com

These are just two examples. For additional information please call the addiction helpline 1-800-99-DETOX for help.

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Drug rehab in West Virginia without professional help is like boxing without a referee. Although peer group therapy works for some people, it has been proven far more effective to work with credentialed physicians and psychologists who can actually diagnose and get to the core of your problems. To get the most out of your addiction recovery efforts, look for West Virginia drug rehabs that offer a blend of individual, group and family therapy.

Although there remain some drug rehabs that focus exclusively on individual therapy, more progressive programs will utilize a more comprehensive approach to addiction recovery. The result is treatment that includes such diverse features as meditation, hypnotherapy and experiential therapy. Fundamental to this holistic advantage is the notion of traditional talk therapy.

One thing you want to avoid is a drug rehab in West Virginia that requires somehow cutting off contact with your family back home. In fact, as most alumni can tell you, those programs tend to lose their potency rather quickly once you exit the grounds, undermined in part by a jarring return to life. Stay in touch throughout if they will participate in family therapy and your therapist agrees to this.

Whether you are looking for a drug rehab in Maryland, Virginia, Washington or New York, take your time and educate yourself. You may want to contact a nationally recognized addiction helpline to assist in answering many of your questions and provide you guidance in your decision making process. Two addiction helplines you can try are 1-800-99-DETOX or 1-800-511-9225. Both of these numbers are toll free and do not charge for any of their services.

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