Your health care provider or mental health provider will ask additional questions based on your responses, symptoms and needs. Preparing and anticipating questions will help you make the most of your appointment time. Primary care and mental health providers can provide effective AUD treatment by combining new medications with brief counseling visits. When seeking professional help, it is important that you feel respected and understood and that you trust the person, group, or organization to help you.
- Or drink soda, water, or juice between alcoholic drinks.
- Your health care provider or mental health provider will ask additional questions based on your responses, symptoms and needs.
- This may mean giving up certain friends and social connections.
- Alcohol causes changes in your brain that make it hard to quit.
Setbacks Are Part of the Process
In addition, the search tools on the Navigator may not capture every possible higher-quality treatment provider in your vicinity. For any addiction therapist you are considering, be sure to ask the 10 recommended questions, and use the answers to check for five signs of higher-quality care. Your health care provider or counselor can suggest a support group. However, your participation can make a big difference.
Options for Treatment
- Through it all, however, be sure to take care of yourself and your mental health.
- In this section, learn more about AUD, the professional treatment options available, and why different people may take different routes to recovery.
- If you turn to alcohol to manage emotional distress, the added overwhelm can prompt the urge to drink, making success seem even more out of reach.
- You may encourage them to call their sponsor, research other treatment options with them such as long-term treatment, or utilize another professional resource.
- Your liver can start to heal, your risks of heart disease and cancer go down, and you may begin to sleep better.
- Finding or reaching out to other sober people can also help.
A health care provider can look at the number, pattern, and severity of symptoms to see whether AUD is present and help you decide the best course of action. Still, to help your search in general, see the Navigator’s summary of five signs of quality alcohol treatment. We also help you spot quality in the “Why you should ask” and “What to listen for” sections for the recommended questions. Supporting someone you love, who’s being treated for unhealthy alcohol use, is a lifelong process because recovery is a lifelong process. Some days will be hard, and others will be easy. Some people are able to stop drinking on their own or with the help of a 12-step program or other support group (see below for links).
Staying Social When You Quit Drinking
What’s most important is looking at your drinking habits and finding a way to cut back that works for you. Becoming more aware of your alcohol triggers and reasons for drinking can help you plan ways to help manage the urge to drink. Maybe you don’t think you depend on alcohol exactly, but https://ecosoberhouse.com/ you still wonder whether you might be drinking too much. Drugs used for other conditions — like smoking, pain, or epilepsy — also may help with alcohol use disorder. Talk to your doctor to see of one of those might be right for you. This is a key step if your drinking problem is severe.
Excessive alcohol use can harm people who drink and those around them. You and your community can take steps to improve everyone’s health and quality of life. That said, If you’ve been drinking excessively, then stopping drinking cold turkey can lead to withdrawal symptoms. In some cases, medical support may be required.
When you meet with your doctor, talk about your goals. Are you trying to drink less or stop drinking completely? Together, you can start to make a treatment plan.
However, this doesn’t mean you can’t implement and enforce healthy personal boundaries. You may also consider joining an online support group to help you feel less alone. Finding or reaching out to other sober people can also help. Letting others know about your choice to stop drinking may help motivate alcohol addiction help you to stick with your decision. From month-long sobriety challenges to the Sober Curious movement, more and more people are taking a closer look at the role alcohol plays in their lives. Group therapy, led by a therapist, can give you the benefits of therapy along with the support of other members.
Here’s some information to help you get ready for your appointment, and what to expect from your health care provider or mental health provider. Today there are more options available for treating alcohol use disorder (AUD) than ever before. Decades of research have led to advances in medications and behavioral therapies to help people recover.
Who is the NIAAA Alcohol Treatment Navigator® for?
- More options available today than you may expect.
- Overall, gather as much information as you can about a program or provider before making a decision on treatment.
Most people receive support to stop drinking and recovery support in the community. The GP may suggest different types of assessment and support options available to you, such as from local community alcohol services. Trained information specialists answer calls, transfer callers to state services or other appropriate intake centers in their states, and connect them with local assistance and support. There may also be recovery resources available in your community. Crystal Raypole has previously worked as a writer and editor for GoodTherapy.
It is also important to remember that while you can do your best to support them, a relapse may occur and is common. If this happens, it is not your fault, regardless of how supportive you’ve been. Moderate drinking is having one drink or less in a day for women, or two drinks or less in a day for men.