Every year, 95,000 people don’t make it.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that’s the number of Americans who die from alcohol-related causes each year. Accidents, assaults, DUIs, and even poisonings all contribute to a yearly total that often goes unmarked.
And if you think that’s shocking, consider this: The 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) survey found 14.5 million Americans aged 12 years and older had alcohol use disorder. How many ended up getting alcohol addiction treatment?
Only around 7%.
Let’s continue being blunt for a moment: alcohol use disorders are serious (and treatable) illnesses. People affected by alcohol addiction don’t just harm themselves. Their careers, long-term goals, and relationships (basically, everything that makes life worth living) get wrecked. Their families and friends suffer as well.
So why do only 7% of people ever receive treatment for alcohol use disorders?
A question with no easy answers, it’s a combination of different factors involving false perceptions, pride, and even economics. Let’s explore them and see why they’re false.
4 Ways People Avoid Treatment
A river in Egypt: Forgive the pun, but denial is a huge driving force in alcohol addiction. Substances like alcohol rewire the brain, making the body believe it needs the substance to continue normal functioning.
Also, the way people use alcohol contributes to denial as well; when you drink to distract yourself from social pressures or to make your problems go away, you’re fooling yourself. Your problems and pressures will still be there when you sober up, unfortunately, and that distraction also helps hide how much you’re drinking from yourself.
It’s too expensive: Like any medical service, yes, there is a material cost to rehab. However, rehab providers will happily work with insurers to make sure their treatment program is available to as many people who need it. Also: the Affordable Care Act includes substance abuse as one of its 10 essential health benefits. Finally, the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act further protects patients seeking substance abuse treatment.
They’re ashamed …: Addiction is really about someone beating themselves up time and time again, and it’s a fight they always lose. People in the grip of addiction often do things that may be foolish, harmful, or wrong, and the idea of facing them can often produce intense shame.
It shouldn’t. Yes, making amends is part of treatment but it’s also an incredibly freeing act that allows patients to leave their pasts in the past where it belongs. Also, want to know the true guilty party? It’s the stigma around addiction.
… And afraid: The unknown can be scary to everyone. For a person who’s used to the emotional armor of substance abuse, it’s more so. A long journey into the unknown, treatment usually starts with a period of detox – which can be a difficult but necessary, process to get through. Also, recovery is intended as a lifetime commitment, itself something of an intimidating prospect.
Yes, the prospect of rehab can be scary. However, it’s not jail: rehab is a community of caring professionals, many of which have been through the exact situations the patient has. However nervous or apprehensive new clients may be, many of them experience a distinct sense of relief as they progress through recovery.
Left untreated, however, addiction is even more frightening, a pathway into illness, damaged lives, and … well, that statistic at the top of this blog.
What’s Treatment Actually Like?
The specific experience is dependent on the patient’s needs and the methods used by their rehab provider. In general, patients travel through four distinct treatment phases as they journey towards sobriety.
In most cases, treatment starts with detox. Often tossed around as a buzzword, detox describes a process where addictive substances leave the body. Undergoing detox from alcohol should be done in a medically supervised setting; the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal can be serious.
Once detoxification is done and the patient is stabilized, the actual work of rehab begins. Many patients benefit from a period spent in an inpatient facility, where they can receive 24/7 monitoring and care as they participate in various therapy sessions and classes aimed at rebuilding their lives.
As they progress, some patients participate in partial hospitalization programs (PHPs), during which they transition from the closely monitored residential phase into greater independence.
Intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) allow patients greater independence while still participating in their treatment. Patients in IOPs also receive more life skill training, such as forging healthy relationships, independent living, and focusing on long-term, lifetime goals.
After IOP? There are many 12-step and other support groups aimed at helping the newly sober find positive communities and continued success. Sobriety isn’t a destination, it’s a state of being which needs to be maintained throughout life.
No one should suffer needlessly. Alcohol addiction is a serious problem, but it’s solvable with the right solution.
Sober Living Is A Major Help In Recovering From Alcohol Abuse
Trying to quit on your own from alcohol addiction, or taking the so-called “cold turkey” route, is likely to be unsuccessful … and potentially dangerous. Someone looking to free themselves from addiction should consider looking at a sober living house.
Sober homes provide the ideal place for alcohol addiction recovery. They provide a safe, ordered space in which lifesaving work can be done free from temptations and other distractions. Plus, there’s nothing like having a like-minded community to fall back on when you’re struggling, a crucial aid during one’s recovery.
Finding the right sober home for you can be a struggle. SoberLivingNearYou.com was designed as your one-stop destination for finding your ideal sober living solution. With thousands of listings at your fingertips, you’ll be able to find the perfect sober home for your needs.
Check out SoberLivingNearYou.com today!
