Drug addiction is a serious disease. It can strike anyone, regardless of age, race, culture, background or socioeconomic status. You’re never too young, too old, too rich, too broke or even too religious to struggle with drug addiction. At any point in time you may find that you’ve crossed the line from drug experimentation to drug addiction.

Is it drug addiction or drug abuse?

The difference between drug addiction and drug abuse tends to be situational. People who abuse drugs may do so during periods of high stress or trauma. This could be a major life transition or transformation such as divorce, death or being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness or disease. In circumstances like this, people are looking for ways to cope with overwhelming feelings of grief and despair. Alcohol or drug abuse can occur as a result of people attempting to cope with these feelings. Generally as the situation improves or these people seek outside help, the alcohol abuse or drug abuse abates and they are able to return to a fairly level normal of functioning without crossing the line into alcoholism or drug addiction.

There are people who are more susceptible to alcoholism and drug addiction based on their genetic make-up. For these people, turning to alcohol or drugs to cope during a bad time can spiral straight into alcohol or drug addiction. Even when the situation has passed and things have balanced out, these individuals continue to abuse alcohol or drugs because they enjoy the effects and aren’t ready to quit. If they don’t recognize the problem and get help, a trip to alcohol rehab or drug rehab is inevitable.

Are you struggling with drug abuse or drug addiction?

In order to determine if you are struggling with drug abuse or drug addiction, there are a few questions you have to ask yourself. How often do you drink or take drugs? Do you take just enough to get by or do you get loaded every time? Is work or school attendance or performance sliding because of your alcohol or drug usage? Have you changed the people you hang out with? Do you isolate more? Have friends and family members expressed concern about your alcohol or drug use? Do you have withdrawal symptoms (headache, nausea, anxiety, body aches) when you quit drinking or using drugs? If you honestly answer these questions, you’ll have a better understanding of how serious your drug use is.

Whether you are dealing with drug and alcohol abuse or drug addiction, most people need professional help to quit drugs and alcohol. The level of care you need depends on the type of drug, how much you take and how long you’ve been taking it. While physical addiction is severed generally within a week, psychological addiction can take months and even years to break. If you suspect that you or a loved one is either struggling with drug abuse or drug addiction, don’t wait any longer. Seek professional help today.

Alcoholism has been defined by the American Medical Association (AMA) as a disease in that it is chronic, progressive and fatal if left untreated. Alcoholism knows no boundaries. It crosses age, race, sex, culture, background and socioeconomic status. The university professor standing at the front of the classroom is just as likely to be afflicted with alcoholism as the college student sitting in the back.

The good news is that alcoholism is treatable with varying degrees of success. It is always the individual who determines how successful alcohol treatment is and their degree of willingness is usually dependent upon the severity of consequences related to their drinking. Most people struggling with alcoholism are unaware they are in the grips of a powerful disease. They make any number of attempts to control it and quite often believe that they can be successful at it. But alcoholism has been described as “cunning, baffling and powerful.” Left to their own devices, those who are in the grips of addiction will likely stay rooted in denial and keep drinking in spite of great devastation wrecked upon themselves and those they love.

Alcoholism is characterized by a powerful obsession and craving for alcohol. This can be unbearable to the point where nothing short of a jail cell can keep an individual from taking a drink. Due to the nature of the disease and the powerful cravings of mind and body, it often takes professional help to arrest alcoholism. Inpatient alcohol rehab is structured to provide a supervised environment where those in the grips of alcoholism can sever their physical and psychological dependency in a safe manner. While physical dependence can be severed in 3 to 10 days, psychological dependency takes much longer. This is why individuals are encouraged to stay in a sober environment for as long as possible. Past associations, friends and places can trigger newly sober individuals to drink and start the spiral down into alcoholism all over again. Like many diseases, alcoholism is never cured. It just goes into remission. All it takes is one drink to trigger the same pattern again.

If you or someone you love is struggling with alcoholism, don’t despair. Alcoholism is treatable and there are hundreds of resources available to help you get started on the path to recovery. Many of them are listed on this website. If you have cravings for alcohol and continue to drink in spite of serious consequences, call and ask for help today.

Alcohol abuse may start innocently enough. Letting off steam on the weekends, sporting events where you tie on a few too many, grabbing a buddy to hit the bar scene after a break-up. No one intentionally sets out to engage in alcohol abuse or set the stage for alcoholism, but all too often that’s exactly what happens.

There’s a lot of misconceptions swirling around about the notion of alcohol abuse and alcoholism. While alcohol abuse is often a precursor to alcoholism, this is not always the case. Someone can abuse alcohol and not be an alcoholic. The difference lies in the genetic make-up of each individual. People predisposed to alcoholism have a genetic predisposition that results in processing alcohol differently than others. This makes it difficult for them to stop drinking once they start. This phenomenon is known as craving. Craving for alcohol occurs on a mental and physical level, and can be so intense in alcoholics that everything else goes out the window. Work, school, relationships, responsibilities - all have been known to fall by the wayside in order to satisfy the craving for alcohol.

This is a considerable difference from someone who may begin drinking heavily after the loss of a loved one. Major life trauma or transitions can lead an individual to abuse alcohol in order to cope with grief and stress. While this is not the healthiest behavior, neither does it mean someone is an alcoholic. The best indicator is life management. If someone drinks, even heavily, but maintains significant responsibilities such as family, work, school and health, then counseling may be a more appropriate course of action than alcohol rehab. However, if after a period of time alcohol abuse continues instead of abates, then professional help to determine whether alcohol rehab is necessary should be sought.

Where alcohol abuse generally occurs in response to life situations, alcoholism is a set of behavioral and personality problems that lends itself to drinking regardless of the circumstances. In any event, if you or a loved one is struggling with alcohol abuse or alcoholism it’s a good idea to seek professional help. A counselor, therapist or intake coordinator at an alcohol rehab can help evaluate your alcohol use and determine whether you need the structured environment of alcohol rehab to overcome it.

Alcohol and Drug Rehab centers offer a safe, supportive environment for people who struggle with alcoholism and drug addiction. They are usually the last resort for individuals who have been drinking or taking drugs to the point where it’s interfering with their life and in some instances, has ruined it completely.

Alcohol and Drug Rehab Inpatient

Alcohol and Drug Rehab offers something you probably haven’t felt in a long time – Hope. It’s a safe place to step off the world for a while and heal under the care of professionals in the medical, clinical and holistic realm. Alcoholism and drug addiction works on a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level. All of these areas need to be addressed in order for you to begin to heal all the damage created by alcohol and drugs. This is a tall order for what is typically only 30 days of alcohol and drug rehab inpatient treatment.

For this reason, most alcohol and drug rehab inpatient programs have 24 hour supervision and limited connection with the outside world. This is so you can concentrate on the alcohol and drug rehab program instead of being distracted by the happenings of friends and loved ones in the outside world. Then too, many of the friends you have when you come into alcohol and drug rehab may be the ones who encouraged drinking and using drugs. There could also be family members who “trigger” you to drink or use. This is why phone, e-mail usage and personal interactions with friends and family members are limited and may even be monitored.

Alcohol and Drug Rehab Recovery

The time you spend in alcohol and drug rehab is the beginning of recovery. Recovery is defined as a process of time spent healing after an extended illness or injury.

Alcoholism and drug addiction is a serious and life-threatening disease that requires learning how to live life differently in order to stay sober. Generally, alcohol and drug rehab recovery programs provide education on the disease of addiction, offer clinical therapy or drug and alcohol counseling to help address emotional issues, and may offer holistic processes such as acupuncture or massage to help the body and spirit mend.

Recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction is considered a lifelong process and for this reason, the 12-step model is generally introduced in alcohol and drug rehab. The benefit of 12-step meetings is they can be found all over the world and offer a sober support network once you leave rehab.  Ultimately, alcohol and drug rehab is designed to give you a solid foundation with enough life management tools for you to build a happy, fulfilling life in sobriety.

How do you know when you or a loved one needs alcohol rehab? While many people do have to hit bottom in order to ask for help, this doesn’t have to be the case. Many people are able to recognize their need for alcohol rehab before losing everything dear to them. Unfortunately, just as many have to lose loved ones, careers, homes, opportunities and even their freedom before recognizing that they need to get help.

Alcohol is one of the most widely used drugs in the United States and also one of the most dangerous. Most traffic accidents and domestic violence disputes involve alcohol. People who struggle with alcoholism are caught in such a powerful grip of addiction, they often do have to experience severe consequences before succumbing to alcohol rehab. Some may lose their jobs, career opportunities, significant relationships and material possessions before they realize they need help. Family members and friends may be able to convince their loved one to get help at alcohol rehab before it gets too bad. Each individual’s experience is different.

Alcohol rehab offers an opportunity to step out of life for a while into a safe, structured environment where the sole focus is on recovering from the devastating effects of alcohol. Inpatient alcohol rehab programs are generally desirable as quitting alcohol can be difficult, especially in the first few months of sobriety. Alcohol withdrawal can be extremely uncomfortable and the cravings can be overwhelming. A medical detox is recommended as withdrawal symptoms from prolonged use of alcohol can result in hallucinations, delirium tremens (DTs) and life-threatening seizures.

Following a safe alcohol detox, professional staff members work to begin severing the psychological dependency and re-establishing health on a mental, physical and spiritual level. Some alcohol rehab centers offer clinical therapy, drug and alcohol counseling, and holistic therapies to help individuals heal on all levels. Generally, a means of group support such as a 12-step program through Alcoholics Anonymous is introduced as well. These therapies combine to help support an individual in establishing a new way of living that no longer relies on alcohol to cope. While it can take months before the transition feels comfortable, willingness to learn how to live life