Prevalence of Alcohol Addiction
It may not come as much of a surprise but alcohol consumption is the most prevalent substance in the United States. According to a 2019 report by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), approximately 14.5 million Americans ages 12 and older experienced alcohol use disorder (AUD). Additionally, in 2019, approximately 8.5% of Coloradans ages 12 and older experienced AUD. This number is higher in both regional and national averages.
Signs & Symptoms of Alcohol Addiction
It can sometimes be difficult to know if you or your loved one is struggling with alcohol addiction. Fortunately, the diagnostic manual for substance use disorders (DSM-V) provides a range of severity rather than categorizing everyone as being on the same level. Although there’s a degree of differences, we’ve included some of the most common signs and symptoms of alcohol addiction below.
- Intending to stop drinking without a lot of success
- Build up in tolerance. Requiring more alcohol to achieve the desired effects
- Continued alcohol consumption despite negative effects
- Experiencing withdrawal symptoms when not using such as: cravings, seizures, sweating, insomnia, disorientation, loss of appetite, nausea, delirium tremens (DT’s)
- Declining liver function
- Partaking in risky behaviors such as driving drunk
One important note to emphasize is that alcohol withdrawal can be fatal. It’s imperative that you consult with a treatment professional to know whether or not you require detoxification prior to moving down in your level of care.
Alcohol Addiction Treatment Options
As we discussed above, alcohol use disorder is incredibly prevalent in today’s society. Fortunately, there are an abundance of alcohol addiction treatment options available to those who want it. The first is a detox facility. For those experiencing severe alcohol use disorder, this first step is imperative to ensure safe withdrawal. Detox will usually last anywhere from 2-7 days and will provide 24/7 medical monitoring, a bed to sleep in and occasionally some amenities. After successfully completing detox, people tend to move down to residential treatment.
Residential or inpatient treatment is usually a 30-90 day program. They provide clinical education, lodging, case management, medication management and typically some amenities. Residential programs also provide urinary screening and/or breathalyzer testing. Similar to this type of program is sober living, which is all about living in a supportive environment in early recovery. Unlike residential programs, sober living usually has more flexibility in their structure. Although some services require you to attend outpatient programming, others are more unstructured.
The next step from here is partial hospitalization programming (PHP). PHP typically consists of 5 hours of group therapy 5 days per week and lasts 2-4 weeks. The aim here is to provide additional clinical education and accountability. After completing PHP, most people go into intensive outpatient programming (IOP). This level of care has 3 hours of group therapy for 3-5 days per week. Most programs extend in length and last for roughly 3-6 months. The last step down is outpatient programming (OP). OP is the least intensive programming with a 3 hour group therapy session 1-2 days per week. These 3 levels of care are designed for people to live at home or in a sober living environment while attending work full time or school.
It’s important to remember in your recovery journey that each program is different. What you experience with one is not necessarily what you’ll experience with another. Try to remain open to these new experiences and pull whatever information you can from them.