Alcohol Treatment Centers California

May 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Alcohol Treatment Centers California

If you live in California, there are a number of alcohol treatment centers which might be able to help you. Please note that we do not endorse or vouch for any of the centers. This post is merely to help you understand some of the options. Be sure to also check the final link if you would prefer to work from your own home.

Promises Treatment Centers

Promises treats the underlying issues of your alcohol addiction not just your addiction itself. There centers are secluded so you’ll feel at home there. They have a good team with CARF accreditation. They think outside the box and use innovative therapies so you can feel better again. They have been treating people for over 20 years so they have the experience you need. They help provide that gateway to sobriety that you’re looking for.  Clients are assigned a core treatment team that includes a primary therapist, family therapist, psychiatrist, a doctor, nurse, and if needed a detox specialist. They want you to feel comfortable as you detox from alcohol and work towards leading a normal life again. The treatment for each client will be different because everyone has individual needs when it comes to alcohol addiction. They will stay connected with you after recovery and provide you with ongoing support. Visit them at Promises.

Sober Living

Sober living offers treatment for alcohol addiction. They have individualized programs for both men and women. Your treatment takes place in the beach community of Newport California. They offer alcohol recovery with a great staff of physicians and those trained in alcohol addiction. You’ll through a 12-step program, attend meetings, get individual therapy, and counselling for your whole family. They also offer meditation, diet plans, exercise and activities to help you with your self-esteem. The atmosphere of the place will help you on the road to your recovery from alcohol. Visit them at Sober Living.

Betty Ford Center

The Betty Ford Center is a well know place for treatment of alcoholism and related issues. They have a team of physicians, physiatrists, nurses, physiologists, and counselors to help you. You’ll be given a case manager and there are dieticians to ensure you get a proper diet to help you on the road to recovery. They have spiritual counselors and counselors to help your family too. They have fitness trainers which will work with you to heal your body as you detox from alcohol. Since its doors opened in 1982, Betty Ford Center has achieved and maintained an unparalleled level of excellence in the field of addiction treatment. They provide effective alcohol treatment services, including programs of education and research, to help begin the process of recovery. Visit them at the Betty Ford Center.

Cliffside Malibu

They provide services that can help you recover from alcohol addiction. They provide one on one terapy, acupuncture massage, yoga, Life coaching, spiritual counseling, and other therapies to help you with your addiction. They use the stages of change model which looks at the entire process of your recovery from beginning to end. They meet your individual physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges while providing you the help you need to get well again. They will provide a full team of medical staff to help you along your journey. Visit them at Cliffside Malibu.

Ocean Hills Recovery

Ocean Point offers treatment options for alcoholism. They treat all aspects of the alcoholism and use 12-step recovery methods. They treat each person on an individual basis. Programs can last 30-90 days which depends upon the needs of the client. These programs are affordable and give the client hope for their future. The client will go through all stages of the recovery process and detox with trained professionals there to help them get well again. Visit them at Ocean Hills Recovery.


Or start making changes from the privacy of your own home

Filed Under: Local Treatment Options Tagged With:

How to Stop Drinking for a Month

May 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

How to Stop Drinking for a Month

If you want to stop drinking you should consider taking a month off from alcohol as a way to start the process of quitting for good. It is possible to give up alcohol if you’re willing to work at it. Think of it as a challenge you can give yourself for one month. Here’s how to go about meeting this challenge.

The Right Mindset

To stop drinking for one month you need to be in a positive frame of mind. Tell yourself that you can stop drinking for the month and then work towards that goal on a day by day basis. Don’t allow negative emotions to creep back into your mind or you’ll just be tempted to drink again. You need to find a way to control your need for alcohol and one way to do that is to be positive about wanting to quit for one month.

Seek Support

The first thing you should do is some type of support system to help you out. You can find many forums and groups online that can help you give up drinking. Without a support system you’re going to be tempted to start drinking again. Whenever you get any urges to drink during the month you can seek your support system. Tell your friends about your plans and ask them to give you support too. When you have others there you can lean on when those temptations strike you’ll be better equipped to meet the challenge.

Find other Activities

To stop drinking you’ll need to find some other type of constructive activity besides partying that you can do which will reduce your temptations for alcohol. Maybe you could start a new hobby and keep that up over the course of the month. Walking is a simple activity you could do which would also give you some exercise at the same time. Consider writing a journal of your feeling towards alcohol when you get those urges again. The more constructive things you do that don’t involve alcohol as the center point of the activity the better you’ll be able to hit the challenge of stopping drinking for a month.

Remove Alcohol from Your Home

To stop drinking for a month you’re going to have to act like a sober person who doesn’t use alcohol. You’ll need to remove every bottle of booze from your home. You could just dump it out or give it to a friend to hold onto. You can’t buy any alcohol during the month so it’s best to not have any of it in the home. If you have shot glasses, mugs or any other glassware that you associate with alcohol move this to another location so it doesn’t trigger thoughts of having a drink when you see it.

Think of How Hangovers feel

One way to give yourself some positive support is to think how bad you feel after a night of drinking. A hangover is never a pleasant experience. If you can focus on the bad things alcohol does to you you’ll be less tempted to drink.  Your whole goal is to keep alcohol out of your life for one month so focus on all the negative aspects of it.

Your Finances

Think of what you could do with the money you save from not buying alcohol.  Get a jar and you can put all the money you don’t spend on alcohol for one month in that jar. Go back to previous moths and see just how much money you’re spending on alcohol. At the end of the month you can take that money and buy yourself something nice or just go out to a celebration dinner.

You Can Stop Drinking for One Month

It is possible to stop drinking for one month. Make sure you are prepared for this challenge and have a positive frame of mind. Seek support of those around you and find something else to do that doesn’t involve alcohol. Remove alcohol from your home and think of how good you’ll feel without a hangover.  You’ll also have more money at the end of the month for other things. You can do it so take the challenge and stop drinking for one month now.

Tips and tools to help you quit alcohol or moderate your drinking right now

Filed Under: Solutions To Alcohol Drinking Tagged With: ,

The Secret of Successful Alcohol Rehab

May 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Receiving a successful rehab treatment for any addiction is much more difficult than the media or people make it sound and in the case of alcohol addiction in particular, rehabilitation is much more difficult because of its every-day use by people in public places.

The first step in seeking help to quit drinking is accepting or agreeing to the fact that you are an addict and it is a general rule that all addicts live in denial until a life changing situation occurs or a serious family intervention is set up. When the addiction is finally acknowledged, the next procedure is to visit a good rehabilitation center which should be tailored to suit a patient’s temperament thereby increasing the chance of a successful rehab stay.

A few tips to help individuals going for rehabilitation from alcohol addiction shall be provided below to put you in the right frame of mind.

Success Tips for Rehabilitation

1. Gee Yourself Up Appropriately: The mindset in which a person approaches any task goes a long way to determine how well the task will be done and this also applies to entering a rehabilitation facility. Preparing oneself mentally and acknowledging that the treatment plan is for the best is the first major step that must be taken.

Close family members or a painful incident that occurred due to drinking can serve as a focal point to help you concentrate on the task ahead. A lot of people who check into rehabilitation centers, usually involve themselves in binge drinking a day or two before being admitted and they rationalise this behaviour by claiming it would be the last taste of alcohol they would ever have. The advice on such thoughts or behaviour is that individuals should shun such actions at all cost for the mental degradation binge drinking causes before checking into a rehab centre causes will definitely ruin the first days of rehabilitation.

Getting some rest and mixing socially with people who build you up would definitely serve as encouragement to take on the challenge. Going in sober, well prepared and following the rules on what or what not to bring will give you the perfect start to your new life.

2. Getting Familiar with the Rules: The second stage for a successful stay is getting yourself familiar with the day-to-day rules provided by the treatment center. Every rehab center provides specific schedules designed to keep patients busy and totally focused on the task at hand. So the earlier you get to know and follow these rules the faster the recuperation process will be. Specific meal times and menus are also set to teach the value of healthy eating and how it can help solve some issues. Therefore following these timetables is also very beneficial.

3. Aim at Accomplishing Smaller Objectives:

The road to recovery is a step by step process and setting up un-realistic goals, leaving the treatment for alcoholism center prematurely or trying to rush treatment is highly prohibitive to making real progress. Accomplishing the daily tasks wholeheartedly  set by the rehab professionals is the recommended method by which progress should be measured.

4. Include Family Members and Loved Ones: The average human being can do anything for his or her loved ones and this passion is usually incorporated into a patient’s schedule. So family visits can provide the patient with the much-needed boosts he/she deserves. Family attendance is also encouraged during admittance and the moment of graduation. This show of moral support also strengthens the patient’s resolve.

5. Post Rehab: After the treatment exercise, staying focused and true to the goals made during the course of  treatment can prove to be a challenge and this is where getting referrals to treatment facilities near you comes in. If the urge kicks in, a visit to the nearest rehab center you are refered to can help put you back on track. A support network of family members, recovery groups, alcohol anonymous groups, therapists and religious organizations also helps recovering addicts stay strong. Finally, sticking to the schedule learnt at the treatment center of always keeping yourself busy and productive at all times would definitely serve you long after graduation.

Tips and tools to help you quit alcohol or moderate your drinking right now

Filed Under: Solutions To Alcohol Drinking, Types Of Treatments Tagged With:

Benefits of Stopping Drinking

May 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Alcohol is one of the most used and abused substance in America. Excessive alcohol use can seriously inhibit your life and cause a great deal of distress for you and your family members. The trouble is that many people do not know how to stop.

The first step to getting your life back on track is to recognize when you have an alcohol addiction. When alcohol plays an important role in your everyday life and thinking, you might have a problem. If your partner is no longer interested in being with you due to your drinking, it is time to make a change.

By ending your reliance on alcohol, you can take back control of your life, be happier, more in control, make better decisions, and be a more positive person. These are just some of the benefits of quitting drinking.

You can commit to a new start and change your life. You can get to the point where you are making the choice when to and when not to drink as opposed to feeling required to drink. You gain the control back in your life and get the benefits of ending your drinking.

Some of the benefits of quitting drinking are that your relationships will get better with others, work productivity increases, health gets better, and your entire life changes for the better. You will no longer have the anxiety associated with “needing” a drink, you save money, you will be healthier, have more energy, and you no longer have experiences that are out of your control.

So how do you stop? It is much easier than you might think. The first step is commitment. Decide for yourself that you are going to stop drinking. There is a Japanese psychology technique that will help to keep your mind focused and committed to your goal of no longer drinking.

Then the next thing to do is start to do things outside of drinking. Spend social time with friends and family without alcohol. The more time you spend together doing things that are fun without it, the more you will realize that you do not need it.

You can overcome the alcohol cravings but you have to get to the root of why you drink and address that problem. Most people do not just drink for no reason. You have to find out what that reason is and work towards making a change.

Tips and tools to help you quit alcohol or moderate your drinking right now

Filed Under: quit drinking Tagged With: ,

I Can’t Stop Drinking Alcohol

April 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The Problem

Have you ever asked yourself why can’t I stop drinking alcohol? Your problems with alcohol are like those of many people who are going through the same thing. You’re not alone in you desire get your life back on track and stop drinking. You can’t stop drinking because you’re addicted to alcohol.

Alcohol Addiction

Often we think of alcoholism as a disease but it’s not a disease. You don’t catch alcoholism from someone and it doesn’t’ come from a virus. When you drink alcohol you become dependent upon it to get through your day and it becomes an addiction, just like any other addiction you may face in life. You may think that you feel lost but it doesn’t have to be that way. There are people out there that care about you and are willing to help you rid yourself of your addiction to alcohol and get that control of your life again.

You and Alcoholism

When you drink you may feel bad about yourself or think that other people hate you. Drinking can bring out the worst in you and it’s not you doing this it’s the consumption of alcohol and what it does to your body that’s responsible for your behavior. You’re not the enemy in this battle it’s the alcohol that’s your enemy. The first thing you need to do is look at yourself in the mirror and discover your true self again behind the alcohol you’re drinking.

You Are Not to Blame

We like to blame ourselves for our drinking and the problems we have with alcohol. Our family and friends may even blame us for not giving up our drinking. Most people including our own loved ones don’t understand the addiction of alcohol and how it controls you completely. You may have tried to stop drinking in the past but failed but that’s not a reason to give up now, you can beat the addition. The thing you must not do is give up hope you can and will succeed in beating your addiction. The key to stop drinking is seeking help from those that can help you succeed.

Seeking Help

Once you realize that your alcoholism is an addiction and not a disease you’re ready to seek help. You can’t do this alone; you need the support of professionals who can give you the tools you need to stop drinking for good. You’ll find many support groups out there that can start you on the path to full recovery from your addiction. Find the courage inside of yourself to phone a support group or even being looking online for treatment options. These groups will examine your individual situation and do what’s best for you to get well. You can expect emotional, physical, and in some cases even spiritual help with your addiction depending upon the groups you get in touch with.

What to Expect

Alcohol support groups have professionals that will treat your addiction with the care it deserves. In some cases you can expect to receive medication for your addiction as well as other methods. You’ll gain a full understanding of your alcohol addiction and begin to gain your self-esteem and self-worth back which alcohol has stolen from you. As you get care you will learn about health and have healing for the damage alcohol has done to you. Other things you can expect are new opportunities to grow as an individual and you’ll slowly feel like a whole person again. After your treatment you’ll have a new purpose to your life which is free from the addiction that has brought you down for so long. Break free now and make that call you have always wanted to make. You are stronger than your addiction and you can make a change, right now.

Tips and tools to help you quit alcohol or moderate your drinking right now

Filed Under: alcohol problems Tagged With: ,

Non 12 Step Alcohol Treatment

April 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Non 12 Step Alcohol Treatment

It’s difficult to come to terms will alcoholism. Many people try the famous “12 step programs” but often these aren’t enough to get completely sober. Sometimes a person needs other methods to find relief from alcoholism. You have tried these but fail to find what you need. Many people are turning to non 12 step programs and finding relief.

Understanding Alcoholism

Your alcoholism isn’t a disease, it’s an addiction to alcohol and this is why it’s so hard to quit drinking and stay sober. The addiction draws you back to drinking and you can’t break free. With the right kind of help for your addiction you can finally stop drinking and more importantly you can quit for good. Twelve step programs tend to look at alcoholism as a disease but it’s not a disease, it’s an addiction just like nicotine is.

What are Non 12 Step Programs?

A program that doesn’t rely on the “steps” model seeks to get you back in control of your life by understanding you addiction properly. You need concrete skills, tools, and most of all the appropriate coaching to get you back in control and away from your addiction. You need a foundation and a structure to aid you in the quest to stop drinking.

  • You need focus to stop drinking and gain clear understanding of your problem
  • You need new life skills to help you quit
  • You need planning, guidance, and medication when it’s necessary to guide you to quitting for good
  • You need goals for health, family, education, and your leisure time that don’t revolve around alcohol
  • Coaching to show you the path to ending your alcohol dependency
  • The ability to make real life decisions for your future from alcohol
  • Control of diet to restore your body from what alcohol has done to you

These are just some of the examples of what a comprehensive non 12 step program can do for you as you move forward with understanding and conquering your addiction to alcohol. You’ll get people who are experienced in dealing with alcohol addiction and it’s based on current medical research. The programs work on cutting edge cognitive therapies and everything that is done has been carefully studied.

With a non 12 step program you’re whole body is treated. You emotional, physical, and psychological needs are looked at and the programs have your entire wellness in mind. Some programs will even treat you on a spiritual level as well.

Another focus of non 12 step alcohol treatment is focusing on you as an individual. Not every alcohol problem is the same and people need to be treated differently in many cases. With counseling and people that understand you on an individual basis you’ll stand a good chance of complete success with these programs.

Sample Programs

LifeRing

LifeRing features an emphasis on support groups for those who want to rid themselves of alcohol dependency. This program advocates “positive social reinforcement” for their clients. This program is in the United States, Canada, Ireland and the U.K.

Smart Recovery

Smart recovery features a 24 hour chat room online and face-to-face meetings around the world. Tis program covers motivation, coping with drinking urges, behaviors, feelings, a balanced life and other topics so the alcoholic can find the relief they seek.

Rational Recovery

Rational recovery offers multinational instruction, counselling, and guidance. It uses a system called AVRT which is an educational format to help with a quick recovery. You also don’t have to attend groups under this recovery system

Non 12 Step Programs Offer Real Solutions

Non 12 step alcohol recovery programs offer you real solutions for your problems with alcohol. They are more focused on the individual and treat the whole problem not just the drinking. You receive the counseling you need and the support system to finally stop drinking for good and lead a normal, healthy, and happy life.

Tips and tools to help you quit alcohol or moderate your drinking right now

Filed Under: Non AA Treatments, Solutions To Alcohol Drinking Tagged With: ,

Alcohol And Your Heart – Short and Long-Term Effects

April 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Alcohol and Your Heart

We all know that heavy drinking is damaging to your body. Alcohol impairs your judgement, and you get the “drunken” feeling many of us have experiences at one time or another.  Alcohol also damages our organs like the liver, brain and our heart.

Short Term Effects of Alcohol on Your Heart

When you have your first couple of drinks your hear twill speed up some and you’ll feel more relaxed or at ease. In this situation you may become more sociable and talk to people more. If you drink heavily on just one occasion you run the risk of having a heart attack. You may also lose consciousness completely and fall into a coma or even stop breathing and die. In the short term your blood pressure will rise and your heart will have more difficulty in pumping blood to the rest of your body. You may get shortness of breath or an irregular heart rhythm.

Long Term Effects of Alcohol on the Heart

As you keep drinking your heart will receive more damage to it. Long term drinking will weaken your heart muscle which we call alcoholic cardiomyopathy. This means that your heart droops and it’s stretched so it can’t contract the way a normal heart does. You heart in this condition can’t pump blood as well which nourishes your other organs. Your organs may receive damage due to a lack of nutrients from the blood. With cardiomyopathy there’s often a shortness of breath, fatigue, and inflammation in the legs or feet. In some cases you can get heart failure.

If you drink long term or just binge drink on occasion your heart can have issues with how well it beats.  Alcohol disturbs the rhythms of how your heart beats and you can suffer from a rapid heartbeat or an irregular heartbeat. These heart abnormalities with rhythm are called arrhythmias. Chronic drinking raises the risk that you’ll develop these arrhythmias in the way your heart beats since the alcohol interrupts the electronic impulses that drive the beating of our heart. Chronic drinking can lead to hypertension or high blood pressure. This will raise your risks for a heart attack and a stroke. Heavy drinking can release stress hormones which constrict your blood vessels.

As you drink you can also gain weight do to the calories in alcohol. This excess weight can also stress your heart and cause a build-up of plaque in the walls of your arteries which can trigger a heart attack. Your heart can’t cope with your continued alcohol consumption and the damage it does to your arteries.

Avoid Heart Disease

You simply can’t drink alcohol I n large quantities and expect to have a healthy heart. You will run the risk of developing chronic conditions of your hear such as problems with your arteries due to plaque build-up, high blood pressure, and even permanent damage to your heart. Alcohol isn’t a friend to your heart in large quantities.  By quitting drinking you’ll provide your heart with the relief it needs and you’ll become healthier in the process.

Tips and tools to help you quit alcohol or moderate your drinking right now

Filed Under: Effects Of Alcohol Tagged With: ,

Harmful Effects Of Alcohol On The Body

April 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Harmful Effects of Alcohol on the Body

We all know that too much alcohol isn’t good for you. Alcohol not only impairs your judgement but can cause harm to your entire body. Here are some of the harmful effects of alcohol on the human body.

Brain and Nervous System

As alcohol gets into your blood steam you experience a mild euphoria and you may feel more relaxed. Some people lose their inhibitions are able to talk to people more often, dance and feel at ease. As it relaxes you it also impairs your judgement and your ability to think clearly so you might do something you normally wouldn’t do like try to kiss a stranger you just met. Your concentration and memory all suffer. The more you drink the less you can remember and your ability to drive decreases. Your attention span decreases as well, so you just can’t react to situations as quickly. If you get quite intoxicated you may lash out with anger or have other wild emotional outbursts.

Since alcohol is a depressant it hits your nervous system and your vision and hearing decrease. You may hear noises coming from different directions, for example. Your sense of taste and smell will also be impacted from your alcohol consumption. You can feel less pain so if you injury yourself and have blood loss you may not know it until it’s too late. If you drink long term your brain may suffer permanent damage. You can develop mental disorders and become dependent on alcohol to get through your day or have alcohol addiction.

Lungs and Liver

While alcohol hits the nervous system and brain hard it also impacts other organs but we don’t notice this as much as we keep drinking. A heavy drinker may have less resistance to infections. If you drink high amounts you can overdose and pass out completely. In some cases you can just stop breathing. Our liver doesn’t like foreign substances and it works quite hard to get rid of whatever alcohol you consume. While small modest amounts don’t stress the liver too much, the more you drink the more it has to work. If you drink heavily at one sitting your liver has to work overtime to rid your body of the toxic alcohol. You can develop alcoholic hepatitis which is the destruction and inflammation of your liver cells. As it gets worse you can develop what we call cirrhosis which causes lesions, and scarring. In essence you’re killing your liver with alcohol and you won’t get back the damage you’re doing to it. You can look yellowish with jaundice.

As your liver is damaged you can develop edema or fluid buildup in your extremities. You may bleed more due to the decease of your body’s ability to clot blood. As your liver accumulates fat from all that drinking we call this “fatty liver.” You can slip into a coma and die. So the liver, well it just hates alcohol.

Reproduction System

Both sexes can have their reproduction system impacted form alcohol abuse. For men it can cause impotence and your performance will deteriorate the more intoxicated you are. Heavy drinking can render a man infertile. For females they may increase their chances of getting breast cancer. Women may have menstrual problems if they are heavy drinkers. For pregnancy the results can be catastrophic with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The baby can have brain damage, small head, poor muscle tone, abnormal face features, speech problems, and growth development issues.

Your Heart

Your heart isn’t too fond of alcohol either. Alcohol consumption can weaken the heart muscle and decrease its ability to pump your blood properly. You may suffer irregular heart beat or a heart enlargement. Blood pressure can increase and so with it the chances of a stroke or a heart attack.

Stomach and Intestines

Your esophagus can become irritated wen consuming alcohol. You may vomit if you drink too much because your body just wants to get rid of it. This can occur easily if you drink on an empty stomach. You could develop throat cancer. The stomach and peptic ulcers might form. You’ll get headaches and dizziness as your iron levels drop. Your pancreas will work to produce insulin to process the sugar in alcohol. You can develop pancreatitis or inflammation and this can be fatal. Sweating, loss of appetite and diarrhea are also common when consuming high levels of alcohol.

The Body Hates Alcohol

It’s easy to see that your body hates alcohol. Watch how much you drink or give it up entirely. Talk to a professional if you need help with your addiction.

 

Tips and tools to help you quit alcohol or moderate your drinking right now!

 

Filed Under: Effects Of Alcohol Tagged With: ,

New York Alcohol Treatment Options

March 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Background

If you live in New York City or in New York State and want to make changes to your drinking then there are many loc al options for you to consider in your dealing with heavy drinking and alcoholism style effects.

Government Resources

Your first port of call is the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services – OASAS,which has a mission to improve the lives of New Yorkers by leading a premier system of addiction services through prevention, treatment, recovery.

From their website, they do a whole list of things:

“OASAS plans, develops and regulates the state’s system of chemical dependence and gambling treatment agencies. This includes the direct operation of 12 Addiction Treatment Centers, which provide inpatient rehabilitation services to 10,000 persons per year. In addition, the Office licenses, funds, and supervises some 1,300 local, community-based programs, chemical dependence treatment programs, which serve about 110,000 persons on any given day in a wide range of comprehensive services. The agency inspects and monitors these programs to guarantee quality of care and to ensure compliance with state and national standards.”

This link gives you the list of the treatment centers they run across New York State:
OASAS 12 New York State Facilities

I was looking at the Bronx Facility, in which they do stress alcohol abstinence. So you need to read carefully for each facility whether that is relevant for what you are looking for.

You can read some stories of how people in New York State managed to overcome their addiction problems:

http://www.iamrecovery.com/stories.cfm

 Other Resources

The Alcoholism Council of New York, a not-for-profit health organization, helps people affected by the treatable disease of alcoholism and other drug dependencies. You can call their free helpline on 1-800-56-SOBER for some support.

This detailed directory from The Agape Center, lists a whole load of private and public treatment centers for people with alcohol and other addiction problems.

New York State And New York City Detailed Directory Of Alcohol Treatment Resources

On the left hand side are some menuy buttons you can click on to find specific types of groups and organisations in New York to help you with your drinking issues.

So I hope you can make some changes to your alcohol with some of these resources to help you.

Tips and tools to help you quit alcohol or moderate your drinking right now!

 

Filed Under: Local Treatment Options Tagged With: , ,

Non AA Alcohol Treatment

February 24, 2012 By 1 Comment

Non AA Alcohol Treatment

The first step towards alcohol addiction recovery is desire to change. Once that is established there are a number of options available for treatment that do not involve AA (Alcoholics Anonymous). While the AA system has proven its worth through the years, its 12 step program doesn’t work for all people.

For instance, some object to the AA view that “there is but one ultimate authority—a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience”. For them, modern times call for more modern methods to overcome alcohol addiction and the last thing addicts want to hear is that once a person starts to slip, he or she is powerless to stop. Still others object to the open, non-private meetings and the one-size-fits-all concept. For people such as these there are alternatives such as the following:

LifeRing

LifeRing.org is a nonprofit organization offering a broader approach than the 12-step method with emphasis on the “network of support groups for people who want to live free of alcohol and other addictive drugs.” LifeRing is not affiliated with AA in any way but uses “positive social reinforcement. The meeting process empowers the Sober Self within each of us.”

LifeRing services go beyond the United States into Canada, the U.K. and Ireland.

Smart Recovery

Smart Recovery touts itself as a “self-empowering addiction recovery” support site with tools designed for face-to-face meetings around the world and daily online meetings. Also provided are an online message board and a 24/7 chat room.

Recovery is based on the 4-Point Program of 1: Building and Maintaining Motivation, 2: Coping with Urges, 3: Managing Thoughts, Feelings and Behaviors, and 4: Living a Balanced Life. Self-directed changes are encouraged through technique instruction.

Smart Recovery has affiliate offices in three provinces in Canada, one in the U.K. and one in Australia.

Moderation Management

Based in California, U.S. Moderation Management (http://moderation.org) lists itself as “a behavioral change program and support group network for people concerned about their drinking and who desire to make positive lifestyle changes.”

Moderation Management recognizes the right of individuality so each one can choose his own path aiming for total abstinence or moderation of his/her drinking habits. Early recognition of potential risky drinking is examined and a “supportive mutual-help environment” is utilized to encourage “people who are concerned about their drinking to take action to cut back or quit drinking before drinking problems become severe.”

Online accessibility is 24/7 with physical offices in many states within the U.S., Canada and Ireland.

Women For Sobriety

Thirteen acceptance statements encompass the Women for Sobriety “New Life” Program to help women-only come to a new way of life and thinking. Every morning positive reinforcement is encouraged as well as education “about ourselves and how to avoid the pitfalls of faulty thinking and destructive behavior that used to lead us to taking that first drink, even though we sometimes did not want to drink.”

It has been observed that recovery rates are higher for males than for females hence women alcoholics require a different program that addresses their emotional needs which are very different in recovery from those of the male gender.

With a whole new change and approach to each day, overcoming alcohol dependence is possible. Positive thinking will result in positive behavior.

Online accessibility is 24/7 with physical offices in many states within the U.S. and Canada.

Rational Recovery

This multinational source of instruction, guidance and counseling on self-recovery is a bit different from the norm as it uses a proprietary system called AVRT to help addicts through “planned, permanent abstinence”. AVRT is an educational format for quick independent recovery without groups as “your desire to attend recovery groups is couched in the belief or plan that you will ‘have a relapse’”. Congregating with others of like mentality would only serve to “reinforce that crippling, dependent belief”.

These are just a sampling of the many non-AA alcohol treatment programs to choose from. Hopefully one of them will put you in the direction of complete alcohol dependence recovery.

Tips and tools to help you quit alcohol or moderate your drinking right now!

Filed Under: Non AA Treatments, Solutions To Alcohol Drinking, Types Of Treatments Tagged With: , ,
« Older Posts