The Deployment Toolkit by Janelle B. Moore & Don Philpott

Author:Janelle B. Moore & Don Philpott [Moore, Janelle B. & Philpott, Don]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2016-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

If you do not have any of these conditions, talk with your doctor to determine whether you should cut down or quit based on factors such as

family history of alcohol problems;

your age;

whether you’ve had drinking-related injuries; or

symptoms such as sleep disorders and sexual dysfunction.

There is help available on base and in your local community. Look in the Yellow Pages under Alcoholism for treatment programs and self-help groups. Call your county health department and ask for licensed treatment programs in your community. Keep trying until you find the right help for your loved one, yourself, and your family. Ask a family therapist for a referral to a trained interventionist or call the Intervention Resource Center at 1-888-421-4321.

Self-Help Groups

Al-Anon Family Groups: www.al-anon.org

Alateen: www.alateen.org

Alcoholics Anonymous: www.aa.org

Adult Children of Alcoholics: www.adultchildren.org

Quitting Techniques

Several proven treatment approaches are available; one size doesn’t fit all, however. It’s a good idea to do some homework on the Internet or at the library to find social and professional support options that appeal to you, as you are more likely to stick with them (see also Resources on the inside back cover). Chances are excellent that you’ll pull together an approach that works for you.

Social Support

One potential challenge when people stop drinking is rebuilding a life without alcohol. It may be important to educate family and friends, develop new interests and social groups, find rewarding ways to spend your time that don’t involve alcohol, and ask for help from others. When asking for support from friends or significant others, be specific. This could include not offering you alcohol, not using alcohol around you, giving words of support and withholding criticism, not asking you to take on new demands right now, and going to a group like Al-Anon.

Consider joining Alcoholics Anonymous or another mutual support group (see Resources). Recovering people who attend groups regularly do better than those who do not. Groups can vary widely, so shop around for one that’s comfortable. You’ll get more out of it if you become actively involved by having a sponsor and reaching out to other members for assistance.

Professional Support

Advances in the treatment of alcoholism mean that patients now have more choices and health professionals have more tools to help.

Medications to treat alcoholism. Newer medications can make it easier to quit drinking by offsetting changes in the brain caused by alcoholism. These options (naltrexone, topiramate, and acamprosate) don’t make you sick if you drink, as does an older medication (disulfiram). None of these medications are addictive, so it’s fine to combine them with support groups or alcohol counseling. A major clinical trial recently showed that patients can now receive effective alcohol treatment from their primary care doctors or mental health practitioners by combining the newer medications with a series of brief office visits for support. See Resources for more information.

Alcohol counseling. “Talk therapy” also works well. There are several counseling approaches that are about equally effective—12-step, cognitive-behavioral, motivational enhancement, or a combination. Getting help in itself appears to be more important than the particular

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