Fighting Addiction: Can Drug & Alcohol Addiction Be Cured? What You Should Know

When is it common in society, it can be hard to tell the difference between someone who likes to have a few drinks now and then and someone with a real problem. Alcohol use disorder can include periods of being drunk (alcohol intoxication) and symptoms of withdrawal. Professionals in the alcohol treatment field offer advice on what to consider when choosing a treatment program. At the first taste of alcohol, your body releases the feel-good brain chemical dopamine. But if you drink too much for too long, your brain reduces dopamine production, and you want even more alcohol to feel good again.

• But if you drink too much for too long, your brain reduces dopamine production, and you want even more alcohol to feel good again.
• A story helps us to imagine the situation and learn artificially from the other person’s situation.
• Substance use disorder is a primary, chronic, and progressive disease that sometimes can be fatal.
• One reason is that the reward systems in their brains are working against them.

Common alcohol triggers include people, places and even smell. Changing these behaviors is often difficult for alcoholics, as it usually involves avoiding places they used to drink or people they would drink with regularly. An addiction rehab program is an important step in the recovery process for those struggling with alcohol abuse and addiction. It helps individuals gain access to specialized care and support services that are tailored to their needs. The program also provides a safe, comfortable setting where individuals can focus on recovery without triggers or distractions from everyday life. Although there is no absolute “cure” for alcoholism, we are able to recover from the hopeless state of body and mind that has resulted from the disease.

Understanding alcohol use disorders and their treatment

Vivitrol is an injected form of the drug that your doctor can give you once a month. This may be more reliable and convenient than oral pills, especially if you think you may forget or be unwilling to take a pill every day. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a mental and physical dependence on alcohol. Patches cannot be installed through a convenient medium (although can alcoholism be cured how cool would it be to be able to upload vital information directly to the brain?), and we cannot reboot. Other mutual support groups include Refuge Recovery, Women for Sobriety, and All Recovery. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many mutual support groups are now available online, which makes them more accessible to people regardless of their location.

• Prayer, meditation, service to others, and giving up our self-will are all tools that we use to treat the disease of alcoholism.
• Some prefer quitting altogether while others reduce alcohol intake gradually.
• Immersion into a sober-living environment allows the afflicted individual to fully focus on attaining recovery, practice accountability among peers, and find solidarity within a group of likeminded people.

If identified and treated early, someone with an alcohol addiction may be able to avoid major consequences of the disease. If your pattern of drinking results in repeated significant distress and problems functioning in your daily life, you likely have alcohol use disorder. However, even a mild disorder can escalate and lead to serious problems, so early treatment is important. Based on clinical experience, many health providers believe that support from friends and family members is important in overcoming alcohol problems.

Relapse Is Part of the Process

Rather than a cure, we have recovery programs designed to maintain sobriety and remove symptoms of the disease. Alcoholism can be successfully treated through adherence to recovery programs. The National Institute on Drug Abuse explains that addiction and alcoholism cannot be cured. However, like other chronic diseases, addiction can be managed successfully. Treatment allows individuals to counteract addiction’s powerful disruptive effects on their brain and behavior and retake control over their lives. The severity of withdrawal symptoms increases with each withdrawal episode.