How to Get Sober: 6 Tips For Seeking Help From Alcoholism
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Alcoholism affects millions of people, and getting treatment for it can be difficult. Here are a few tips for seeking help for alcoholism.
Announce Your Goal
The first step to getting help is admitting that there’s a problem to begin with. Sit down and talk with your friends, family and co-workers about what’s going on. Ask for their support through this difficult time. If they drink, ask them if they could be courteous to not do so in front of you.
Remove Temptations
It’s time to clean everything out! Remove all of the alcoholic beverages from your premises. Throw away anything you’ve been secretly stashing for an extra awful day. Ask everyone in the house to throw out their stash as well, and if you visit friends, ask them to hide their alcohol.
Avoid Bad Influences
Avoid spending time with anyone who is a bad influence in your life. This may mean ending some long friendships, but it also means starting new friendships with people that have an extremely positive outlook on life. Look at joining clubs or groups for activities you enjoy to meet people that have similar interests as you, but avoid anything that may involve drinking.
Understand Withdrawal Symptoms
Since you’re stopping cold turkey, it’s likely that you’ll have to deal with some withdrawal symptoms. It’s normal to have some symptoms, and they range from mild to severe. Those symptoms include headaches, shaking, sweating, nausea and vomiting, anxiety and restlessness, stomach cramps and diarrhea, trouble sleeping or concentrating, an elevated heart rate and changes in blood chemistry.
It’s possible for withdrawal symptoms to be more severe than that. If you experience severe vomiting, confusion and disorientation, fever, hallucinations, extreme agitation, seizures, or convulsions, you should call 911 or go to the emergency room.
Go to a Detox Facility
It may be necessary to get professional help at an alcohol detox facility. The workers there are trained for instances such as this, and you’ll get great medically supervised detoxification. These detoxifications can be done on an outpatient basis or in a hospital or alcohol treatment facility. You may be prescribed medication to prevent medical complications. These medications should aid with withdrawal symptoms as well.
Build a Support Network
You can’t get through this alone, and it’s important that you build a support network to help you. Surround yourself with people that exude positivity and people who make you feel great about yourself. The more you get invested in people and activities, the more you have to lose. If you do an activity that you personally find fulfilling, you’ll feel better about yourself and won’t have to stoop to drinking. Exercise is also extremely important. Exercising will release endorphins, relieve stress and promotes emotional well-being.
The first step in recovery is admitting that you have a problem. Never be too proud to ask for help with alcoholism. Any help is appreciated during this time, and the greater your support network is, the greater the chance of never relapsing is. If you need the help, don’t be afraid to ask.
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Acknowledging the problem is, indeed, the first part of getting sober, but really wanting to be sober is the really big leap. No one cleans up until that hump is over. Detoxing under medical supervision is next and necessary. Unlike most drugs detoxing from alcohol can kill. Another very important issue is getting clean for ones self. Do not try to get sober for “your wife or children or whomever else.” It is only one persons problem, the addict’s, and doing it for someone else gives them a chance to blame relapse on someone else. Addiction to anything is the problem of the addict and only the addict, except in the case of pregnant females who then bring a child into the issue. Trust me, an alcoholic is an addict just like a crack head or a heroin addict. The only difference is your D.O.C. is legal.
Well said Bill!
I’m surprised AA isn’t mentioned. It’s one of the oldest, most successful programs out there for those with a serious drinking problem.