If you have a drinking problem, recovery support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous can be helpful in staying sober. Discover how these groups provide hope, strength, and encouragement on the road to sobriety. How does the program or provider handle a return to drinking? Setbacks can be common, so you will want to know how they are addressed. For more information on a return to drinking, see An Ongoing Process. Couples and family counseling incorporates spouses and other family members in the treatment process and can play an important role in repairing and improving family relationships.
Types of Treatment
Start your recovery journey with peace of mind, knowing your care is covered. Many families and friends of someone with an AUD benefit from partaking in some form of support for alcoholics family therapy or support group for themselves. They recognize they must make changes also to avoid enabling their loved one to relapse. Start the conversation, and connect with a treatment provider who can help. When you talk to them, avoid coming across as judgmental by avoiding making damaging statements. It is best to talk about how their alcoholism makes you feel.
Treatment for Alcohol Problems: Finding and Getting Help
- Three medications are currently approved in the United States to help people stop or reduce their drinking and prevent a return to drinking.
- You must also communicate these boundaries effectively and follow through with them.
- It offers resources and knowledge forpeople wishing to learn more about the diseases of addiction and alcoholism.
- The support group also offers female-only and nonbinary meetings.
Recovery can take a long time, so you may need ongoing treatment. drug addiction The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration oversees NIDA, NIAAA and NIMH. It produces a variety of informationalpamphlets, e-books and brochures on preventing, treating and recovering from alcohol use disorders.
Online-Only Resources
Talk to your doctor to see if one of those might be right for you. Alcohol causes changes in your brain that make it hard to quit. Trying to tough it out on your own can be like trying to cure appendicitis with cheerful thoughts. Alcohol use disorder is what doctors call it when you can’t control how much you drink and have trouble with your emotions when you’re not drinking. Some people may think the only way to deal with it is with willpower, as if it’s a problem they have to work through all on their own. Secular Organizations for Sobriety is composed of support groups located across the United States.
- Others may want one-on-one therapy for a longer time to deal with issues like anxiety or depression.
- Education and knowledge can give you an advantage when trying to help an alcoholic.
- AUD is characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health consequences.
- The group usespeer support to promote personal growth and lead individuals in recovery as they develop personalized strategies formaintaining sobriety.
Professional Help

Health professionals with specializations in prevention, treatment, and recovery make up the NAADAC’s membership base. By promoting healthy lifestyles for those struggling with substance abuse, such as alcoholism, the NAADAC is helping create better communities. If you or your loved one are struggling with an alcohol use disorder (AUD), help is available. When you’re working to overcome a drinking problem or maintain your sobriety, it’s important to know that you’re not alone.

In many states, insurance companies and Medicaid now cover “telehealth” services. These are phone or video sessions for talk therapy or medical care. They can be particularly useful in locations with few addiction health professionals. There are even accredited, all-telehealth alcohol treatment programs. SMART Recovery™ is a support group for people suffering from varying types of addiction.
Hearing the experiences of others may reduce any sense of shame you’re feeling and enhance your self-efficacy or self-belief. Contact your primary care provider, health insurance plan, local health department, or employee assistance program for information about specialty treatment. Because AUD is a chronic, relapsing disorder, persistence is key. It is rare that someone would go to treatment once and then never drink again. More often, people try to quit or cut back over time, experience recurrences, learn from them, and then continue on their recovery journey. For many, continued follow-up with a treatment provider is critical for overcoming alcohol problems.
- Alcohol support groups are places where individuals can receive advice and support for their addiction recovery.
- Trying to tough it out on your own can be like trying to cure appendicitis with cheerful thoughts.
- Alcoholism is a complicated disease, and it’s often misunderstood by people who haven’t spent time learning about it.
- Milder cases — when people abuse alcohol but aren’t dependent on it — are as well.
Remember that your loved one is ultimately responsible for managing their own illness. Also known as “alcohol counseling,” behavioral treatments involve working with a health care provider to identify and help change the behaviors that lead to alcohol problems. Al-Anon is a support group for people whose lives have been affected by someone else’s drinking. Al-Anon helps families and friends of people with AUD feel less alone and learn how to set healthy boundaries. Family and friends of people with AUD must live their lives and learn how to manage their emotions and reactions. When families change the way they show up for themselves and their loved ones, it can be a catalyst for their loved ones to change as well.

A sponsor is someone who has made progress in their own journey to recovery. This person can be a continuous source of inspiration and guidance, someone to lean on as you strive to stay sober. Not everyone who joins a mutual help http://trello-1188-coffeelands.pantheonsite.io/2025/06/why-does-one-beer-give-me-a-headache-understanding/ group has the same goal. Perhaps you simply want to reduce your drinking rather than achieve lifelong abstinence. Research shows that most people who have alcohol problems are able to reduce their drinking or quit entirely.
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