If you have recently asked yourself the question, "Am I an alcoholic", you may not be a certifiable alcoholic but you probably do have an alcohol problem. Fortunately, help is available to treat alcoholism and alcohol dependency problems. The easiest and most effective approach combines long-term treatment and support following a shorter-term alcohol detox program.



Most alcohol rehab programs have traditionally been rooted in strong, on-going personal support involving family, friends and peer groups. There's nothing wrong with that, but the main problem is taking the first big step – making the decision to quit drinking and get into an alcohol rehab program. The good news is that a fast, modern medically supervised alcohol detox program can make the alcohol rehab decision a whole lot easier.

Depending on how long and how much you have been drinking, it may also be dangerous just to stop drinking without a medically supervised alcohol detox. Enrollment right at the start in a successful alcohol detox program – just a few days, not a life-long battle – can help get a handle on the whole alcohol rehab process and serve as the beginning to a full recovery.

Unfortunately, many alcoholics who seek help from a family doctor come away with little hope. According to the Rush Institute of Recovery, more than 80 percent of physicians avoid addressing alcoholism with their patients – not because they don't care, but because they are untrained in the field. Many doctors still consider alcoholism to be a purely psychological, emotional or will-power problem, and most medical schools spend little time on the study of alcoholism or drug addiction.

Some doctors might hastily prescribe one of the few drugs commonly used to address alcoholism. Statistics show that medications alone almost never handle alcohol dependence – not even the newest drugs that have been publicized as miracle cures by the drug companies. Experience in treatment centers has shown they work only for some people, and often not very well. Another problem is that if you stop taking the medication, you most likely will wind up right back where you started – reaching for a drink. Medications don't address the reasons why you started drinking too much, or the damage that has occurred in your life because of your drinking.

However, alcohol detox in a modern, medically supervised setting, where the symptoms of craving a drink are all but eliminated, can be accomplished in a matter of a few days, helping to set the stage for a much more comfortable longer-term journey back to health.

In other words, it's a lot easier to make a decision to spend a few, easy-to-confront days in alcohol detox than having to think about an endless, life-long battle with alcohol addiction. It's important to note that although alcohol detox is surprisingly fast, convenient and effective, it is only the first step towards life-long sobriety. But the journey to a recovered future through ongoing support and treatment will have begun with your successful alcohol detox program.