Alcohol Addiction

You only have to look at what happened to the North American Indians, the Aboriginal and Maori cultures plus ‘prohibition’ in the United States between 17 Jan 1920 – 05 Dec 1933 to gain a good insight into alcoholism and its impact on individuals, countries and cultures!

TWIN RIVERS & TREATING ALCOHOLISM

Treating alcoholism is no less challenging than addressing any other addiction and its widely misunderstood that detoxification from alcohol abuse can be fatal if not medically supervised in a hospital setting. For some strange reason, people generally refer to heroin and cocaine as problem drugs but NOT alcohol! One of the aspects of alcoholism that makes it a challenge to treat is the fact that alcohol is ‘everywhere’, on the TV, in your local supermarket, even at your local garage making alcohol the most accessible drug in the world.

The staff at Twin Rivers fully appreciate the power of advertising and that the stigma attached to alcohol is overshadowed by the stigma of methamphetamine or heroin. Within many social groups, it is accepted that alcohol is consumed and there are no limits, unlike Dubai for example on how much you buy. The stereotypical alcohol who sits in a park drinking from a brown paper bag accounts for possibly 5% of alcohols. Many alcoholics hide behind corporate culture and fine wines, long lunches and ‘business meetings. Agreed, these examples are not so prolific as 20-30 years ago but has definitely not gone away! Many alcoholics work from home and there is no shortage of alcoholics in high powered positions including within the government.

Alcohol abuse is known to lead to many complications, from accidents and violent outbursts to health and social issues. Through effective processes such as individual and group therapy, workshops and assignments, we help clients realise the destructive nature alcohol addiction has on themselves, their family and friends. We have a team of experienced medical practitioners who perform medical assessments and where necessary we provide detoxification at a local hospital.

Are Weekend Drinkers Alcoholics?

Abusing alcohol is but a sign/symptom of a much bigger issue. Daily drinkers are usually unquestionably alcoholics, but what about the weekend drinkers who get ‘slammed’ from Friday to Sunday night? Yes, this type of drinking is alcoholic as the persons behaviour during the week will be affected regarding their capacity to carry out their job properly as preoccupied with the next opportunity to consume alcohol. ‘part-time drinkers often display anti-social behaviours and moody by nature. Both their minds and bodies have been negatively impacted by the 2 or 3-day bender and so they begin to crave and sometimes shake, experiencing alcohol withdrawals. For some alcoholics they will progress to daily drinking, for some working is just a means to fund their addiction and so never really experience contentment!