The Physical, Mental, and Emotional Benefits of Getting Sober
Achieving sobriety is the ultimate goal for all patients recovering from an addiction to drugs or alcohol. However, the road to long-term sobriety can be long and challenging. That’s why it’s important to understand the benefits of getting sober. When roadblocks appear on the road to recovery, it can be helpful to remember what you’re gaining by giving up alcohol and/or drugs.
The benefits of sobriety extend to all areas of your life and wellbeing. You will notice some changes immediately and others will appear over time. The benefits of getting sober may look differ to each person, but the physical, emotional, and mental benefits of achieving sobriety are life changing for all
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When you drink to excess, you don’t make the best food choices and you will often gravitate towards greasy meals or fast food. In contrast, if you use certain drugs, you may not have much of an appetite at all. After you get sober, you’ll that you have a more normal appetite. At the same time, you’ll be able to make more informed decisions about what you eat.
Emotional Benefits of Getting Sober
The physical benefits of sobriety are impressive, but the emotional benefits are equally noteworthy. Addiction has been shown to alter the brain’s circuitry and, even more frighteningly, gene expression. These changes impact human behavior and interfere with your ability to make voluntary decisions, which causes you to focus all of your time and energy on seeking out and using drugs or alcohol. Needless to say, individuals who struggle with addiction also suffer from low self-esteem and low mood.
However, patients who recover from a substance abuse problem see a vast improvement in their overall mental wellbeing and they often report feeling much happier. A number of factors play a role in this improvement in
Clean and Sober was a movie about a guy name Darryl who was a drug and alcohol addict. The movie started out as him waking up beside a naked woman, then he started snorting cocaine, cocaine can give you hallucinations. When he was trying to wake up the woman, the woman was not budging, meaning she’s dead- overdosed with cocaine and this was the conflict of the story, and also he was running away from his boss because he took a great amount of money in their company and invested it on stocks and he lost it all. He went up to his friends and asked for some money so he could go far away, but no one helped him. The problem of dealing with this is a stress for him, now he has got to think of a plan where he could go away and not spend any
Although I have never personally suffered from addiction, I have dealt with alcoholics first-hand for the majority of my life, therefore I was able to relate with what the speaker what saying. The benefits of individuals who are, or even have, suffered from addiction attending meetings, such as AA, can be endless but, overall give people a non-judgmental place where they can come together and talk/listen to others who can relate to what they too are experiencing, and talk about any new problems they may experience along their journey. Additionally, other members in the group may offer a different perspective on certain issues or concerns and may suggest something that the individual may have never previously considered. Attending group meetings can be very therapeutic and can even give individuals a sense of belongingness by being a part of a group of people who also understand
While recovery from substance abuse is low and difficult to sustain for any period of abstinence, many individuals argue that the 12 steps are NOT the ONLY way to get sober. Studies have concluded there are other ways; here is one study;
The premise for AA, and later NA, comes from two alcoholics (one a surgeon) who could not maintain sobriety from alcohol on their own. The concept of abstinence as a necessary component of wellness was born, and it remains the cornerstone of twelve-step support programs. The value of Twelve Step support and recovery programs is immeasurable. Sustained recovery highly correlates with regular participation in a Twelve Step program (http://bit.ly/1hmY9yy).
I started my journey into sobriety not for the right reason but for all the wrong reasons. I was doing it for my family, for my health, for my future and for everyone else in my life. I forgot the most important reason – for MYSELF.
The rehabilitation of the users is additionally completed by the teaching of he substance abusers of new life skills like teaching them a trade. These make them get used to society since they be able to be productive again. Having less medicine for that detoxphase is the process more painful though a health care provider will always make it easier for the client. This will make it also critical for the patient to seek medical help in a rehabilitation facility.
Finally, there are many people who suffer from the disease of addiction such as alcoholism. However, today we are more fortunate because there is a program called Alcoholics Anonymous; which has proven itself to be successful and allowing alcoholics to recover from this terrible disease. This is a twelve step program to help a person deal with their disease. I am also one of those people who has had their disease of addiction arrested through these twelve steps. They have changed my life completely. I never thought I could lose the compulsion to use in my life, but I have. However, there are some people who believe the addiction to alcohol does not have any results of recovery in the twelve steps program Alcoholics Anonymous. According to Richard S. Sandor’s article “Alcoholics Anonymous is Effective in Treating Alcoholism,” in the Alcoholism Opposing Viewpoint, “Recovery from
In a research done by Brown, Vik, McQuoid, & Patterson, (1990). They examine the relationship between stressful life events, and drinking among 129 male alcoholics who had completed an alcohol treatment program. Studies found that men who returned to drinking after treatment, experienced more severe or highly threatening stress before their relapse, than men who remained abstinent during the follow-up period. This data suggests that although less severe stress may not increase risk for relapse, acute severe stressors and highly threatening chronic difficulties may be associated with elevated relapse risk. In another research done by Sinha et al., (2009) evidence indicates that regular and chronic alcohol use is associated with changes in emotion, stress, and motivational pathways. These
Nevertheless, the study still provided useful information that we could use as future therapist. Such as that the attendance of AA meetings was correlated positively with the decline of alcohol problems, further was that reducing drinking does not lead others to AA (hypothesis 2). Furthermore, being involved with AA (hypothesis 3) was not explained by motivation or presence of co-occurring disorders. As future therapist we can conclude from this study that attending AA meetings leads to reduced drinking which is great to hear. When working with clients who suffer of alcoholism one can create a program with the client and use AA as a tool. We believe a significant factor that makes AA meetings a success is the methodology of the programs. First it makes clients take accountability of their problems and actions along with providing support and hope. The take home message is that even though AA does not provide enough empirical evidence it is still a great instrument for those who are looking for extra support and guidance. It is essential
With the process of alcohol detox one can easily detoxifies the body (removal of toxic substances from the body i.e. alcohol) and it's always important to make your free from alcohol. There are a number of benefits of having this treatment for any person because it will be helpful in eradicating health issues like cirrhosis of the liver, confirms a healthy lifestyle and more importantly after the detoxification program the shape of the body becomes better and it helps in forgetting the urges from various substances.
After alcohol reaches the brain, it numbs the frontal lobe, which has direct control over the judgment, visual perception and decision making skills. Scientists believe this is what makes alcoholics believe they can conquer any task put before them. After drinking a good number of drinks everyday over a long period of time, many things can happen. Cirrhosis of the liver can occur, which means the liver tissues become hardened. Scientists also report that irreversible brain damage can occur before cirrhosis of the liver is even detected. Also, cancer of the liver, mouth, esophagus as well as lungs and pancreatic cancer often occur as a result of alcoholism. Alcohol also has an affect on the mind as well as the body. Alcoholics often report that they feel inferior to people and believe they can do anything. Many people believe that alcohol acts as a "social lubricant." Increased social pleasures, assertiveness talkativeness and even happiness are all expected by many, when they drink in these situations. Alcohol is said to reduce tension and anxiety. This in turn allows drinkers to feel more relaxed and comfortable in social situations. However, this also encourages the drinker to drink more when under more stress.
First off, it has obvious negative effects on your brain and body as well as your wallet, since it costs money to get alcohol. Then, your family will have to take care of you, and it hurts them to see you in such a condition. Drinking can also take an effect on your community by causing violence and jeopardising the safety of others. Types of treatment include going to inpatient centers, taking part in outpatient programs or going to AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meetings and support groups. These treatments help addicts determine how the addiction happened and seek the right
There are several different ways to describe substance abuse. So many people think that substance abuse only pertains to alcoholism. There is several other substances that may cause someone to be diagnosed with substance abuse disorder. Some of those things include: marijuana, alcohol, stimulants(cocaine and amphetamines), Hallucinogens, Inhalants, sedatives, and even nicotine. Even though some people may not see some of these things as things that may become addicting they are. More and more people are becoming addicted to the smallest things such as alcohol. For hundreds and thousands of American citizens alcoholism is become far too common. Alcoholism is a disease that affects many people in the United States today. It not
Through abstinence of alcohol the effects of the over use of the substance can improve but it is over time that this can happen. From the management of alcohol withdraw to continued recovery it is important for the alcoholic to follow the advice that is given for treatment. A recent study demonstrated that a cognitive remediation program was able to improve divided attention, alert capacities, working memory and episodic memory
The road to recovery of Alcohol abuse starts with realizing you have a problem. Most alcoholics won’t admit they have a problem. They consume more alcohol to try to fix their problems. When trying to quit people need to set goals for themselves. Set a goal to not take in more than a certain amount of alcohol.