Drinking to excess but not being physically dependent is called alcohol abuse. If you’re looking for Florida alcohol addiction treatment, Orlando Recovery Center offers a range of options. Our treatment offerings include medical detox, inpatient and outpatient care, intensive outpatient programming, partial hospitalization services, aftercare and teletherapy. Our 93-bed inpatient facility offers numerous amenities, including yoga, volleyball courts, a swimming pool and meditation classes. When people use this term, they are typically referring to an alcohol use disorder, which is the diagnostic term for alcohol addiction.
Attempting to withdraw on your own without a detox program can be dangerous, as alcohol withdrawal symptoms can be fatal in some cases. Culturally, we have a permissive attitude toward alcohol that is unlike any other substance—even tobacco. This mindset not only feeds into alcohol dependence—a condition that currently impacts more than 10 percent of the population—but also promotes the health consequences of even so-called “casual” alcohol consumption. For example, a recent study found that drinking two to three drinks per day is related to an increase in all-cause mortality. Another study found that one drink per day is enough to raise the risk of heart disease for women. According to the CDC, up to 90% of people who abuse alcohol don’t currently fit the diagnostic criteria for severe alcoholism, also known as alcohol use disorder.
What Is Alcohol Dependence?
Several evidence-based treatment approaches are available for AUD. One size does not fit all and a treatment approach that may work for one person may not work for another. Treatment can be outpatient and/or inpatient and be provided by specialty programs, therapists, and health care providers.
For instance, John Hancock, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, made a fortune smuggling wine and Madeira (wine mixed with rum) into the colonies to avoid paying British taxes. When British officials seized Hancock’s ship, the Liberty, he was charged with smuggling 100,000 gallons of alcoholic drink. In 2021, it was calculated that 4.9 percent of all deaths in the United States could have been prevented https://ecosoberhouse.com/ by removing alcohol. Excessive alcohol use costs the United States $249 billion each year—to put in perspective, this is about half the cost of treating heart disease, which is the number-one cause of death for Americans. April is Alcohol Awareness Month, which feels a bit ironic, doesn’t it? Instead, we should be raising awareness of alcohol normalization and the public health consequences we all suffer because of it.
Is There a Difference Between Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism?
In the case of a suspected health problem, please contact your healthcare provider. However, people who regularly abuse alcohol run a high risk of developing alcoholism. Continually exposing the body to alcohol can result in the body developing a tolerance and becoming dependent on alcohol, which are key factors in alcoholism. With time, this means they increase the overall amount they drink in each instance and over a period of time. Someone with an alcohol abuse problem may not experience withdrawal symptoms. Alcohol-attributable deaths, also known as alcohol-related deaths, include deaths from any cause that can be attributed to alcohol.
Consider talking with someone who has had a problem with drinking but has stopped. This CME/CE credit opportunity is jointly provided by the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and NIAAA. Behavioral treatments—also known as alcohol counseling, or talk therapy, and provided by licensed therapists—are aimed at changing drinking behavior. Examples of https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/what-is-the-difference-between-alcohol-abuse-and-alcoholism/ behavioral treatments are brief interventions and reinforcement approaches, treatments that build motivation and teach skills for coping and preventing a return to drinking, and mindfulness-based therapies. Treatment of AUD focuses on relieving symptoms of alcohol withdrawal in the short term and then suppressing alcohol cravings in the long term.