Understanding Alcohol Use Disorder

What is alcohol use disorder?

A person suffering from this substance use disorder will consume enough alcohol that adversely affects their health and relationships. The severity of the disorder depends on how much alcohol is consumed and its effects.

A professional medical practitioner can screen you to confirm if you experience alcohol use disorder and to what degree. They can also prescribe a course of action.

What are the symptoms?

Some common alcohol use disorder symptoms include but are not limited to

• Denial.
• Impaired memory.
• Increased risky behavior.
• Poor coordination.
• Withdrawal symptoms.

People who experience alcohol use disorder may also:

• Be unable to stop drinking despite wanting to quit.
• Feel sick from drinking.
• Hide alcohol consumption.
• Miss work, school, or hobbies for drinking.

What are the health risks of alcohol use disorder?

Short and long-term alcohol use that exceeds health standards can cause serious mental and physical complications, including:

• Behavioral disorders.
• Cancer.
• Cardiovascular disease.
• Fetal alcohol syndrome or birth complications.
• Infectious diseases.
• Liver cirrhosis.
• Mental health illnesses.
• Unintentional and intentional injuries.

Recognizing When It’s Time to Get Help

Health issues arise

Excessive drinking can damage your heart, blood, and other organs. For example, alcohol misuse can lead to a higher risk for liver disease, a dangerous condition over 4 million people in the United States struggle to overcome. Alcohol-related illnesses can occur no matter how old you are. However, they happen more often as you grow older.

Mental health declines

Mental health disorders like depression have been linked to alcohol use. Poor mental health can lead to other conditions and suicide. You might be more at risk if you have a history of abuse or trauma. However, anyone who has an alcohol use disorder can suffer.

When your personal and professional relationships suffer

Your behavior might distance your family and friends from you. You might also isolate yourself with only your illness to keep you company. This is not healthy for anyone. When your professional relationships break down, you might find yourself unemployed or unable to find a job. Damaged personal relationships could be more heartbreaking. Your loved ones could be the support system you need but not if your illness drives them away.

Neglecting responsibilities

Prioritizing alcohol over your private and professional commitments can harm your personal life, finances, and reputation. People who count on you will not be able to when you suffer from alcohol use disorder. Taking action to heal yourself can help you meet deadlines and appointments again, restoring your place among your friends, family, and colleagues.

Quitting on your own isn’t working.

If you have decided to stop drinking in the past, then you might have succeeded. Was that hiatus temporary? Chances are, if you’re reading this article, then it was. Alcohol use disorder can destroy your willpower no matter how diligent you are.

When you’ve decided enough’s enough

You’ve tried to quit drinking. You’ve read books and watched videos. You thought you had your condition under control.

But nothing works.

You’re tired of this illness wrecking your life. You want to feel better again – not later but now. Enough’s enough. It’s time for a change that lasts.

In network alcohol treatment could be the solution that makes a positive difference.

Receiving In Network Alcohol Treatment

Northstar Recovery Center in Southborough, MA can provide you with in network alcohol treatment in MA. Our addiction treatment services include two comprehensive options that can get you on your feet again.

Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)

The PHP option can be perfect for you if you seek intensive substance abuse treatment but do not want a residential substance abuse treatment program or do not qualify for inpatient care.

Our team will conduct an in-depth client intake that helps them assess how long you will need treatment. You will be guided based on factors like the severity of your addiction, the existence of underlying mental health disorders, and any previous history of relapses.

Depending on your particular circumstance, you could spend up to six hours a day, five days a week, participating in therapy programs that address your issue. These programs could include individual counseling, group therapy, and peer support groups.

Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)

The IOP option does not require 24/7 residency at a facility. However, our IOP demands more of your time than a regular outpatient treatment program. If you need a higher level of care but are comfortable at home, this could be the most effective solution.

Our IOP is a flexible alternative that can be done while working around your schedule. You don’t need to miss work or family obligations. However, due to its flexibility and outpatient setting, you will be held more accountable because you will not be living in a protected, trigger-free setting. We will give you the tools to navigate real-world spaces and interact with people so you won’t feel lost.

IOPs typically cost less than residential rehabs for substance abuse. You shouldn’t have to worry about how you’re going to pay your medical bills, especially when your health is on the line.

Find Your Guiding Light

Whatever option you choose, alcohol use treatment in MA is within your reach. We will ensure you are safe, cared for, and secure on your path. Please reach out to us today to begin your healing journey.

How Does Trauma Affect the Way I React to the World?

Trauma affects how you interact with the world in numerous ways, primarily impacting your emotional, physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, and developmental well-being. Below are some examples for each category to help you understand the major ways in which trauma can contribute to your substance use disorder.

Emotional Well-Being

Individuals recovering from severe trauma face numerous challenges in managing their emotions. Some people experience emotional “numbing” in the aftermath of trauma, where they feel that their thoughts, behaviors, or memories are separate from their emotions.

Additionally, Emotional dysregulation is common among people that have experienced trauma. Emotional dysregulation occurs when trauma survivors struggle to regulate their emotions and manage emotional responses after trauma. Many trauma survivors who are experiencing emotional dysregulation turn to substance misuse. Substance use disorder is often a strategy for trauma survivors to regulate their emotions, though their abuse causes more damage long-term.

Physical Well-Being

Trauma goes beyond psychological damage and can cause harm to your physical well-being. Untreated trauma can lead to bodily pain, sleep disturbances, cardiovascular disorders, respiratory conditions, and neurological challenges, to name a few. Additionally, trauma can lead to physical harm manifested in substance use disorders.

Cognitive Well-Being

Traumatic situations challenge your long-held beliefs and assumptions about the world, causing you to interact with the world around you differently. The following list explains some cognitive changes that might occur after a traumatic event.

• Cognitive errors, where the traumatized individual misinterprets situations because of a perceived resemblance to the traumatic event
• Excessive feelings of misplaced guilt over the traumatic event
• Idealization of the perpetrator
• Hallucinations or delusions
• Intrusive thoughts or memories
• Feeling different from those around you
• Experiencing triggers and flashbacks
• Dissociation, depersonalization, or derealization

Behavioral Well-Being

Your mind and body often cope with trauma through harmful and toxic behaviors. You may turn to self-injurious behaviors or place yourself in high-risk situations. Some individuals will subconsciously reenact their traumatic experiences to gain control over the situation.

Additionally, you might attempt to reduce traumatic stress by binge drinking or misusing substances. Substance use commonly develops or worsens after experiencing trauma, and individuals struggling with substance misuse before a traumatic event are likely to rely more on these substances after the event. How one misuses substances often correlates with the type of trauma symptoms they are experiencing, but the intention is always to self-medicate and avoid trauma in some way.

Social Well-Being

Trauma typically impacts your relationships in some way and might cause damage to your relationships with friends and family members you were close with before the event. Trauma survivors might isolate themselves or find great difficulty in trusting other people. The constant paranoia over charging other people and social isolation resulting from trauma often leads to trauma survivors misusing substances.

Developmental Well-Being

Traumatic experiences impact people differently based on their age group, with children and the elderly at the highest risk of developmental damage from trauma. Below are a few ways that trauma impacts different age groups.

• Young children: fear, nightmares, confusion, physical symptoms including stomachaches and headaches
• School-age children: aggressive behavior, anger, regressive behavior, traumatic play, lack of concentration, poor academic performance
• Adolescents: depression, social withdrawal, risky activities, sleep and eating disturbances, rebellious behaviors
• Adults: sleep problems, increased agitation, hypervigilance, isolation, withdrawal, increased misuse of drugs and alcohol
• Older adults/elderly: withdrawal, social isolation, reluctance to leave the house, confusion, depression, fear, worsening chronic illnesses

What is the Connection Between Trauma and Addiction?

Traumatic experiences commonly head to addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. PTSD results from highly traumatic situations, and the side effects of PTSD often cause people to turn to alcohol or substances to help escape the aftermath of trauma. An intensive outpatient or partial hospitalization program (PHP) can help you navigate substance misuse and PTSD to address trauma’s impact on your well-being.

Individual trauma survivors are more likely than those around them to struggle with substance misuse throughout their lives before and after a PTSD diagnosis. For instance, the statistics below show the strong connection between trauma and substance misuse.

• One-quarter to three-quarters of people surviving abuse or violent trauma encounter problematic alcohol use.
• Around 80 percent of Vietnam veterans receiving PTSD treatment have alcohol use disorders.
• Men and women with past sexual trauma experience substance misuse at higher rates than men and women without sexual trauma
• Adolescents with PTSD are four times more likely than adolescents without PTSD to encounter alcohol misuse or dependence. They are six times as likely to encounter marijuana misuse or dependence and nine times as likely to misuse and depend on substances.

What Types of Traumatic Events are Connected to Substance Misuse?

While not one specific event connects trauma and substance misuse, many individuals turn to substances to help them cope with highly traumatic experiences. For instance, traumatic events, including sexual assault, exposure to a violent crime, child abuse, disasters, wars, or witnessing another person die, are common triggers for substance use disorders.

Finding Trauma-Informed IOP in MA

If you are seeking trauma-informed IOP or PHP in MA, you can find help with Northstar Recovery Center. Northstar Recovery Center has numerous programs to help you understand the connection between trauma and substance misuse and heal in a compassionate and welcoming environment.

Trauma-informed IOP is crucial to your overall recovery process. Contact the experts at Northstar Recovery Center for more information about trauma-informed IOP in MA.