Treatment options Whether or not you are considered to be alcohol dependent, the CDC recom- mends that you seek out some sort of treatment for an Alcohol Use Disorder. Treating the disorder can mean attending one-on- one behavioral counseling with a therapist or clinical social worker, attending mutual support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, or visiting with a psychiatrist or primary care physician. There are several popular, proven effective behavioral therapy treatments includ- ing: cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational en- hancement therapy, and marital and family therapy. The purpose of these be- havioral treatments are to develop skills to reduce drinking, help build a good social network for support, set personal achievable goals, and learn coping strategies other than turn- ing to alcohol in order to prevent a relapse.If you have a strong alcohol de- pendency, there is also an option to seek addiction treatment in the form of medication. The current FDA approved medications for treating alcohol addiction are naltrexone, acampro- sate, and disulfiram.
Binge drinking is another form of alcohol misuse. Binge drinking means, for women, drinking more than four drinks over the course of just a few hours and for men, five drinks. Alcohol dependence — otherwise known as alcoholism — is a disease associated with symptoms of withdrawal and loss of control. Signs of withdrawal include: sensory hyperactivity, convulsions, anxiety, motor abnormali- ties and psychological dis- comfort. According to Robert Brewer, M.D., M.S.P.H, Alcohol Pro- gram Lead at the CDC, “Con- trary to popular opinion, most people who drink too much are not alcohol de- pendent or alcoholics.” With that being said, it does not mean that alcohol misuse comes without serious, even life threatening conse- quences. In fact, the majori- ty of alcohol-related deaths are related to alcohol mis- use from non-dependent individuals. Alcohol misuse can also result in conse- quences such as a stroke, liver disease, heart disease, high blood pressure, and more.
Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) Defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), Alcohol Use Disorder is “a chronic brain disorder marked by compulsive drinking, loss of control over alcohol use, and neg- ative emotions when not drinking.” Under the board term of Alcohol Use Disor- der, there are two separate concerns including alcohol misuse and alcohol depen- dence. Alcohol misuse vs. Alcohol dependance The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers alcohol misuse a pattern of drink- ing that causes harm to one’s health, relationships, or career. For women, that typically means drinking more than one alcoholic beverage per day and for men, two drinks per day.
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