10 steps to recovery from alcoholism

10 steps to recovery from alcoholism

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  10 Steps toRecovery from Alcoholism by Jozzy Scott http://alcoholicspousehelp.com
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  1. Admit Your Drinking Condition One of the greatest barriers to recovery is denial. This is a common problem among many alcoholic spouses. Knowing and admitting your alcoholism condition is the first indispensable step to recovery. Seeing alcoholism as a problem, which it is, will help you in putting up the necessary commitment you need to quit.
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  2. Make a Decision to Quit Drinking Once you have admitted having the problem of alcoholism, the next step is to actually make the decision to quit. The AA big book noted the fact that “the idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death”. Making a decision helps you break out of this illusion. Recovery does not just happen; you have to decide that you want to quit drinking.
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  3. Reprogram Your Mind Don’t rush off into quitting if your mind is not ready for it. Why do I say so? Because alcoholism is a habit and habits are hard to break. It is therefore important to give your mind the necessary reprogramming and empowerment to keep you through the process. A major way of reprogramming your mind is through affirmation and positive self talk. This involves telling yourself empowering facts about yourself or the things you want about yourself. You can use statements like “I’m strong enough to overcome any challenge”, “I deserve a healthy relationship with my spouse”, etc.
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  4. Acknowledge Your Purpose and Commit Yourself A saying goes that “where purpose is not defined, abuse is inevitable”. It is therefore paramount to define why you want to quit. Knowing the purpose why you want to quit helps you to better commit yourself to the recovery process. Defining your purpose might be achieved after carefully evaluating the benefits and costs of drinking and not drinking. Your purpose could be “I want to quit alcohol because I want to have more time with my spouse and those I care about” etc. Now let’s move on to the fifth step.
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  5. Get Sober with Precaution The ease of getting sober varies and there could be issues if precaution is not taken. While some people can stop drinking on their own, some others need medical supervision in other to withdraw from alcohol safely and comfortably. However, Call 911 or go to the emergency room if you experience any of the following withdrawal symptoms: *severe vomiting *confusion and disorientation *fever *hallucinations *extreme agitation *seizures or convulsions. These symptoms may be a sign of a serious form of withdrawal called Delirium Tremens (DT) which though rare, can be life-threatening. It is important to get to the hospital on noticing those symptoms.
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  6. Get Support Irrespective of the recovery option you chose, support is essential. Don’t try to do it alone. The process of recovery is much easier when you have people you can lean on for encouragement, comfort and guidance. Your spouse and close friends can play this role for you. You should also find out if there is a support group in your community for people who are trying to quit alcohol and attend their meetings regularly. It can be very healing to spend time with people who understand exactly what you are going through and are ready to share their experiences with you.
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  7. Have a Plan to Cope with Cravings and Triggers Triggers and cravings for alcohol can be particularly intense in the first few months of quitting alcohol. It is therefore important to have a plan for them. Some important things that should be included in your plan should be to avoid getting tired or hungry, stay busy, avoid people, places and lifestyles that triggers a craving for alcohol, exercise to engage in when craving sets in, how to politely refuse alcoholic beverages when offered, urge surfing and so on.
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  8. Seek for fulfillment and Meaningfulness Getting sober is an important first step to recovery no doubt, but staying sober is an aspect that is also quite important. As a matter of fact, we see alcoholic spouses every now and then who decide to get sober and really did only to relapse after some short time. To stay alcohol-free for the long term, you’ll need to build a new, meaningful life where you give no place to drinking. Develop new hobbies; get new buddies, set goals you will find tasking to achieve, and do things that will give you a sense of fulfillment and inner satisfaction. When you’re doing things you find fulfilling, you will have a better admiration for yourself and the appeal for alcohol will dwindle.
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  9. Reward Yourself Paying yourself for any positive advancement you make towards recovery, no matter how small, is a great way to motivate yourself. Really, it might be as small as a decision not to carry money for alcohol or learn a new song; you should pay yourself some sort of reward. However, don’t reward yourself with alcohol.
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  10. Take ACTION! This is probably the most important step and possibly the BEST advice you could get for sobriety and recovery from any addiction. No matter how many articles you read on recovery and getting sober, nothing changes until you TAKE ACTION! You might want to go over the last sentence again. That is so true. The truth is that taking the first step in any journey, especially a habit-change one is usually difficult. Start today and even if you have a relapse at your initial stages, understand that a drinking relapse doesn’t mean you’re a failure or that you’ll never be able to reach your goal. Each drinking relapse is an opportunity to learn and recommit to sobriety.
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  Now go throughthe steps again and decide what you want to do with the information you have NOW. I sincerely wish you good luck! Save a marriage from alcoholism through articles on http://alcoholicspousehelp.com