Alcohol use disorder
Alcohol Addiction Treatment
Alcohol addiction is one of the most common substance use disorders we treat. Inpatient and outpatient programs address the drinking — and the reasons behind it.
About this condition
Alcohol addiction
Alcohol addiction, also known as alcoholism, is a serious and chronic disorder marked by strong cravings, loss of control over drinking, physical dependence, and disrupted relationships. Many people keep drinking even when they can see the consequences, because dependence and withdrawal symptoms make stopping genuinely hard.
The American Society of Addiction Medicine defines alcoholism by four criteria: lack of control, obsession, consequences, and denial. Guilt, shame, anxiety, and depression add psychological barriers of their own. Our treatment programs help people uncover the underlying issues, create sustainable change, and recover from the effects of alcoholism.
Alcohol addiction treatment runs at Ambrosia's programs in West Palm Beach, Port St. Lucie, and Singer Island, Florida, with inpatient and outpatient levels of care and medical detox when withdrawal needs supervision.
Binge drinking counts too
Binge drinking means consuming an excessive amount of alcohol in a short period — the CDC defines it as five or more drinks in two hours for men, four or more for women. It is most common between 18 and 24, but it affects people of every age, and drinking this way does not exempt anyone from the long-term consequences of alcohol abuse.
Signs that weekend drinking has become a problem include:
- Drinking excessively on the weekends
- Becoming irritable or anxious after a night out
- Drinking past the limit you set for yourself
- Blacking out frequently
- Health problems related to drinking
- Fallout in your personal or professional life
Risks of drinking too much
The most severe immediate risk is alcohol poisoning — a life-threatening condition in which excessive drinking overwhelms the central nervous system, dropping body temperature, slowing breathing, and causing vomiting that can lead to choking. Without medical attention, alcohol poisoning is often fatal. Short-term risks also include arguments, legal repercussions, unemployment, and motor vehicle accidents and DUIs.
Long-term, roughly 88,000 Americans lose their lives each year to health issues related to alcohol use — most of them men, though the gap between men and women is narrowing. Contributing diseases include depressive disorders, cancer, heart disease, bone disease, immune and nerve disease, pancreatitis, and stomach ulcers. Liver complications are the most common of the life-threatening ones, and liver disease is rising among people between 25 and 34.
Damage accrues the longer you drink, but harm can arrive early too. If drinking has reached this point, medical detox is often the safest next step before things worsen.
Alcohol, mental health, and co-occurring disorders
Heavy drinking and mental health run in both directions: depression and anxiety can follow long-term alcoholism, and some people drink to cope with an underlying mental health disorder in the first place. Alcohol-related emergency visits, hospitalizations, and deaths have all risen over the past two decades, with larger increases among women, and studies suggest women are more susceptible to alcohol-induced liver inflammation, cardiovascular disease, memory blackouts, and certain cancers.
That is why our alcohol treatment includes dual-diagnosis care — treating the mental health condition and the addiction together rather than one at a time.
What alcohol addiction treatment looks like
Treatment may take place in an outpatient or residential setting depending on the severity of the addiction, and usually combines individual counseling, group therapy, 12-step programs, holistic therapies, and medication to manage withdrawal symptoms and cravings — plus family counseling, support groups, and aftercare.
The goal is to learn healthier ways to cope with the stress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness that often lead to alcohol misuse, and to build skills that last: lifestyle changes, better communication, and relapse-prevention strategies. Recreation and peer community are part of the program too — people who feel connected are more likely to stay on track.
Ready to talk with admissions?
Admissions is available 24/7 to answer questions about mental health and substance use treatment options.