Alcohol Rehab in Los Angeles, California: Personalized Care for Lasting Recovery

Many people associate substance abuse with illicit drug addiction, such as abusing heroin and cocaine. Additionally, the public is more aware of prescription drug abuse because of the opioid crisis. However, many people overlook that alcohol addiction is a common form of substance abuse that impacts countless lives. As the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) notes, 28.9 million (10.2%) people have alcohol use disorder (AUD). Thus, the prevalence of alcohol addiction highlights the need to understand how alcohol addiction impacts you or a loved one.

Understanding alcohol addiction is an important step in recognizing the value of addiction treatment for long-term recovery. Yet, why does alcohol addiction get overlooked, despite being one of the most common substance use disorders? At Profound Treatment, we recognize that alcohol addiction is more challenging to identify than other substance use disorders.

Alcohol’s relationship to culture and society is much more complex and interconnected than other substance use disorders. We often associate alcohol with pleasure, celebration, and community rather than depression, isolation, and addiction. Moreover, as a legal substance, it is easier to perceive alcohol as safe compared to illicit drug addiction.

Furthermore, alcohol is interwoven in society through the media and cultural experiences in spaces like college, workplaces, and bars. Through the desire for belonging and connection, alcohol abuse, like binge drinking and heavy drinking, is viewed as normal. The interwoven nature of alcohol abuse complicates how you think, feel, and behave around alcohol. However, understanding alcohol addiction can help you recognize misuse or addiction in yourself. Moreover, understanding alcohol addiction showcases the need to seek help from a treatment center for your health and long-term recovery.

Understanding Alcohol Addiction

According to the NIAAA, alcohol use disorder is a problematic pattern of alcohol use that leads to significant behavioral health impairment or distress. Essentially, alcohol addiction is the uncontrolled overconsumption of alcohol. It becomes impossible to stop drinking, even when it significantly impedes your health and the well-being of others. Moreover, the severity of your alcohol addiction is based on factors like the amount and frequency of your substance abuse. Thus, your alcohol addiction can be diagnosed as mild, moderate, or severe based on your symptoms. Yet, you may question how you got to this place in your substance abuse.

How do you go from a beer or glass of wine to a full-blown alcohol addiction? Substance use disorders rarely start overnight. Addiction often sneaks up on you, especially if you rely on unhealthy coping strategies like avoidance to suppress distressing feelings. You can deepen your understanding of alcohol addiction and your challenges by looking at different patterns of alcohol consumption. Looking at different patterns of alcohol consumption can highlight how alcohol use can move from reasonable consumption to substance abuse.

The different patterns of alcohol consumption include:

• Drinking in moderation
  • Choosing not to drink
  • Consuming two drinks or fewer in a day for males
  • Having one drink or fewer drinks in a day for females
• Binge drinking
  • Males consume five or more drinks within two hours
  • Females consume four or more drinks within two hours
• High-intensity drinking
  • Drinking ten or more drinks for males
  • Consuming eight or more drinks for females
• Heavy drinking
  • Males consume five or more drinks on any day or fifteen or more drinks per week
  • Females consume four or more drinks on any day or eight or more drinks per week
• Alcohol misuse
  • Consumption of alcohol that harms you or others around you
  • Includes binge drinking and heavy drinking
• Alcohol use disorder
  • An impaired ability to stop or control your alcohol use
  • Continued overconsumption despite adverse social, occupational, and health consequences

Why do unhealthy drinking patterns like binge drinking still happen despite evidence of physical, psychological, and social health harm? Understanding how alcohol impacts the brain is vital for self-awareness, alcohol detox, and seeking effective treatment options.

The Science Behind Alcohol Addiction

According to the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, alcohol has had a significant influence on human thought and behavior throughout history. Across cultural groups and entire societies, we have developed norms around the use and consumption of alcohol. Some of those cultural and societal norms have included:

• Alcohol is associated with mealtime and family in Italian culture
• Many ancient cultures, like the Sumerians, used alcohol in sacrificial and religious settings as an offering to their gods
• Alcohol has been used as a medicine in many cultures, from Indigenous communities to the ancient Greeks
• Like many other cultures, in Chinese culture, alcohol has been associated with important rituals and celebrations
  • Such as family meals, weddings, holidays, and leisure activities like dancing, music, and reading

Despite a long history of use and purposes across centuries and multiple cultures, alcohol has addictive properties. Alcohol contains ethanol, which is a psychoactive and toxic substance that encourages dependence. As a depressant, alcohol slows down your brain activity and disrupts the function of important neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. For example, alcohol releases an excessive amount of dopamine that increases euphoria or pleasure. Over time, your brain adapts to the excess dopamine by decreasing your natural production of dopamine.

As a result, you feel more down or depressed when you are not drinking. Then, you feel compelled to drink more and more alcohol to experience the same pleasurable effects as before. In the end, you find yourself drinking to feel “normal.” Moreover, as a brain disorder, alcohol addiction leads to cravings, a loss of control, and a negative emotional state. Your health and well-being are compromised by brain changes that come with substance abuse, like alcohol addiction.

Thus, substance abuse creates a vicious cycle of abuse and mental health issues. That cycle of alcohol addiction further increases your risk for other substance use disorders, like drug addiction. The cycle of alcohol addiction and its impact on your health and well-being can be seen in three stages:

•  Binge/intoxication: Incentive salience or the wanting neurocircuits in the brain for reward and repetitive behavior
  • Euphoria, reduced anxiety
  • Pleasure and reward lead to drinking cues
  • Leads the brain to develop and strengthen habit-forming behaviors for compulsive consumption
• Negative affect/withdrawal: Creates reward deficits and a surplus of stress
  • Withdrawal symptoms when consumption is stopped
    • Pain, anxiety, depression, irritability, and dysphoria
  • You move from drinking alcohol for pleasure to using it as a tool to escape withdrawal symptoms
• Preoccupation/anticipation: Challenges with cravings, impulsivity, and executive function
  • After a period of sobriety, you become preoccupied with consuming alcohol again
  • The part of your brain that is responsible for executive function is compromised by alcohol
    • Organizing thoughts and activities
    • Prioritizing tasks
    • Managing your time
    • Making decisions

It can be understandably distressing to think of the impact of alcohol addiction on your brain. However, long-term recovery is possible with comprehensive alcohol treatment in our Southern California treatment center. Through our inpatient or residential treatment program, you can find tailored alcohol rehab support. Some of our support services include alcohol detox, evidence-based therapies, peer support, and medication-assisted treatment (MAT).