Alcoholism is the disease of being addicted to alcohol. This illness results in chemical changes in the brain that hijack rational thought and compel the alcholic to drink no matter the consequences. Drinking alcohol over a long period of time causes a person to become physically dependent on it. This means that if they suddenly stop drinking they can develop life-threatening symptoms. Most alcholics find that they cannot stop drinking by themselves and need alcohol rehabilitation to recover from this illness.

Alcohol rehabilitation usually starts in a detoxification (detox) center where the person is medically supervised while they stop drinking. All of the alcohol and other residual toxins are removed from the body during detox. This should happen in a specially equipped clinical setting where the alcoholic can be carefully monitored. The withdrawal symptoms that an alcoholic experiences are very unpleasant and can even be life-threatening.

After the detox process has been completed the alcoholic is referred to an alcohol rehabilitation center. This is a learning process where the alcoholic will be taught about the disease and treated with a comprehensive program that addresses the many facets of the illness. In alcohol rehabilitation life skills are taught so that alcoholics can cope with the stressors of life without needing to drink. Alcoholics are given the opportunity to address their life and make choices about how to change their behaviour so that it is more productive. Alcohol rehabilitation is very much about retraining the brain to stop resorting to drinking and start using productive activities to deal with stress.

Alcoholism is often accompanied by other psychological problems that complicate the treatment. People who suffer from a co-occurring mental disorder ("dual diagnosis") need to receive expert attention to both problems in an integrative and holistic manner. Alcohol rehabilitation is much more likely to be successful if techniques are used to address both problems at the same time.

Alcoholism is a progressive illness. This means that it gets worse as time goes by. Treating alcholism is the only way to stop it from leading to disasterous consequences. The quicker somebody enters a alcohol rehabilitation the less chance there is for permanent damage.

Although the alcoholic is responsible for working the program and following suggestions the quality of an alcohol rehabilitation program has a strong influence on the success rate. A poor program is unlikely to succeed in helping somebody find lasting sobriety. An excellent program is more likely to be able to work with the resistance or apathy that an alcoholic may have. Outstanding alchol rehabilitation programs are able to instil motivation in their clients, but even the best programs will fail if the alcoholic never becomes willing to change.

Finding an alcohol rehabilitation center in South Africa might seem difficult at first. They all claim to have high success rates and all advertise great facilities and staff complements. You can browse the internet and view their websites as a way to "shop around". We Do Recover can help you take the guesswork out of choosing an alcohol rehabilitation.

Most alcoholics struggle to make the decision to enter alcohol rehabilitation. Many do not know if they require alcohol rehabilitation or if they might be able to overcome their drinking problem independently. It is important to assess just how physically dependent you are. If you find that you need alcohol just to function then alcohol rehabilitation might be needed to help you curb this problem.

This is especially true if you suffer from withdrawal effects if you don't drink for a while. Perhaps you begin to shake or tremble, or maybe you feel anxious and nervous? If this is the case then alcohol rehabilitation will help you to overcome the unpleasant and dangerous side-effects of stopping drinking.

For a lot of people the decision to enter into alcohol rehabilitation is quite easy. They understand that their drinking is problematic to them and that they need to enter an alcohol rehabilitation program. Yet they still struggle to take the first steps into rehab. Nobody can easily force them into alcohol rehabilitation, but an intervention might help to nudge them to take the step into alcohol rehab.

It might seem redundant to suggest that alcoholics should be treated in an alcohol rehabilitation center. Alcoholics still deny or ignore this and refuse to be treated in an alcohol rehab center. The alcoholic may believe that he or she is able to conquer the alcoholism alone. So many have tried and failed that it is hardly worth even trying. The one or two people that do manage to get through the detox and stay sober are very much the exception to the rule. The majority of alcoholics will need an alcohol rehabilitation program to help manage the symptoms of withdrawal and to learn the coping skills required to stay sober.

It is often the friends and family members of alcoholics who suggest that they be admitted to an alcohol rehabilitation program in South Africa. Alcoholics might act very badly while drunk but will still think that everything is normal and their drinking is under control. The family suffers greatly from having an alcoholic. Alcohol rehabilitation helps the whole family just as much as it helps the alcoholic. Rehab centers in South Africa offer special therapeutic activities for family members to learn how to cope with the alcoholic behaviour and emotions.

In the alcohol rehabilitation program the alcoholic will learn that he or she has a disease. This helps to dispel some of the guilt and shame he/she may be feeling. The alcohol rehab program will inspire the alcoholic by showing that there are many other people with similar problems who have achieved lasting sobriety. There are many recovering alcoholics who do service in alcohol rehabilitation centers by performing talks or offering lifts to meetings. This allows them to help the newcomers to the alcohol rehabilitation program and allows the newcomers to integrate into the wider community of recovering alcoholics.