If you have been struggling to break away from alcoholism, you may be feeling discouraged because it all seems so hard. You may have already attempted to end the addiction numerous times, yet you still end back at square one. It is all very disheartening. The good news is that there is going to be a solution to your alcohol problem, and it will be possible for you to break free for good. For this to happen, you need to understand why it is so difficult to escape alcoholism and what you can do to make things easier.
Alcohol Traps You Mentally and Physically
The reason why it can be so difficult to break away from alcohol is that this substance traps you mentally and physically. Your body has needed to adapt to alcohol being in your system, meaning that you have needed to develop a tolerance to it. This adaptation has worked so well that your body expects there to be alcohol in the bloodstream as part of normal functioning, which means you have become physically addicted. If you try to stop or significantly cut-down on your intake, it can cause you to develop withdrawal symptoms; this is because they body has to readapt to not having alcohol in the system.
As well as being physically addicted, you have also developed a psychological dependence. This means that you probably cannot imagine how you are going to cope without this substance. It may have been that you were finding life difficult to manage before you fell into addiction, meaning that you turned to alcohol as a type of coping strategy. Unfortunately, it is a very bad coping strategy because over time it makes your problems much worse. The issue is that it is the thing you now rely on to get through life, making it impossible for you to imagine how you are going to survive without it.
Another aspect of the psychological dependence is that you are going to experience cravings if you try to stop using the substance. It can be very difficult to ignore these cravings because they can become like an obsession. It can be like a mental itch, with the only way to scratch it having another drink. Many find it is the cravings that are the hardest thing to deal with when first giving up alcohol.
Alcohol Damages Your Self-Efficacy
It is the physical and psychological addiction that traps you into addiction, but it is often your low self-efficacy that keeps you trapped. The process of addiction can make you feel completely powerless. Efficacy is your belief in your ability to achieve something; if you have low self-efficacy then it means that you do not believe you can achieve a task. This belief becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The fact that you do not believe you can break away from alcohol means that you are not going to be able to put in sufficient effort to make this a reality. You begin by believing you are going to fail, which is then what happens.
Low self-efficacy occurs because of the process of addiction. When you first began to slip into dependence to alcohol, you probably still felt completely in control. It can take a long time to get beyond this period of denial. Once you begin to recognise that there is a problem, you are then likely to try to control your drinking. The problem is that you are never able to maintain this control and every time you fail to do this, it lowers your self-efficacy for the next attempt. This is why it can often be crucial for you to get help in order to break away from addiction. You need this support so you can regain control over your life.
Alcohol Means You Struggle to Deal with Sober Living
One of the other reasons why it can be so difficult to break away from alcohol is that you may not feel able to deal with sober living. This is especially likely if you fell into abusing alcohol at a young age. It is normal for people to go through a rapid period of development in the teenage and early adult years and it is during this time that individuals pick up the coping skills for dealing with life. If you were abusing alcohol during these years, it is likely that you missed out on this developmental part of your life. This means that it may be difficult for you to cope with the challenges of being an adult if you become sober.
Alcohol Damages Your Relationships
One of the other reasons why it can be difficult to break away from alcohol is you might not have much support. This is because the process of addiction typically means that you cause great damage to your relationships. It may be hard for others to trust you, and they may not believe you when you say that you want to change. This can mean that they are unwilling to offer you support because they just do not want to end up being disappointed again. The problem is that if you do not have sufficient support, it can be very difficult for you to break away from addiction.
How to Make Escaping Alcoholism Easier
Now that you know why breaking away from alcohol can be so difficult, you are ready to learn how to make things much easier. Below are just a few tips for how you are going to be able to do this.
- The physical addiction means that you are going to experience withdrawal symptoms should you try to stop, so it is going to be much easier to go through this process in an alcohol detox.
- You need to understand that the physical cravings only really become a problem if you allow yourself to dwell on them. Therefore, try to keep yourself distracted and they will soon pass.
- It is important to keep in mind that the acute physical and psychological symptoms of withdrawal are only going to last a few days.
- An alcohol detox is going to have treatments available to ease the withdrawal symptoms.
- It is highly recommended that you enter a rehab following detox as this is going to give you the skills you need to build a great life.
- The other great advantage of entering an inpatient rehabilitation program is that it is going to give you plenty of support and encouragement.
- The way to increase self-efficacy is to begin to experience success in recovery. In the beginning, you need to take a leap of faith, but the longer you stay sober, the easier it all gets.
Don’t Allow the Difficulty of Breaking Away from Alcohol Keep You Trapped
The most difficult thing you have to do in order to break away from alcohol is to make the definite decision to stop. The fear of the difficultly of recovery is much harder than the actual process. You also need to appreciate that it is going to be much more difficult for you to stay the same than it is for you to change.
