Friend In Alcohol Withdrawal
I am the girlfriend/friend of a man who is currently in the hospital in the throws of withdraw from alcohol.
He just started the DT’s and I think they will last a while.
I guess my question is, what’s next?
He needs to get into rehab but I am afraid that he will not go.
If he continues to drink the damage that he has done to his body will get worse and he will die.
I am a recovering drug addict myself I understand the mechanics of this illness, I just don’t know how to help him.
Any advise will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Melissa
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Treatment and Recovery Plan
You are right to be concerned for your friend. After his detoxification, which is not pleasant, his problems will certainly NOT be over. He may not have alcohol in his system and he may be ?sober,? but he is still an alcoholic. He needs treatment for his disease and after treatment he needs to be in recovery. Recovering alcoholics can rebuild their lives by correcting bad habits, changing their lifestyle to accommodate the reality that they can not drink. If people merely go through detox and immediately return to the environment where they got into trouble, it doesn’t take a phi beta kappa to figure out that trouble is right around the corner. Detox is not sobriety. You might want to dialog with his doctors, give Al-Anon a call and start forming a plan for how you can be of help. He is going to have to make some decisions and hopefully those decisions will lead to the path of recovery. |