How Dry January Helps Identify Alcohol Use Disorder
STATEWIDE (WISH) — Dry January is a wellness challenge for people to avoid alcohol for the entire month, its intent to promote healthier habits for the new year.
However, some people may find it’s a challenge they can’t handle. That could be a big warning sign of alcohol use disorder.
Dr. Evan Singleton is with the Community Fairbanks Recovery Center and joined Daybreak Monday morning. He identifies alcohol use disorder as “a common, chronic, and most importantly, treatable medical problem, not that different from diabetes.”
Singleton says that the condition affects 10% of Hoosiers, and its most obvious symptom is an individual having difficulty in controlling their use of alcohol; especially once it begins to cause problems in someone’s health, personal life, or work life.
Singleton said that other symptoms and effects of alcohol use disorder are withdrawal, anxiety, getting the shakes and experiencing clammy or sweaty skin. Any of those are a message that should see a doctor as soon as possible.
A person should be able to discern whether they are suffering the effects of the disorder, as opposed to a common hangover, according to Singleton.
“Alcohol use disorder, especially in the early stages when it’s more mild or moderate, is still a lot more severe than a hangover. People may notice a lot of conflict with their loved ones, difficulty getting things done at work, and a big difficulty trying to cut down even when they really, really want to.”
The doctor suggests that alcohol use disorder should be treated like any other medical condition. When somebody is suffering, the necessary medical steps must be taken.
“Talk to your family doctor, your other primary care provider or behavioral health care provider. We have lots and lots of treatments. Just like with diabetes, some people who are very sick may need to be in the hospital for a short period of time. Just like some people with diabetes may need to talk to a diabetes educator or a dietician about how to make healthy habits stick.
“People with alcohol use disorder may benefit from peer recovery groups like Alcoholics Anonymous or individual or group counseling. And just like people with diabetes sometimes need medicine to improve their blood sugar, people with alcohol use disorder may benefit from a medicine to help them help cut down on their alcohol cravings to make recovery easier.”
Singleton says there are plenty of treatment options along the road to wellness and recovery, such as different outpatient therapies like intensive outpatient therapy a few days a week; or partial hospitalization, which is group counseling all day, five days a week, and individual counseling.
