While many people still try and define addicts as different then alcoholics, the fact of the matter is that the definition of addiction or alcoholism is almost identical and both require an intervention, and a stay in a alcohol and drug addiction treatment program. The main difference is that one is liquid in nature, while the other can take on a variety of forms. The overall effects of addiction or alcoholism are exactly the same. If a drug addict is unwilling to get into a drug and alcohol abuse treatment program, what can you do about it?

This can be a challenge. An addict can’t be forced to get into a drug rehab center except under certain circumstances, such as a violent incident that results in a court-ordered drug treatment program or medical emergency. But you don’t have to wait for someone to “hit rock bottom” to act. Many drug treatment specialists suggest the following steps to help an alcoholic get treatment:

Stop all “cover ups”. Family members often make excuses to others or try to protect the addict from the results of his or her drug abuse. It is important to stop covering for the addict so that he or she experiences the full consequences of drug use.

One of first things to be learned in a luxury residential alcohol rehabilitation center, or any alcohol rehab really, is the definition of the word… Alcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions. In common and historic usage, alcoholism refers to any condition that results in the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages despite the health problems and negative social consequences it causes. Medical definitions describe alcoholism as a disease which results in a persistent use of alcohol despite negative consequences. Alcoholism may also refer to a preoccupation with or compulsion toward the consumption of alcohol and/or an impaired ability to recognize the negative effects of excessive alcohol consumption. Although not all of these definitions specify current and on-going use of alcohol as a qualifier, some do, as well as remarking on the long-term effects of consistent, heavy alcohol use, including dependence and symptoms of withdrawal.

While the ingestion of alcohol is, by definition, necessary to develop alcoholism, the use of alcohol does not predict the development of alcoholism. The quantity, frequency and regularity of alcohol consumption required to develop alcoholism varies greatly from person to person. In addition, although the biological mechanisms underpinning alcoholism are uncertain, some risk factors, including social environment, emotional health and genetic predisposition, have been identified. Alas, if you identify with any of this, perhaps you should get sober and enter an alcohol rehabilitation facility. And why not one in Malibu, CA…

Alcoholism ruins lives. There’s no gentler way to describe the disease, or prettier way to frame its effects. If you’re here, reading this, you already know that alcohol abuse strips its victims of their dignity, and turns them into shells of the people they used to be. But that doesn’t have to be the end of the story. As devastating as alcoholism can be, successful alcoholism treatment can make a world of difference. The only catch, of course, is that you have to seek it out. And you can only seek it out after you’ve come to grips with the fact of your alcohol problem.

Enrolling in an alcohol rehab program isn’t an easy thing to do. It means admitting weakness, and vulnerability, and that you have a problem you can’t solve by yourself. But nothing you do will ever be more important. For your own sake, for the sake of the people who care about you…let today be the day you make the right choice. You know what’s at stake in the fight against alcoholism. Now you know what you can do to win it. You will never, ever, regret the effort.

Alcohol treatment has to confront alcoholism in every form or on every front. Addiction is a disease with both physical and psychological roots. Addiction recovery has to entail both physical and psychological healing. The best alcohol treatment center or the best drug treatment center is the one that helps its patients get better in body as well as in mind, in substance as well as in spirit. There are no partial victories in the alcohol rehab process. If you’re going to get better, you’re going to have to get all the way better. There is, in the end, no other way for meaningful alcohol recovery to happen.

Some alcohol treatment centers in Los Angeles emphasize holistic alcohol recovery. Some don’t. The difference, for you, is more important than any in the world. In choosing an alcohol treatment facility, it’s vital that you find one that can give you all the care you need on the road to recovery. Remember, alcohol treatment doesn’t work by accident. On the contrary, it can only succeed if it’s done the right way. Given the stakes in the fight against alcohol abuse, you simply can’t afford to learn that lesson the hard way.

Counselors at Cliffside, Malibu drug and alcohol treatment center stay abreast of all developments in the research of addiction and alcoholism. The following is a snippet from an article found on the NIH web site… “Previous studies established that alcoholism runs in families, but this research has given us the most extensive catalogue yet of the genetic variations that may contribute to the hereditary nature of this disease,” says NIDA Director Dr. Nora D. Volkow. “We now have new tools that will allow us to better understand the physiological foundation of addiction.” “This is an important contribution to studies of the genetics of alcoholism and co-occurring substance use disorders,” adds Dr. Ting-Kai Li, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). “The findings will open many new avenues of research into common factors in genetic vulnerability and common mechanisms of disease.” NIDA researchers found genetic variations clustered around 51 defined chromosomal regions that may play roles in alcohol addiction. The candidate genes are involved in many key activities, including cell-to-cell communication, control of protein synthesis, regulation of development, and cell-to-cell interactions. For example, one gene implicated in this studyÑthe AIP1 geneÑis a known disease-related gene expressed primarily in the brain, where it helps brain cells set up and maintain contacts with the appropriate neighboring cells. Many of the nominated genes have been previously identified in other addiction research, providing support to the idea that common genetic variants are involved in human vulnerability to substance abuse.