What to Say to a Person Who Says They Do Not Need Rehab and Can Quit Drinking Without Help
You probably think this is possible, and it might be for a limited time, but you would not even being saying that to a loved one, an intervention or to yourself if it was not apparent to you, them or anyone else that you have a drinking problem. In all reality you either said this during an intervention, or you might have said this to yourself. If you have said this to yourself, then deep down you know you have a problem.
Rationalizations and Functioning Alcoholics
You have probably tried to rationalize that your alcoholism is not really alcoholism by listing things that like the following:
- I eat food every day, and an alcoholic would just drink all day. How can I be an addict if I am not spending all my time drinking?
- I hold down a job and pay all my bills. Alcoholics are homeless bum or depressed housewives that drink wine all day.
- I really do not drink that much during the day when I am at work; I just like to relax in the evenings and look forward to it.
Those are just examples of what a lot of recovering alcoholics remembered saying before their drinking pushed them from the functioning phase of thinking about wanting a drink all day to actually drinking all day and losing everything.
What Are the Pros and Cons
If you are drinking to the point that you have had to either say to someone else or yourself that you do not need rehab and can quit on your own, then you need to make a self-inventory of what the level of your drinking does for you. You should sit down and make a list of all the good things it has done and the bad things. Then, you need to take a long hard look at the list.
The choice to go to rehab is yours. No one can force you to do it. If you do not feel like you need rehab and can quit on your own, then you should probably ask a medical professional what they think. You should include a medical doctor and a psychologist in the consultation. Finally, you should consult a qualified rehab center like us here at Seacrest Recovery Center. Our website provides a wealth of information and our contact information, so it does not hurt to call and talk to us. You might find trained help more efficient and easier to quit drinking.