Drinking alcohol is fun for most people.
However, it’s important to consider the amount of alcohol you drink and how it
affects your life, as well as, those around you. It’s easy to start as a social
drinker and eventually become an alcoholic. And most alcoholics have financial
challenges too. That’s why some people do not seek treatment for alcoholism
even when the negative effects of alcohol on their lives and loved ones are
clear.
Some alcoholics are homeless and unemployed.
They live in abject poverty. These are just some of the conditions that hinder
some people from seeking treatment for alcoholism. Nevertheless, some
individuals are genuinely interested in fighting their alcohol addiction. As
such, they may try the dangerous at-home detox or cold-turkey due to their
financial challenges.
Luckily, it’s possible to get substance abuse rehabilitation provided for free if you or a loved one is genuinely interested in beating alcoholism. You just need to know the available free or affordable options that you or a loved one can consider.
Finding
Free or Affordable Rehab
Alcohol use disorder or alcoholism refers to drinking that causes physical or mental health problems. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, excessive consumption of alcohol causes about 88,000 deaths in the United States every year. Seeking affordable or free rehab can, therefore, save a life.
Most residential treatment facilities are
expensive. They require patients to have good insurance and credit. However,
some facilities offer free help to addicts that can’t pay for their services.
Here are some of the options to consider when you want to fight alcoholism on a
budget.
Professional
Rehab Facilities
Despite being for-profit and private, some
facilities offer free help for alcoholics. These treatment centers provide
alternative means of payment, sliding-scale fees, or payment assistance. So, if
you or a loved one wants to fight alcoholism on a budget, don’t hesitate to
ask. Just call or visit the nearby facility to find out if it provides payment
assistance plans. Some of these facilities have assistance plans for
individuals that do not have insurance or employment.
Faith-Based
Rehab
Faith-based programs that target drug addicts
and alcoholics have existed longer than 12-step programs and professional rehabs.
Religious organizations and groups have reached out to communities to assist
people struggling with drug abuse and alcoholism for ages.
And, this is yet to change. Today, there are
many faith-based programs than there were in the last decades. For instance,
it’s possible to get a free drug treatment program offered by a Christian
organization in almost any community. Thus, you can undergo treatment for
alcoholism with such a program even when you have a tight budget.
State
Supported Rehabs
Some states, counties, and cities offer
inpatient and outpatient treatment facilities for drug addicts and alcoholics.
These are completely tax-funded and they do not charge a fee for their
services. Their programs may include long-term residential treatment and short-term
detoxification. They can also provide individual counseling and therapy at
local clinics.
It’s, however, crucial to note that
state-sponsored programs have long waiting lists. That’s because most people
that use them are in the system already. These have interacted with agencies
like the criminal justice system and the county health department.
Additionally, taxpayers’ money supports these
programs. Therefore, they can experience significant cutbacks in funding during
hard economic times. Consequently, their services can be restrained.
Online
Recovery Support
If you Google ‘free rehab near me’ the search
engine will list many options including those providing online support. These
are platforms that offer support aimed at helping people quit drinking. Some
are chat rooms, instant messenger groups, bulletin boards, and email groups. If
you can use these platforms to communicate, you can also use them to get
recovery support.
Any addiction recovery program has an online
presence. In most cases, you will find chat meetings that started many years
ago. That means you can learn about the challenges that different people have
faced while fighting addiction. You can also get the support you need to fight
alcoholism on a budget by checking in with your forum friends.
Mutual
Support Groups
Alcoholics Anonymous is an example of mutual support groups that have helped many people fight alcohol addiction. This mutual support group has existed for over 75 years. Millions of people have learned to beat addiction and lead sober lives. The group has remained self-supporting via its members’ voluntary donations.
If you wish to regain sobriety but have a tight
budget, attending meetings of a mutual support group can help you. You can also
get a sponsor that will help you through the 12 steps. Most addiction recovery
programs yield better results when mutual support is included. Even if you
don’t have a spiritual inclination, there are secular support groups to
consider. The majority of these groups do not have dues or fees.
Reasons
to Get Professional Help with Alcoholism even on a Budget
Regardless of your financial status, it’s
important to get professional help with alcoholism.
Here are
some of the reasons why rehab is important:
Specialists at the rehab facility
will guide and help you through the detox process. They will make the otherwise
unsafe and painful process comfortable. Attempting to detox from alcohol or
drugs at home can be dangerous without medical supervision. That’s because some
withdrawal symptoms are life-threatening.
Rehab specialists provide the
assistance alcoholics need to avoid relapse. They can even prescribe medication
that facilitates the withdrawal process.
The counseling sessions offered in
the rehab facilities help the patients understand their causes of alcohol abuse
and addiction. This is an important step in the recovery process.
Rehab centers offer specialized
treatment that heals the damage caused by alcohol to the brain structure and
chemistry.
The aftercare support provided by
rehab centers promotes a substance-free life and long-term sobriety.
A tight budget should not be a reason for not
seeking treatment for alcoholism. Many options exist for those in need of
affordable treatment or free alcohol treatment centers. Simply search for a
facility that offers the kind of treatment you need and one that’s within your
budget.
Shia LaBeouf has voluntarily asked for outpatient care for his alcohol addiction, his spokeswoman, Melissa Kates, confirmed.
Last week LaBeouf was accused of disturbing a performance of the musical Cabaret inside New York’s Studio 54.
Shia LaBeouf has voluntarily asked for outpatient care for his alcohol addiction
The actor was charged with disorderly conduct and harassment after police said he used obscene language and became aggressive when he was asked to leave the venue.
Shia LaBeouf, 28, did not enter a plea to the New York charges when he was arraigned last week.
They are all misdemeanors or violations, so if convicted he would face little or no jail time.
“He understands that these recent actions are a symptom of a larger health problem and he has taken the first of many necessary steps towards recovery,” said Melissa Kates.
Shia LaBeouf has previously starred alongside Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, as well as taking a leading role in Michael Bay’s Transformers franchise.
Si Robertson has opened up about family struggles and his history with alcohol abuse in his new book, Si-cology: Tales and Wisdom from Duck Dynasty’s Favorite Uncle.
New details from the book reported by RadarOnline surfaced this week:
1. Si and Phil Robertson’s mother suffered from mental health problems.
When Si and Phil Robertson were both young boys, their mother “suffered a nervous breakdown and was diagnosed as manic-depressive,” the 65-year-old wrote.
“She spent a lot of time in hospitals and the state mental institution.”
Si Robertson also wrote that his own mind is “faulty.”
2. While serving in Vietnam, Si Robertson turned to alcohol. “Although I was there for only one year, it was a really difficult time in my life,” Si Robertson wrote.
“Believe me, it was easy to find a drink in Can Tho if you wanted one… You could find a drink and a girl whenever you wanted for the right price.”
The stress of military life in Vietnam drove Si Robertson to drink, he said.
Si Robertson has opened up about family struggles and his history with alcohol abuse in his new book
“It was the only time in my life when I drank heavily… I was largely drinking to forget where I was. When you’re in a place like Vietnam, you get to a point where you don’t care anymore. You’re in a place that’s foreign to you, and you know for a fact that many people there hate you and will kill you if they get the chance. It really does something to your mind to know that many of the people living around you don’t like you and want you to die.”
3. When he returned from service, Si Robertson stopped drinking. “I drank so much beer and whiskey in Vietnam that I decided I would quit drinking alcohol altogether once I returned home,” Si Robertson wrote.
“I saw what alcohol was doing to me in Vietnam and realized I needed to stop for good.”
Uncle Si is known for drinking two gallons of tea per day, a habit that his doctor endorses: “He said I’ve probably got the cleanest kidneys in the world!”
4. Si Robertson’s son Scott had a troubled childhood. Si Robertson and his wife Christine’s son, Scott, was born almost two months premature and “was trouble before he was even born,”
Uncle Si wrote: “Scott was suicidal from the time he was about five years old. His behavior was really erratic as a child. When Scott would get tired, he would throw his arms out and fall backward… When Scott was angry, he was out of control and did a lot of damage.”
Eventually, Scott Robertson was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and now leads a happy, healthy life.
“It took me a while to realize Scott needed help,” Si Robertson wrote.
MissKay Robertson spoke at the Night of Ducks and Hucks fundraising event in Monroe, North Carolina, over the weekend.
The Duck Dynasty matriarch talked candidly about the well-publicized dark period she endured with husband Phil Robertson during the early days of their marriage, going as far as to explain how her oldest son Alan, at the tender age of just 10, convinced her not to take her own life.
As Phil Robertson discussed in his book Happy, Happy, Happy, he was a man more interested in killing ducks and getting his next drink than he was at being a husband or father. He left Miss Kay alone to raise Alan, Jase and Willie (Jep wasn’t born yet) as he fell deeper and deeper into alcoholism.
Miss Kay Robertson spoke at the Night of Ducks and Hucks fundraising event in Monroe, North Carolina
“I had ten bad years with Phil and he was horrible. He was a rascal and I tell ya’, he was just like the people he was fussing about,” Miss Kay explained.
When reflecting on a story Phil Robertson shared about getting in a fight in which he hit a woman Miss Kay stated: “And you say, <<How can he hit a woman? Well, I tell ya>>, the devil gets in women just like he gets in men. That was a mean lady. I’m not saying they should have got beat up by Phil at all, but you live like that and that’s one of the consequences.”
Then Miss Kay Robertson shared an extremely personal moment within her family, perhaps the most pivotal moment for her, the boys’ and Phil’s life, wanting that openness of her struggles to provide a perspective of hope to the audience: “I can tell you right now that people I talk to who say they have no hope I can say I’ve been there. Sometimes you can’t feel like you can live at all without hope. That night I was without any of it. I cried in that bathroom and I just didn’t want to live anymore. I wanted Phil to be punished, to realize what he was doing.”
“What probably saved me from doing anything to myself that night… I always describe it as I hear three little sets of house shoes and that was Al and Jase and Willie. Alan knocked on the door and said, <<Mama don’t cry anymore, please don’t cry anymore>>. He said, <<God’s going to take care of you>>. He was 10-years-old, Jason was 6, Willie was 3. And he [Alan] said, <<Mom, He will take care of all of us, please don’t cry anymore>>. I felt like right then God told me, <<I got plans for you>>. Those little kids knew what I needed and they told it to me through a bathroom late at night. And I want to tell you something, the next day I did give my heart to Jesus.”
A new vaccine will give anyone who drinks even a small amount of alcohol an immediate and very heavy hangover.
Scientists from the University of Chile have spent a year designing the drug in a bid to tackle the growing problem of alcoholism in the country.
The vaccine, which would be effective for between six months and a year, works by sending a biochemical message to the liver telling it not to express genes that metabolize alcohol.
Normally, the liver turns alcohol into the hangover-causing compound called acetaldehyde which is then broken down by a metabolizing enzyme.
If someone who’s been vaccinated tries to drink alcohol, they will immediately experience severe nausea, accelerated heartbeat, and general discomfort.
Once the vaccine has been administered it cannot be reversed.
A preclinical trial using mice to determine the correct dosing is due to begin next month with researchers hoping to begin tests on human subjects in November.
A new vaccine will give anyone who drinks even a small amount of alcohol an immediate and very heavy hangover
Dr. Juan Asenjo, director of the university’s Institute for Cell Dynamics and Biotechnology said while the vaccine is not a cure-all, it could provide an important first step.
He told the Santiago Times newspaper: “People who end up alcoholic have a social problem; a personality problem because they’re shy, whatever, and then they are depressed, so it’s not so simple.
“But if we can solve the chemical, the basic part of the problem, I think it could help quite a bit.
“In Chile, according to the most recent 2011 study from the World Health Organization, one in 15 men have an alcohol use disorder. “
Dr. Juan Asenjo believes the vaccine has the potential to help millions of people worldwide.
He added: “If it works, it’s going to have a worldwide impact, but with many vaccines one has to test them carefully. I think the chances that this one will work are quite high.”
Inspiration for the vaccine came from the far East, said Dr. Juan Asenjo, where between 15 and 20 pwer cent of Japanese, Chinese or Koreans have a mutation which inhibits the breakdown of alcohol in their bodies.
The idea of using drugs to combat alcoholism is not new.
Disulfiram, which was developed almost a century ago works in a similar way blocking the enzyme from breaking down alcohol, thus intensifying the body’s negative response.
However, users often find the effects so unpleasant they simply stop taking the pills.
Painter of Light Thomas Kinkade battled alcoholism over the past several years and had a relapse just before his death at his home in California a family member has said.
Thomas Kinkade’s brother, Patrick, told the San Jose Mercury News decades of attacks on Kinkade’s work and a split with his wife two years ago had taken a toll on the artist.
“He would shoulder the world, pull the naysayers on his back and smile when he was doing it,” Patrick Kinkade told Mercury News.
“As much as he said it didn’t bother him, in his heart deep down inside it would sadden him that people would criticize so hatefully his work and his vision when people didn’t understand him,” he added.
Thomas Kinkade died in Monte Sereno on April 6 at age 54 of what a spokesman has said was natural causes. An autopsy is pending.
A recording of a dispatcher involved in the response to his home says Thomas Kinkade had been drinking all night and was not moving.
Still adjusting from a turbulent year in 2010, Thomas Kinkade split from his wife the same year his company filed for bankruptcy.
With a decline in his paintings’ sales, galleries closed and he struggled with sobriety, especially so he could continually see his four daughters.
Painter of Light Thomas Kinkade battled alcoholism over the past several years and had a relapse just before his death
“He loved Nanette and was heartbroken,” his friend Pete Jillo told Mercury News of his former wife of roughly 28 years he met on a paper route.
He was working on “adopting a clean lifestyle” and with some ups and downs, was getting there, right until the night before his death.
Thomas Kinkade’s scenes of country gardens and pastoral landscapes led to a commercial empire that was said to fetch some $100 million a year in sales. The artist’s paintings hang in an estimated one out of every 20 homes in the United States.
A key feature of his paintings is their glowing highlights and saturated pastel colors. His works often portray bucolic, idyllic settings such as gardens, streams, stone cottages, and main streets.
“There’s no hypocrisy in Thom’s vision,” his brother told Mercury News.
“What you’re looking at is a man. He believed in God. He loved his daughters. He wanted people to be affirmed by his work. But he was awfully human.”
“Thom provided a wonderful life for his family,” his wife, Nanette, said in a statement according to msnbc.com.
“We are shocked and saddened by his death.”
The painter is notable for the mass marketing of his work as printed reproductions and other licensed products through his company The Thomas Kinkade Company.
The prices of his paintings range from $200 to more than $10,000.
“Thomas Kinkade, the celebrated <<Painter of Light>> is one of the most widely collected and beloved artists of our day,” his official website says.
“Each year millions of people are drawn to the luminous light and tranquil mood of Kinkade’s paintings and include his creations in their lives through prints, books, and other fine collectibles.”
Thomas Kinkade, an University of California Berkeley graduate, was a devout Christian and has said his inspiration comes from his religious beliefs and that his work is intended to contain a larger moral meaning.
“I try to create paintings that are a window for the imagination,” Thomas Kinkade said on his website.
“If people look at my work and are reminded of the way things once were or perhaps the way they could be, then I’ve done my job.”
Thomas Kinkade’s company made $32 million per quarter from 4,500 dealers across the country 10 years ago, before going private, the Mercury News reported.
His website also offers prints, mugs, nightlights and other home-decor items adorned with his paintings, which feature bridges, churches, cottages, Disney scenes, gazebos estates and the outdoors.
Thomas Kinkade grew up in the small town of Placerville, California, graduated from high school in 1976, before attending the University of California, Berkeley and the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.
He married his wife Nanette in 1982 and the couple has four daughters: Merritt, Chandler, Winsor and Everett all named after artists.
Thomas Kinkade is reported to have earned $53 million for his artistic work between 1997 and May 2005.
But in 2010, his company’s Morgan Hill manufacturing arm, Pacific Metro, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Months later, Thomas Kinkade was reportedly arrested on suspicion of DUI. In 2009, the Los Angeles Times reported the FBI was investigating whether he fraudulently induced investors and then ruined them financially.
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