How Long Does it Take to Recover From Alcoholism?

The time it takes to recover from alcoholism depends on several factors. The stage of alcoholism a patient is in determine if he needs detoxification, or inpatient or outpatient care. The patient's commitment level will affect how fast the recovery takes effect, and, ironically, her definition of "recovery" will also play an important part. Consult a health care specialist or an alcohol abuse counselor to determine the alcoholic's best level of entry into recovery.

• Recovery is Available

Stages of Alcoholism

• The three stages of alcoholism are early , middle- and end-stage. In early stage, the alcoholic has started to rely on alcohol to solve problems, but he may not seem impaired. If he enters outpatient therapy with a strong commitment, he may feel signs of recovery almost immediately. In middle and advances stages, he may need to detoxify first. A higher level of commitment will speed the recovery.

Commitment

• Many alcoholics do not feel that their condition is serious. They may be prompted or forced into recovery by their spouses, children, friends, an employer or a judge. If the alcoholic is only seeking treatment to appease others, her level of commitment will be reduced, along with her chances for recovery. For this reason, many alcoholics who seek treatment don't stay with their programs and continue to drink, even after they lose their friends, their jobs and their families, and they remain in their alcoholic state until they die. Therefore, the recovery clock cannot start until the alcoholic has made a firm commitment to one type of program or another.
  (Alcoholics Anonymous reports case histories of successes in the "Personal Stories" Parts I, II and III of their "Big Book," which can be read online at aa.org/lang/en/subpage.cfm?page=359).

Outpatient Care

• A person in the early stages of alcoholism has not yet built up a strong tolerance to alcohol and can reach its effects more easily. His addiction has not set in so severely, and he has a reduced level of compulsion to overdrink. Many around him may not even know he has a problem. The problems he may have with family, friends and work may be minimal, so he may begin to feel the effects of recovery early in his therapy. He need to remain cautious, however, as the "recovery" may be a "false start." His compulsion may return with any unexpected event that seems to warrant a drink. If he take that drink, the compulsion may return so strongly that he abandons his program and delays recovery.

Inpatient Care

• Residential or inpatient treatments for middle-stage and end-stage alcoholics can include medical detoxification, in-depth therapy, highly structured education and around-the-clock medical supervision. This can last a week or months, depending on the individual. In almost all cases, continuing outpatient therapy is recommended. The alcoholic usually does not begin to feel the effects of recovery until she can foresee a date for release into outpatient care, at which point, it would be very dangerous for an alcoholic to assume that she has completed recovery.

Definition of Recovery

• The time it takes to recover from alcoholism also depends on how the alcoholic defines "recovery." Once the compulsion to overdrink appears dormant, the alcoholic may consider himself "recovered." This depends entirely on the individual, but could occur within the first few days of outpatient treatment. If the alcoholic takes a drink, however, he risks a return of the compulsion, along with his original problems, which now may become even worse. If this happens, his original recovery time would be moot and he would have to measure a new recovery time. For this reason, many alcoholics establish a continuing process of "recovery" rather than claiming to be "recovered." In this way they can keep their compulsion constantly in a dormant state.