Everyone who lives in Beer City, Grand Rapids, is probably familiar with craft beer culture. At a first glance, drinking beer is just a part of the everyday lives of people from this small part of Michigan. However, often, taking part in Beer City activities leads to severe mental health problems.
Although local people are very passionate about craft beer culture and Beer City attracts thousands of tourists too, drinking beer and participating in craft beer culture is accompanied by a risk of developing alcohol addiction. And as the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism proves, consuming too much alcohol has a negative impact on our brain, heart, liver, immune system, and sometimes might even cause cancer.
In order to avoid these problems, it’s important to be aware of the risks before it’s too late. In this article, we will discuss beer culture in Grand Rapids and explain how it might lead to alcohol addiction. We’ll also review different types of effective therapies in order to prevent or deal with alcohol-related problems.
How Living in Beer City Might Promote Addiction?
Beer City, Grand Rapids, MI, is indeed the most attractive place for beer lovers. The city is home to various types of beer bars and breweries that you can find everywhere you go in the city. Even though Grand Rapids has plenty of other interesting cultural attractions like art museums, a zoo, theaters, operas, and more, the main reason tourists enjoy visiting this place is its craft beer culture.
Locals are even more engaged in beer culture than tourists because visiting breweries, drinking beer, or even establishing your own beer business has become an integral part of life for Grand Rapids residents. As a result, when it comes to alcohol consumption, Grand Rapids residents often struggle to find a balance. That’s why taking part in all these activities often promotes addiction.
Researchers have investigated drinking behavior thousands of times and discovered the risk factors that promote addiction. (Gilbertson et al., 2008). Environmental factors, such as living in a place like Beer City, are some of the most dangerous risk factors. Therefore, it’s important to realize how consuming alcohol might become a problem.
When Does Consuming Alcohol Become a Problem?
Of course, not everyone who consumes alcohol has drinking problems. However, as the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism recommends, men shouldn’t drink more than two drinks a day, while women shouldn’t drink more than one. And if you have certain physical or mental health problems, you may have to drink even less or not drink at all.
Nowadays, more than 17 million American adults have various types of problems related to alcohol. Developing an addiction isn’t a quick and easy process. In fact, people who have alcohol use disorders usually have a long history of drinking. The reason why alcoholism starts is that people find it hard to realize when consuming alcohol gets out of control.
Have you ever felt the need to drink beer or other types of alcohol out of nowhere? Have you experienced binge drinking and felt that your mood depends on drinking alcohol? If your answer is yes, then you might be at risk of developing an addiction.
Most people do indeed consume alcohol to increase their mood or celebrate special days. You may not even drink regularly, but if you notice that you consume extremely large amounts of alcohol at one time, then you might have a problem with binge drinking. In fact, drinking more than five alcoholic beverages in two hours for men and four or more beverages for women is already a problem. This often leads to increased alcohol consumption and regular drinking in order to reduce stress, deal with loneliness, or increase mood. That’s when alcohol addiction might begin.
Does Counseling Help Prevent Alcohol Addiction?
No matter whether you want to prevent alcohol addiction or you have already developed an alcohol use disorder (AUD), counseling may help you deal with alcohol-related problems. According to the NIAAA,, people with AUD symptoms benefit from counseling. In fact, about one-third of people who undergo therapy for alcohol problems reduce drinking and have no AUD symptoms one year after starting the treatment.
Throughout the past 40 years, mental health professionals have made significant progress in the treatment of alcohol use disorders. Today, counselors have a better understanding of the etymology and reasons for heavy drinking and how addiction develops. Therefore, reaching out to therapists might be a good idea if you’re at the initial stage of developing a disorder.
Counseling is the most common and effective way to avoid drinking problems or treat alcohol addiction. Talking about your problem to counselors and using specific strategies that mental health professionals offer during therapy sessions are proven ways to change harmful and dependent drinking behavior.
Types of Therapies To Deal With Alcohol Addiction
While there is no one specific addiction treatment that fits all individuals who have drinking problems, there are various types of therapies you can use based on your needs. Here are some of the most common therapy types that effectively help OUT patients recover from addiction:
- Counseling – Classical counseling or psychotherapy is a form of talk therapy where counselors listen to the client and they reveal and work on the problem together using specific strategies.
- Inpatient treatment – It’s a specific program where a client is provided with 24-hour care. Usually, patients stay in the treatment facilities for several months, and during this time they receive therapies.
- Intensive outpatient therapy – A form of treatment in which a patient visits a clinic several times a week. The intensive outpatient program usually consists of 9 hours or more and includes 3-5 treatments per week.
- SMART recovery – Self-Management and Recovery Training is an anonymous program that uses cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) strategies in order to help people change their maladaptive behaviors or irrational thoughts.
- Alcoholics Anonymous – It’s a collective program for people who no longer drink and suffer from alcohol addiction that involves 12 steps to deal with problems.
Bottom Line
If you notice that you or your loved one are struggling with alcohol addiction, keep in mind that you don’t have to deal with your problems alone. Counseling is an effective strategy to prevent alcohol addiction and recover from your problems. There are several successful treatment types available at Health for Life Counseling Grand Rapids to help you overcome your addiction. So, reach out to our mental health professionals to decide which type of treatment works best for you.
