Addiction Recovery

69: Think I Drink Too Much but I Don’t Want Rehab

• Steven T. Ginsburg • Season 1 • Episode 69

Share episode

The quiet thought many people carry—“I think I’m drinking too much”—deserves clarity, not shame. This blog outlines what to do when alcohol starts draining your energy, patience, and plans, and how to get help without blowing up your life.

We cover the practical signs that drinking is creating real consequences, then walk through your options—from attending an AA meeting to knowing when medical detox is necessary for safety. You’ll learn how admissions work, what insurance or cash options may look like, and what to expect during detox, including timelines and limits on work or devices.

We’re honest about recovery realities: why structure matters, why medical monitoring can be critical even for moderate drinkers, and why acting early costs far less than waiting. If you’re wondering whether you can keep your job, care for your family, and still get sober, this offers clear guidance and a compassionate push forward.

Helpful Links:
Learn more about Restore Detox Centers
Filling the Void book by Steven T. Ginsburg
Overcoming the Fear and Lies of Addiction e-book
How to Love and Set Boundaries Without Enabling Addiction e-book
Call Us for Addiction Recovery:  1-800-982-5530

DISCLAIMER:
Welcome to the Addiction Recovery podcast, brought to you by Restore Detox Centers. We are dedicated to providing valuable and insightful information on addiction recovery. However, it is essential to understand that the content shared in this podcast is intended for educational purposes only. While we strive to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information presented, we cannot guarantee its completeness or suitability for individual circumstances. The topics discussed in this podcast are based on general knowledge and should not be considered a substitute for professional advice or treatment.

It is important to note that the views and opinions expressed by the podcast hosts, guests, or contributors are their own and may not necessarily reflect the views of Restore Detox Centers. We strongly advise listeners to consult with qualified professionals, such as addiction counselors, therapists, or medical practitioners, before making any decisions or taking any actions based on the information provided in this podcast. Please be aware that listening to this podcast does not establish a client-provider relationship with Restore Detox Centers.

Steven Ginsburg:

Who's going to take care of them if they die at the hands of addiction or alcoholism?

Steve Coughran:

This is the Addiction Recovery Podcast with Steven T. Ginsburg, founder of Restore Detox Centers in Sunny, California. Enjoy your experience. Steven, so great to be back together with you. Today I want to talk about drinking. What if somebody feels like they drink too much?

unknown:

Right.

Steve Coughran:

So there's a little out of control. Maybe they're drinking every night or five days a week. I don't know what too much is for this person. But at the same time, they don't want to fully commit to rehab. They're like, I got a job, I got kids, I got responsibilities at home. I can't just like disappear for you know two, three weeks, whatever it is, and admit myself to rehab. What are your thoughts on this?

Steven Ginsburg:

Steve, thank you. It is always good to be back together, and it's always good to be pouring into the solution. Listen, alcohol is just unbelievable and it's it's got such a long history in society, in our nation, in the world. And if someone is in dire need of treatment, if someone is acutely or subacutely addicted and dependent upon alcohol use and abuse, it's imperative that we get them the help they need so that they can arrest that pattern. If somebody is having some consequences behind some poor choices with alcohol, if somebody has a consistent degree of erratic behavior and patterns and has a consistent degree of consequences that they're facing because drinking is part of the equation every time, we need to give them some real options to look at, whether it's inpatient treatment, an intensive outpatient program for treatment, or just very simply heading into Alcoholics Anonymous so that they have the ability to actually spearhead an offensive against what ails them, which is the unmanageability behind alcohol dependency.

Steve Coughran:

So, what are the different levels of help that are available out there? So, for example, let's say somebody who has this drinking concern, right? Maybe they don't feel like they're an alcoholic, but they're like, I'm I'm drinking a lot. Can they just show up to AA meetings? Or do they like, is there another path that they have to go through? Let's talk about like the most basic level somebody can get involved with without going to rehab.

Steven Ginsburg:

I mean, anyone can always show up at an alcoholics anonymous meeting. Really, the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. That's in the traditions of the group. Where there becomes a problem and where there's some medical necessity for help. If someone is truly dependent on alcohol and has to drink a certain amount to make it to or through the day, there really is a very genuine seizure risk or even a genuine seizure and stroke risk. And that's where some medical assistance and medical supervision is necessary for that level of a drinker to just abstain and quit. And I think part of what has to occur is if someone is going to suddenly stop drinking alcohol, I think there has to be someone that they are able to communicate with in a very transparent manner as to how they're feeling behind the fact that they've put alcohol down.

Steve Coughran:

Yeah, I was gonna ask you that. Is that a real thing? Does that happen to everybody? When you drink and drink and drink on a consistent basis, do you get the shakes or do you get, you know, are there other health concerns? You kind of alluded to them just a minute ago. But like, are these are these real things? Or is this for like the heavy alcoholic?

Steven Ginsburg:

It can be very, very moderate to very, very heavy. And what what is described as DTs, which are the detox syndromes, those can hit any level of a person who drinks alcohol on a regular basis or even on a somewhat regular basis, because we never know anatomically and neurologically how our body will respond and react to suddenly that substance being gone. Uh, some people who are very heavy drinkers have no detox symptoms at all. Some people who are moderately heavy or somewhat heavy drinkers will have tremendously rough physical detox syndromes that will come up. And I have seen so many of them across the spectrum. The biggest thing, and this is where, again, it's important and imperative for people to be aware of this. We've got to have a look at people's blood pressure. We've got to make sure they're not having symptomatic events like feeling dizzy or feeling almost like their equilibrium's off. We've got to make sure that they're not having a rapid heart rate episode. We've got to make sure that they're not heading towards a blackout or a seizure. It really does have to be monitored. It really is a real thing, and there is so much danger behind it. That's where I think there's a lot of communication and supervision that's needed for someone who's going to quit drinking.

Steve Coughran:

Okay. So then the next level, I guess, beyond just showing up to AA meetings casually, is admitting yourself to rehab. Like, how do you even do that? And like, what's the process? And how does somebody even afford that? Does insurance cover all of it? Like, talk, like, talk to me as if I know nothing about this entire process of being admitted.

Steven Ginsburg:

I think if an individual realizes that they that they need help, and then more importantly, that they want help, and you'll still see many families just do the traditional, for lack of a better term, like a Google search or a Safari search, facilities that are quote unquote near them. And then very often they'll reach out. And when someone reaches out, they are going to reach a facilities intake coordinator. And that intake coordinator is trained to find out, you know, making a very quick assessment, like what is going on? What are you in the middle of doing? And hopefully the person's transparent with them and they can make some recommendations. And yes, most facilities, many facilities will take insurance both in network and out of network. Many facilities will also have arrangements they can make if someone's going to pay without insurance. So there's so many different avenues and paths to getting the help that you need, but there's very often a point of contract as far as like a search engine point of contact. And then there's very often a point of contact as far as an admissions individual's point of contact to help serve the process to get the help you need.

Steve Coughran:

Okay. So then how long should somebody expect that treatment takes? Does it vary by facility or is there like a standard where it's like two weeks or a month or a year? What like talk to me a little bit about the timeline?

Steven Ginsburg:

So I think even if it can vary per facility, I think a general rule of thumb is everyone should go into it with the expectation that they'd be at the facility for 30 days. That doesn't mean it's gonna be 30 days. It's just I think people should go into it with that mindset and be prepared for that. And I by the way, sometimes I think 30 days is not nearly enough.

Steve Coughran:

And when you go into the facility, can I still like work during the day or work part-time and then come back at night? Or is it a straight up lockdown in the facility, phones away, no access to the outside world?

Steven Ginsburg:

That's on a facility-by-facility basis. This isn't about uh an endorsement for restore, but I mean, I'm gonna share our truth. You know, Restore, I believe when professionals need to work, as long as it doesn't interfere with their programming at Restore, they'll work. I believe in also individuals having their technology. Why? Well, in the world, as they're in their journey of sobriety, as they're trudging that road, that walk with purpose, they're gonna have their technology. I would rather they have their technology while we are working with them and educating them and showing them what it feels like to live and have a sober lifestyle, that they are facing life on life's terms while they're with us and they have that type of support. I want to make a footnote to this though. When someone comes in in an acute or sub-acute detox scenario, at that point we give them a break from their technology because they need it. We want them to be able to focus on rest, on hydrating, on eventually when they're ready getting some food in and really monitoring their vitals. And then when they come out of that subacute or acute detox, they will then have their technology back.

Steve Coughran:

What do you mean by that, by acute, subacute?

Steven Ginsburg:

There's different levels of medical detox that we help people with. Um, some people are having a really uh really strong response to what they're addicted to, whether it's alcohol, drugs, or both. And so they can be in a in a severe acute detox. It's a very high-level detox with high symptomatic occurrences. And some people have more of a minor response and reaction to the detox that's more subacute. So it's a it's a shorter time span when they're having physical symptoms from it.

Steve Coughran:

But what if somebody has responsibilities? They have a job, they have kids. What if they have young ones at home and no one can take care of them? I mean, what do you do?

Steven Ginsburg:

Who's gonna take care of them if they die at the hands of addiction or alcoholism? No, it's true. So that's at the end of the day, I don't, I don't, whatever the scenario is, the number one scenario is if there's unmanageability behind your life and you are bodily and mentally different than your fellows, and you have that spiritual malady and you are participating in addiction and alcoholism, you must get sober and you must get help and you must best into the solution.

Steve Coughran:

Okay, can somebody just help themselves though? Like, does that work? What's the probability of somebody getting clean and sober on their own? Like, do you have any like information on that?

Steven Ginsburg:

Not that I can give a statistical report to, but I I think people can do that and people have done that. And I think it's possible if they're going to go all in and go to AA and get a sponsor and work steps or NA and get a sponsor and work steps and get in touch with a power grid in themselves. It's just really rare for that type of scenario to play out. The reason why, unfortunately, it's rare for that scenario to play out, although it does happen. And I've seen many, many successful occasions where that happens. You know, there's already harrowing numbers where relapse is concerned, even when someone is in a facility like Restore or otherwise, there's already so much relapse and recovery because people stop working their programs. So when someone tries to do it on their own admission and tries to actually get in and start working a program, very often without the infrastructure being provided for them so they can get into that rhythm, it's very difficult to hold that footing.

Steve Coughran:

Yeah. Well, okay. Well, what if they're thinking into themselves, maybe I'll just go talk to my therapist and I'll just talk through my alcohol issues with them. Is that effective? Not effective?

Steven Ginsburg:

I think it's effective to go talk to our therapists. And I think if then after talking to our therapist, suddenly we find where we're drinking every day or drinking and drugging every day, we're not, well, great. Uh, then we're in good space. Um, I don't know. I just haven't seen cases like that. I'm not making light of it or laughing because it's funny. I'm laughing because you know, every workaround in the world has been attempted and failed.

Steve Coughran:

That makes perfect sense. And I hear what you're saying. I mean, therapists can be really good in a lot of different settings, but I think when it comes to drug and alcohol abuse, oftentimes it requires a different level of intervention from experts like you, Stephen. Well, this has been really helpful to hear your perspective, Stephen, on this topic because you have so much experience in the space. So thank you once again for sharing your insight. And I want to thank you, the listener, for tuning in to the Addiction Recovery Podcast. And if you ever have questions or you have feedback or you have episode ideas, we'd love to hear from you. You can always send us an email at hello at restore detoxcenters.com. We'll catch you on the next episode. Be safe.

Head Shot

Steven T. Ginsburg

Host
Head Shot

Steve Coughran

Co-host