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Boston: A Drinking City
World-renowned for its famous Boston Marathon, it's baked beans, and of course for its historic Fenway Park, Boston is also well-known to be a hard-drinkin' city. It's part of the culture in Beantown and is as ingrained as the widely panned accent. Remember the local bar on the sitcom "Cheers" where "everybody knows your name?" Of course, it was set in Boston.
But though portrayed hilariously via stage and screen, it's important to acknowledge the fact that heavy drinking is as destructive to a person's life as it is entertaining on television. Excessive drinking of alcohol is linked to plenty of negative side effects, including high blood pressure, blood clots, stroke, cardiomyopathy, heart attacks, and liver disease. So, knowing Boston's absolute love of heavy drinking, this doesn't bode particularly well.
And in truth, the problem extends state-wide. One study ranked Massachusetts as having the eighth biggest drinking problem in America, with 21.2 percent of adults in Massachusetts reporting that they regularly binge drink (which is defined by the CDC as having four or more drinks in a two hour span for women and five or more drinks in a two hour span for men), compared to a national rate of only 16.2 percent. And just in Boston alone, 22.8 percent of adults report engaging in binge drinking, which gives major cause for concern.
So, since heavy drinking is a valued part of Bostonian culture, and also extremely harmful, what's the solution? Authorities are addressing the problem from a couple different angles. Oddly enough, being drunk in public isn't a crime in Massachusetts, (in 1971, the state passed a different law which allowing for the detainment of people that police deem to be incapacitated. With this law on the books, law enforcement can hold people for up to 12 hours or until they're no longer drunk, whichever comes first. Massachusetts at large has also made "happy hours" and "two for one" drink specials illegal, hoping to cut down on the sheer volume of alcohol being consumed. We can only hope their efforts will be successful.
However, for those struggling with substance abuse problems, Boston can also offer solutions in the form of 51 drug and alcohol treatment programs designed to help patients in their recoveries.
Alcohol and Drug Rehab Methods and Settings
Boston area residents who have a problem with substance abuse have many rehab settings available to them, such as the following: inpatient rehab facilities, outpatient hospital programs, long term rehab facilities, short term treatment facilities, outpatient detox centers.
These treatment programs make alcohol and drug rehab easy to access, with convenient locations and several varying treatment approaches from which to choose, including those listed here: anger management, relapse prevention, 12-step facilitation approach, substance abuse counseling approach, trauma therapy, dual diagnosis drug rehab.
Special Programs for Alcohol and Drug Recovery
Addiction impacts every individual differently. In order to accommodate these differences and deliver a more customized treatment, drug and alcohol treatment programs in Boston provide several special programs for clients such as: co-occurring mental and substance abuse disorders, social skills development, treatment for spanish-speaking clients, domestic violence, substance abuse education, transgender or (LGBT) clients.
Clients who feel they may benefit from these customized services can discuss them with the rehab facility in order to get help that is meant to increase the chances of sustained sobriety.
Rehab Payment Alternatives
Residents of Boston come from varied financial circumstances, making it vital for rehab centers to provide multiple payment alternatives that place rehab within financial reach. Patients can expect to find financing alternatives at local alcohol and drug rehab centers including the following: cash or self-payment, private medical insurance, military insurance, medicare, medicaid, state welfare or child and family services funds, access to recovery (atr) voucher.
Regardless of a patient's financial status, money should not be a barrier to treatment. Alcohol and drug treatment facilities guide individuals through their payment options and help them find a way to afford their treatment.
The goal of varied treatment programs, approaches, programs, and payment options is that treatment for substance abuse is possible for as many people who really need it.
