Jesse had an awfully hard time maintaining a job. Indeed, because of his sluggishness and lack of motivation, he was out of a job far more frequently than he was gainfully employed. And when he did secure a job, he had a hard time getting to work when his shift started, he often got less than satisfactory performance assessments, and he called off sick so frequently that he typically got fired a few weeks after he began working. To no one’s amazement, one of the effects of Jesse’s less than positive work track record was the fact that he was just about flat broke from day-to-day.
Regardless of Jesse’s less than positive work record and financial misconduct, however, somehow he made it his business to drink in an excessive and hazardous manner on a daily basis.
So it came as no big jolt when Jesse received a third DUI. When he went before the court, the magistrate told Jesse that his alcohol-related actions was irresponsible and, as a consequence, he was going to sentence Jesse to spend eight months locked up in jail.
Time In Jail To Think About The Hurtful Effects of Careless Drinking
During his time in jail, Jesse was required to learn more about alcohol facts, about the negative results of abusive drinking, and he was expected to get alcohol treatment. The magistrate underscored the fact that unless Jesse gets professional alcohol counseling and discovers how to live a life of sobriety, he will probably be spending a considerable amount of time in the city jail.
Jesse articulated that he understood what the judge was proclaiming but he still proclaimed that jail was not the proper ruling. The magistrate saw things from an entirely different vantage point and stated that it was his job to keep alcohol dependent people off the streets who drink and drive and who get arrested for a DUI. To corroborate this assertion, the magistrate outlined some respected, thoroughly researched alcohol statistics that underlined some of the destructive effects that are associated with abusive and excessive drinking.
Although Jesse understood that he drank in an irresponsible and hazardous manner, he never believed that he was an individual who was addicted to alcohol. So it was a rude awakening when Jesse started to experience alcohol withdrawals around three hours after getting locked up in jail.
To treat his alcohol withdrawals in a safe manner, Jesse was taken to a rehab center for alcohol detoxification and then returned to the municipal jail. While locked up in the municipal jail Jesse undertook alcohol rehabilitation but since he received this therapy as something that was forced upon him, he was unsuccessful in taking ownership of his irresponsible and abusive drinking.
When his time behind bars was finished, the magistrate without wavering announced to Jesse that he would be under strict observation and would be mandated to take periodic blood alcohol tests.
Jessie’s Abusive Drinking Prevents Him From Living in a Productive and Mature Manner
After hearing how Jesse neglected to take ownership of his drinking situation and how he reluctantly followed the rehab protocol while in the city jail, the judge knew that it was basically a matter of time before he would be seeing Jesse once again in court about his irresponsible and hazardous drinking behavior. As the magistrate thought about Jesse’s situation, he couldn’t help but think about how some people never “connect the dots” and learn how to live in an accountable and productive manner.
Filed under Health by on Nov 6th, 2009. 
Teresa was a forty-six-year-old financial analyst who realized that she had a problem with her drinking. For instance, within the past six months she has experienced the need to have one or two drinks before going to work, two weeks ago she failed a random urine alcohol test at her place of employment, three months ago she got pulled over by the police for “driving under the influence”, and last but not least, for nearly two months she has begun to fail to remember what she does and says when she drinks.
Not unlike multitudes of other individuals, Teresa’s alcohol involvement began at a “snail’s pace” and continued at this level for quite a long period of time because every once in a while she engaged in occasional social drinking. As a matter of fact, for about nine months, every time she drank, she made sure to drink in moderation. Something about her drinking situation, however, seemed to totally change when she divorced her husband.
In Order To Endure the Divorce of Her Husband In a More Pain Free Manner, Teresa Made Up Her Mind To Start Palling Around More Regularly With Some of Her Buddies Who Love to Whoop it Up and Drink
Teresa got awfully dejected about the divorce from her husband, and as a way to refrain from obsessing about her dismal emotions she made up her mind that she would start palling around more routinely with some of her pals who love to ”get down” and drink.
Quite candidly, Teresa concluded that having fun nearly every day by drinking and partying with her buddies would help her come to terms with the breakup of her husband in a more pain free manner.
Teresa’s Drinking Escalates Greatly the More Habitually She Goes to Private Parties, Dinner Dates, Family Get-Togethers, Sporting Events, and Happy Hours With Her Friends
It didn’t take long, nevertheless, before her drinking escalated significantly the more routinely she went to and drank at dinner dates, private parties, family get-togethers, sporting events, and happy hours with her pals. Not only this, but the fact that her drinking buddies were all many years younger than she was and therefore able to drink more intensely was one of the reasons that she didn’t direct more of her attention to her increased drinking. In a word, she was drinking and having fun just like everyone else in her group of friends without giving much thought to the negative effects of her excessive drinking.
Yet someplace in her mind she realized that she more likely than not needed alcohol rehabilitation but sidestepped the thought as much as humanly possible.
Teresa Gets a Physical Exam, ”Comes Clean” About Her Abusive and Irresponsible Drinking to Her Healthcare Practitioner, and Admits Her Melancholy
One late afternoon during her twelve month physical examination, her doctor asked her if she drank alcohol. Not wanting to tell falsehoods to her healthcare professional, Teresa acknowledged that she frequently drinks more than she should. As a matter of fact, she said that she routinely drinks in an excessive and irresponsible manner. Then Teresa told her healthcare professional about her depression. More plainly, she mentioned that shattered relationships frequently started a dismal sequence of events characterized by increased drinking which further led to more disheartening feelings that, in turn, resulted in even more drinking. And this is specifically what happened when her husband and she got divorced three years ago.
When her healthcare practitioner heard this, he told Teresa that according to various alcoholism facts and statistics on alcoholism he was researching, alcoholism and depression many times occur in the same person. He then informed Teresa that some of the alcohol statistics, facts, and research investigations he has been looking into also underline the fact that individuals who drink in an irresponsible and hazardous manner and who also suffer from depression need to receive treatment for both medical situations.
Teresa’s Physician Schedules an Appointment for a Psychological Assessment and For an Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse Assessment
Teresa’s doctor then said the following: “I am not trying to make a sudden judgment, but with your medical condition we may be facing two separate issues. As a consequence, I think we ought to schedule an appointment for you to get an alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency assessment from my partner, Dr. Ballas, who is an alcohol and drug abuse specialist. Whether your drinking situation is more correlated with alcohol dependency or alcohol abuse is not clear at this time, but I believe that further assessment is needed. Then I feel we should make an appointment for you to get a psychological evaluation from another one of my partners, Dr. Bodnar, who is a clinical psychologist. I want to get a better grip on your dejection and see how much your drinking and depression are interrelated.” Teresa showed her approval of her physician’s plan of attack and thanked him for his help and concern. Now all she had to do was to try to trim down on her drinking and wait for her appointments.
Filed under Health by on Oct 27th, 2009.
Dante was a sixteen year old high school junior who was displaying quite a few alcohol-related difficulties at school. For that reason, the principal informed him that he had to see Miss Johnson, the school counselor, before he would be permitted to come back to class.
Later that day when Dante went home after school, he had to explain his school suspension to his parents. His Mother and Father were “relatively conservative” and explained to Dante that getting removed from school was not a feasible educational option. They told Dante that failing to graduate from high school would more likely than not be like a lead weight around his legs that could conceivably impair his educational achievement for the rest of his adult life. What is more, Dante’s Mom and Dad were extremely discontented that he was drinking in the first place and drinking with his friends in the second.
They told Dante that although he may be a teenager, he has to comprehend fairly swiftly that drinking is the route to ill health, pain, failure, and financial problems.
It was apparent that his Mom and Dad were completely in accord with Dante’s principal and informed Dante that he had better come to the realization that he needs to see Miss Johnson, the school counselor. After his talk with his Mom and Dad, Dante in the end agreed to see Miss Johnson the next school day. So Dante phoned the school and scheduled an appointment to see Miss Johnson the next day during his fifth period class.
The Psychologist Asks Dante if He Understands Why His Recent Alcohol-Related Activities Caused Quite a Bit of Anxiety By the School Administrators
When Dante went to see Miss Johnson, she promptly went over all of the alcohol-related issues Dante had gotten into and asked him if he knew why his recent alcohol-related behavior made the school administrators uneasy.
Quite candidly, Dante was unsure why the principal informed him that he had to see a school psychologist. As he stated to Miss Johnson, why should he see a professional therapist about his drinking behavior? Because almost all of his classmates drink as much if not more than he does, drinking really shouldn’t be such a big thing. Stated more directly, if just about everyone is drinking, why is this such a big deal?
Miss Johnson asked Dante when he started to drink alcoholic beverages. He said that some of his older buddies introduced him to drinking hard liquor when he was twelve or thirteen years old and getting ready to enter the seventh grade.
Miss Johnson informed Dante that while his classmates may in fact drink as much as he does and that they may be an unhealthy influence on him, the facts are that he is the one who is getting expelled from school due to alcohol-related fighting, delinquency, and absenteeism, not his pals. Not only this but Miss Johnson also emphasized the fact that Dante, and not his pals, is the one who is failing and who is missing almost two days of school per week because of his alcohol related difficulties. Finally, Miss Johnson highlighted the fact that because of his drinking circumstances, Dante is getting into a negative cycle of hazardous drinking that can finally wreck his dreams, hopes, and aspirations.
In a word, Dante’s involvement with teenage alcohol abuse was beginning to foil his ability to function as an accountable young man. As pronounced by Miss Johnson, “Just because most of your classmates drink hard liquor, wine coolers, beer, or wine does not mean that it is the healthiest thing in the world for you.”
Dante Learns That Ultimately He Must Claim Responsibility For Himself In Order to Avoid Destructive, Unhealthy, Dangerous, and Damaging Circumstances Down the Road
Miss Johnson told Dante that one’s classmates can unquestionably influence an individual in an unhealthy manner, but that the person himself or herself has to in the long run be responsible for herself or himself in order to keep away from unhealthy, destructive, dangerous, and damaging situations in the future.
Luckily, Miss Johnson was extremely well equipped for her conference with Dante. She showed him reports and research studies she had highlighted that outlined diverse drinking facts and statistics that applied to most people in general. Then she showed Dante quite a lot of figures and reports that applied particularly to teenagers.
As an illustration, Miss Johnson underscored the difference between alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse and informed Dante that drinkers who continue to drink excessively regularly become alcohol dependent.
Miss Johnson also explained the concept of binge drinking which she defined as follows: ingesting five or more drinks in one sitting for males and consuming four or more drinks in one sitting for females.
The Counselor States Numerous Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse Statistics and Facts
Then Miss Johnson articulated various alcohol facts and the following eight alcohol abuse statistics:
1. The 25.9% of teen drinkers in the U.S. who are alcohol dependent and alcohol abusers drink 47.3% of the alcohol that is consumed by all adolescent drinkers.
2. Fifty percent of United States murders are related to alcohol.
3. In 2002, U.S. alcohol dependency facts and statistics demonstrated that 2.6 million binge drinkers were between the ages of 12 and 17.
4. It is estimated that more than 3 million teens in the United States between the ages of 14 to 17 are alcohol abusers or alcohol dependent.
5. In the U.S., more than 40 percent of those who start drinking at the age 14 or younger become alcoholic.
6. Very few of the more than 18 million U.S. alcohol abusers receive the alcohol rehabilitation they require.
7. Underage drinking costs Americans nearly billion annually. If each congressional district shared this cost equally, the amount would total more than 0 million per district.
8. Alcohol-related problems are unevenly found among both adult and juvenile criminal offenders.
Dante Gets A Relevant Jolt of Reality Concerning the Long Term and the Short Term Consequences of Teen Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse
After Miss Johnson presented the aforementioned alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse facts and statistics, it was apparent that what Miss Johnson taught Dante was a real surprise to him. Why? Because for the first time in his young life, someone not only took the time to give an explanation of the short term and the long term outcomes of alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction, but she also took the time to authenticate what she was saying with alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse facts and statistics that related to everyone, and particularly to teenagers.
As a matter of fact, it was almost as if a light went on and Dante promptly understood why he should not be engaging in abusive and excessive drinking with or without his friends any longer. Dante thanked Miss Johnson for her concern and for the information she discussed.
Miss Johnson then asked Dante how he felt about getting a physical examination and an alcohol evaluation for the alcohol abuse or alcohol addiction rehabilitation he would probably need.
Dante thought about this for a minute and then agreed to get a complete physical examination and to go through a comprehensive assessment of his drinking condition so that he could start an alcohol abuse or alcoholism rehab program without pause.
Filed under Health by on Oct 20th, 2009.
Dante was a fifteen year old high school sophomore who was manifesting a number of alcohol-related problems at school. For that reason, the principal told him that he had to see Miss Johnson, the school therapist, before he would be allowed to come back to school.
Later that day when Dante went home after school, he had to explain his school expulsion to his parents. His parents were “relatively conservative” and informed Dante that getting expelled from school was not a tolerable educational plan of action. They informed Dante that failing to graduate from high school would probably be like a lead weight around his feet that could conceivably inhibit his educational aspirations for the remainder of his adult life. Furthermore, Dante’s parents were very discontented that he was drinking in the first place and drinking with his peers in the second.
His Mother and Father explained to Dante that even though he may be a teen, he needs to realize rather quickly that drinking is the route to pain, failure, financial problems, and ill health.
It was evident that his Mother and Father were absolutely in concurrence with Dante’s principal and told Dante that he had better come to the realization that he needs to see Miss Johnson, the school counselor. After his discussion with his parents, Dante in due course agreed to see Miss Johnson the next day. So Dante phoned the school and made an appointment to see Miss Johnson the next afternoon.
The Counselor Asks Dante if He Knows Why His Recent Alcohol-Related Behavior Caused Quite a Bit of Apprehension By the School Administrators
When Dante got to his scheduled appointment with Miss Johnson, she at once looked at all of the alcohol-related problems Dante had experienced and asked him if he understood why his recent alcohol-related behavior signaled such alarm.
Quite truthfully, Dante questioned why the principal suggested that he see a school counselor. As he expressed to Miss Johnson, why should he see a professional psychologist about his drinking activities? Due to the fact that nearly all of his peers drink about as much as he does, basically, drinking shouldn’t be such a big thing. Stated more precisely, if just about everyone is drinking, why is this such a major issue?
Miss Johnson asked Dante when he started to drink alcoholic beverages. He said that some of his older friends introduced him to drinking wine coolers when he was twelve or thirteen years old and in the seventh grade.
Miss Johnson explained to Dante that while his friends may indeed drink as much as he does and that they may be an unhealthy influence on him, the facts are that he is the one who is getting discharged from school due to alcohol-related absenteeism, fighting, and delinquency, not his friends. Not only this but Miss Johnson also stressed the fact that Dante, and not his peers, is the one who is failing and who is missing at least one day of school every week because of his alcohol related issues. Lastly, Miss Johnson emphasized the fact that because of his drinking situation, Dante is getting into a negative cycle of excessive drinking that can at the end of the day ruin his life.
In short, Dante’s involvement with teenage alcohol abuse was beginning to thwart his ability to act like a responsible young man. As conveyed by Miss Johnson, “Just because most of your friends drink wine, wine coolers, beer, or hard liquor does not mean that it is the best thing to do for you.”
Dante Learns That In the Long Run He Must Be Accountable For Himself In Order to Keep Away From Damaging, Dangerous, Destructive, and Unhealthy Outcomes In the Foreseeable Future
Miss Johnson informed Dante that other individuals can certainly influence a person in an unhealthy manner, but that the individual himself or herself has to in due course be responsible for himself or herself in order to keep away from dangerous, unhealthy, damaging, and destructive consequences in the future.
Fortunately, Miss Johnson was extremely well prepared for her scheduled time with Dante. She showed him research studies and reports she had highlighted that summarized different drinking statistics and facts that targeted most people in general. Then she showed Dante quite a lot of data that applied mainly to adolescents.
As an illustration, Miss Johnson highlighted the difference between alcoholism and alcohol abuse and informed Dante that people who continue to drink excessively often become addicted to alcohol.
Miss Johnson also explained the concept of binge drinking which she defined as follows: ingesting five or more drinks in one sitting for males and consuming four or more drinks in one sitting for females.
The Therapist Lists A Number Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse Statistics and Facts
Then Miss Johnson listed various alcohol facts and the following eight alcohol abuse statistics:
1. As shown in one study, nearly 11% of 8th-graders, 22% of 10th-graders, and 27% of 12th-graders stated that they engaged in abusive drinking.
2. Between 48% and 64% of the individuals who expire in fires have blood alcohol levels indicating inebriation.
3. Children who are drinking alcohol by 7th grade are more likely to display delinquent behavior, substance abuse, and academic problems in both high school and middle school.
4. In the United States, more than 50% of all homicides and incidents of domestic violence are alcohol-related.
5. In the U.S. among drivers between the ages of 15 and 20, fatal crashes involving a single vehicle at night are three times more likely to be related to alcohol than to other deadly crashes.
6. In the United States, more than 40 percent of the people who start drinking before the age of 13 will develop alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence at some time in their lives.
7. In the United States, by the time they are high school seniors, 80% of high school students have tried alcohol and 62% have been intoxicated.
8. Treatment for alcoholism has been demonstrated to decrease criminal activity up to 80% among chronic offenders, has decreased their homelessness, increased their rate of employment, and reduced their health care costs.
Dante Receives An Important Primer on the Facts Regarding the Long Term and the Short Term Outcomes of Youth Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse
After Miss Johnson conveyed the aforementioned alcohol abuse and alcoholism facts and statistics, it was obvious that what Miss Johnson disclosed to Dante was a wake up call for him. Why? Because for the first time in his young life, someone not only made the effort to go over the short term and the long term effects of alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction, but she also took the time to substantiate what she was saying with alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse statistics and facts that related to people in general, and especially to underage drinkers.
In actual fact, it was almost as if a light went on and Dante instantly understood why he should not be engaging in hazardous and abusive drinking with or without his friends any longer. Dante thanked Miss Johnson for her concern and for the information she presented.
Miss Johnson then asked Dante how he felt about getting a physical examination and an alcohol evaluation for the alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency rehabilitation he would probably need.
Dante thought about this for few minutes and then agreed to get a comprehensive physical exam and to go through a thorough assessment of his drinking behavior so that he could start an alcohol rehabilitation program in a reasonable time frame.
Filed under Health by on Sep 21st, 2009.