Sarah and Jerry have been married for six years. They wanted to have some fun and excitement before they decided to have a family and so they willfully created an extremely vibrant social life.
The chief problem, it needs to be stressed, is that very nearly everything they do with their family and friends somehow includes drinking. As an illustration, all of the parties with friends, happy hours, sporting events, family get-togethers, and dinner engagements they patronize are associated with drinking.
Jerry and Sarah Start to Notice Some Instantly Recognizable Alcohol Related Issues That are Related to Their Abusive Drinking
If they were moderate drinkers, this wouldn’t be a big issue. Since they drink quite excessively, however, they are starting to perceive some apparent alcohol-related issues in their lives.
For instance, a short time ago Jerry was placed under arrest for a third DWI and has been ignoring responsibilities at work because of alcohol-related health issues. Furthermore, Jerry’s last two performance assessments at work have been less than satisfactory and he has started to fail to remember what he says or does the times that he drinks. Finally, Jerry has been having sleep-related problems and his family has begun to get apprehensive about his drinking circumstances.
Similar to Jerry’s situation, Sarah has been feeling dejected with things in her life and to cope with this, she has been drinking more habitually than any time in the past year. Furthermore, Sarah has been getting a lot of painful migraines and going through terrible hangovers due to her drinking. As a final point, Sarah has been feeling substantially less active when she awakens, she has been getting to work late every Monday, and she has been getting some unsympathetic criticism from her relatives, family members, friends, and coworkers about her abusive drinking.
Watching the Television and Inadvertently Discovering An Exciting Documentary About the Signs of Alcohol Addiction
One Monday evening while watching TV, Jerry and Sarah went through the channels and found an attention-grabbing documentary about the signs of alcoholism.
This television program was a real eye opener to Jerry and Sarah because more than a few of the alcoholism signs that were gone over seemed like they were unshakably associated with some of the alcohol-related drinking problems Jerry and Sarah had been experiencing.
A Truthful Talk About Drinking Situations Discloses Alcohol Related Relationship, Health, Financial, Employment, and Legal Problems
After watching the TV program, Jerry and Sarah made up their minds to have an open chat about their drinking condition. They both were in agreement that most, if not all, of their social activities were related to drinking, that they were drinking abusively, and that as a couple, they were starting to make note of alcohol related employment, relationship, health, legal, and financial problems for the first time in their lives.
With thoughts of the television program still imprinted in her mind, Sarah asked Jerry if some of the alcoholism signs they have been manifesting could be a warning that they are alcohol dependent or perhaps becoming alcoholic. Jerry didn’t know the answer to Sarah’s inquiry and so he recommended that they schedule an appointment with one of the healthcare professionals at the nearby alcohol rehab center to find out more about the seriousness of their drinking issues.
Addressing Your Drinking Difficulties Might Lessen Your Trepidation and Give You A Sense of Calm
Paradoxically, even though their drinking circumstances hadn’t yet changed, it was obvious that Sarah and Jerry were at least attending to their drinking difficulties, they were excited about finding out more about their drinking circumstances, and they were interested in discovering how they could substantially reduce or eliminate the alcohol-related problems that had started to get worse.
When Sarah and Jerry went to bed that evening, they decided that the next afternoon, Jerry would call and make an appointment for both of them at the drug and alcohol abuse treatment clinic located just South of the State Capital. After they promised one another that they would do whatever it takes to surmount the drinking difficulties that had become apparent in their lives, they truly had the most refreshing night’s sleep they could remember in the last seven weeks.
Just before he fell asleep, Jerry turned to Sarah and stated how easy it is to decrease one’s fear and actually experience some serenity by coming to grips with one’s problems straight on and making up one’s mind to do something constructive about them.
Filed under Health by on Jul 5th, 2010. 
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.
It is interesting to articulate something that family members who have been harmfully affected by the alcoholism of another family member plainly do not comprehend. It seems that by shielding the alcohol dependent individual with falsehoods and deceit to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have in actual fact created a circumstance that makes it easier for the alcohol addicted person to persevere and press forward with his or her unsafe, destructive way of living.
Undeniably, rather than helping the alcohol addicted person and themselves, these family members have essentially become enablers who have involuntarily helped worsen the alcohol dependent individual’s drinking problem even more.
Perhaps the real downside of this is that the alcohol dependent person will continue drinking in a hazardous and irresponsible manner and go through various “alcohol side effects.” Some of these side effects include legal issues (such as getting arrested for one or more DWIs), diminished mental functioning, deteriorating relationships, serious financial problems, ill health, and employment difficulties.
The Probability of a Relapse is Real
According to the research findings and statistics on alcohol addiction, another key alcoholism issue concerns alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcohol dependent individual has effectively gone through alcoholism rehab and then returns to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first thought, this circumstance flies in the face of sound thinking and looks so implausible that it forces an individual to wonder why anyone who has gone through the misery of alcohol addiction can return to drinking a short while after successful alcohol rehab and in turn after reaching sobriety. There are, without a doubt, many conceivable reasons for this.
It should be highlighted, conversely that alcoholism research that has centered on the long-term consequences of alcohol dependency has demonstrated-proven that long after the alcoholic has discontinued his or her drinking, major transformations in the way in which the alcohol addicted individual’s brain works are still present. As a result, all a recovering alcohol dependent individual has to do to involve himself or herself in behaviors that correspond with the changes that have occurred in the brain is to begin drinking once again.
The Need for A Significant Lifestyle Change
There are other reasons why many recovering alcohol dependent persons return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after achieving sobriety. In accordance to the alcoholism research literature, to make an effective recovery, the alcohol addicted individual needs new ways of responding and thinking in order to deal more effectively with tough alcohol-related situations that will take place.
Conditions such as returning to the same alcohol addictive atmosphere or to the same geographic location; interacting once again with friends from the time when the alcohol addicted individual was drinking abusively; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these circumstances can bring about memories that can set off psychological tension or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcoholic to engage in hazardous drinking once again. Regrettably, all of these situations may not only counteract long lasting alcohol recovery for the alcoholic but they can also result in relapse and as a result work against one’s sobriety.
The Good News: There’s a Lot of Hope for Lasting Sobriety
In an attempt to “protect” the family alcohol dependent individual, family members can in fact cause inadvertent destruction by enabling the destructive drinking behavior of the alcohol addicted person.
The addiction research literature highlights the fact that most people who successfully complete alcohol therapy experience at least one relapse. Alcoholics and their family members need to know this so that they do not get defeated or overwhelmed when a relapse takes place.
Happily, taking part in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up counseling and education have resulted in more productive, long-term alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction therapeutic results, have helped diminish alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcoholics reach ongoing sobriety.
Filed under Health by on Nov 5th, 2009.
For several years alcohol addiction exploration has demonstrated the fact that there is strong linkage between alcoholism and serious health conditions.
As an illustration, in 2005, scientific examination and alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics revealed that alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction cost the United States an estimated $220 billion per year. It may be noted that this massive alcohol-related cost was significantly more than the cost associated with cancer ($196 billion) or with obesity ($133 billion). While it is relevant to emphasize these facts, it is also important to point out that an interrelationship exists between all three of these health issues.
To be more precise, chronic alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency are also highly interrelated with obesity and with cancer.
Definitely, substance abuse examination has shown that alcohol addiction can increase the risk for different types of cancer, particularly cancer of the colon, voice box (larynx), liver, rectum, throat, kidneys, and the esophagus. Hazardous and repetitive drinking can also lead to immune system issues and harm to the fetus during pregnancy.
Hazardous and Excessive Drinking Enfeebles the Individual’s Systems and Organs
What is more, if alcoholism continues over a period of years, the person’s body organs will likely be affected in a negative manner. For instance, long-term, abusive drinking is especially hurtful to the liver since the liver does most of the work of processing the alcohol that has been ingested. Unwarranted amounts of alcohol kills liver cells and eradicates the ability of liver cells to regenerate. This medical circumstance leads to a progressive inflammatory malfunction of the liver that can in due course lead to cirrhosis of the liver, an acute and potentially fatal disease.Heavy, long-term drinking not only can result in serious liver damage, but it can also result in damage to the heart and to the brain. Physical damage this dangerous may be irreparable and may, in turn, lead to severe disease or an early death.
The Significance of Alcohol Rehabilitation
It is essential, then, to know how to recognize the various alcoholism symptoms and the “alcohol signs” so that the alcohol addicted individual can be given the opportunity to seek the professional alcohol rehab he or she needs.
Alcohol Addiction and Sophisticated Brain Exploration
Fortunately, scientific research is constantly generating innovative and important information. Recent alcoholism exploration supplies an excellent illustration. More exactly, for roughly the past ten years, sophisticated brain-imaging scanning instruments have shown that repetitive and chronic excessive drinking modifies the configuration of the brain to a great extent, therefore resulting in brain disease that can last months, years, or perhaps as long as the individual lives.
More exactly, medical investigation has shown that people who have been drinking in an irresponsible manner for an extensive length of time increase their risk for developing lasting and substantial transformations in the brain.
This type of damage may be directly related to the alcohol’s effects on the brain, to severe liver disease, or might be indirectly associated with the drinker’s poor overall health.
Mental Disorders, Malnutrition, and Excessive Drinking
As a final illustration of various medical problems that are considerably related to alcohol dependency, take into consideration the fact that according to medical investigation, the excessive and repeated abuse of alcohol can result in erosive gastritis, a health problem that limits the absorption of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
This kind of organ failure is associated with malnutrition and to an array of severe mental and neurological syndromes including memory loss, sleep disturbances, and psychosis such as Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome. This latter medical condition is a long lasting incapacitating medical condition that is typified by persistent learning and memory complications.
Conclusion
It is evident that repetitive, excessive drinking is directly or indirectly associated with a variety of critical medical problems that can and do result in serious ailments and premature death. Such information needs to be stressed and presented to everyone in our society so that a massive amount of people will be able to abstain from abusive drinking while other people who have a drinking problem will get the quality rehab they require.
Filed under Health by on Nov 3rd, 2009.
When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I registered for a substance abuse class. At that age, I did not comprehend that alcohol abuse in point of fact was a sub category of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse and especially about alcohol side effects, I read a lot about Alcoholic Anonymous, their meetings, how their programs have twelve steps, and how successful the Alcoholics Anonymous recovery program has been for individuals all through the world. I also learned a lot about alcohol treatment and the diverse alcohol rehab clinics that are often available to people who engage in heavy drinking.
Harmful Outcomes That are Correlated With Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse
Some of the harmful effects related to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class absolutely worried me. The ruined lives and frequent difficulties experienced by most alcohol dependent people made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. That is, I did not want to face the wreckage and destruction that alcohol addicted people almost always go through.
Ponder upon this for a moment. What fifteen-year-old teenager wants to face premature death due to his or her drinking behavior? What adolescent wants to become so out-of-control regarding his or her drinking that consuming alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What adolescent wants to go to one of the local alcoholic rehabilitation centers to deal with alcohol-related problems before he or she becomes an adult?
What adolescent wants to deal with alcohol withdrawals when he or she tries to quit drinking? Why would an individual engage in drinking to such an extent that it would cause serious issues in every area of his or her life? Drinking later in life after an individual has a career, a family, and develops personal responsibilities makes sense. But why would a young person want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that centers on hazardous drinking?
These issues were so important that I discussed some of them in class throughout the school year. What was absolutely amazing to me was the number of students who essentially didn’t care about the harmful outcomes of hazardous drinking that I discussed. It was almost as if they couldn’t be bothered with reality and how these effects can demolish their lives. For the first time in my life I started to grasp a saying that my grandfather used to emphasize throughout my youth: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.
It’s Invigorating, Important, and Beneficial to Remove Yourself From the Unhealthy and Destructive Consequences of Alcohol and Drug Abuse
And even at my young age, I also started to understand how invigorating, important, and beneficial it is in life to keep away from the unhealthy and damaging outcomes of alcohol and drug abuse.
Filed under Health by on Oct 31st, 2009.