A High School Student Almost Dies From Alcohol Poisoning

August 25, 2009 at 4:27 am · Filed under Health & Fitness

Jeffrey was a high school freshman who frequently seemed to be living on the edge. Jeffrey had a daring personality and usually wanted to do what his older brothers were doing. The core difficulty with this was that all three of his brothers were at least 21 years old and were therefore able from a legal standpoint to drive a vehicle and to consume alcohol.

Jeffrey, conversely, had a tough time grasping the truth that as a fifteen-year-old teenager he should not be drinking. In fact, on the other hand, Jeffrey normally drank with his guy friends after school, especially on the weekends.

One weekend, Jeffrey was invited to drive around with some of his older friends. One of his pals was old enough to purchase alcohol. After buying some beer, wine coolers, and wine, Jeffrey and his friends went to a recreational area and drank for approximately two or three hours.

A Young Man Passes Out

After drinking something like ten glasses of wine, Jeffrey started to feel nauseous and then threw up. When he lost consciousness on the basketball court, one of his friends called 911 for help. It was fortunate that the call for medical assistance was made because when his friends went to the hospital to see Jeffrey, they were notified that Jeffrey had been showing evidence of alcohol poisoning symptoms. In short, Jeffrey had experienced a case of alcohol poisoning.

When Your Cronies Drink Excessively

Jeffrey had heard that drinking in an abusive manner can result in alcohol poisoning but he never thought that this could ever happen to him. After all, some of his friends repeatedly stated that they could drink twenty or more cans of beer in a couple of hours without going through any significant difficulties.

Armed with this information, Jeffrey was quite taken aback to hear that he had overdosed on alcohol because he “only” had around ten drinks. When he stated this to the attending healthcare professional at the hospital, in spite of this, the healthcare professional informed Jeffrey that drinking ten bottles of beer over a two or three hour period of time could actually be substantially more alcohol than can be processed by the body. The physicain further expressed how extreme amounts of alcohol can cause the brain to shut down an individual’s breathing and that when this occurs, a person can perish.

The First Signal of Excessive Drinking

This was the first sign to Jeffrey that he was drinking in a dangerous way and that there are effects for such deeds. The healthcare practitioner told Jeffrey that he was a fortunate young man because he almost perished from an alcohol overdose the night before.

The healthcare professional also conversed with Jeffrey’s parents and suggested that they get alcohol rehabilitation for Jeffrey. His parents were pleased that Jeffrey was out of harm’s way and told the healthcare professional that they would look into getting Jeffrey alcohol rehabilitation.

While conversing with his parents, Jeffrey informed them that there must be a good reason why he did not die and that he felt a sense of thankfulness that he was still alive. He also told his parents that the weirdest part about the entire drinking occurrence was that he had learned about alcohol poisoning the previous week at school in health class.

When Listening in Class Can Change Your Life

At the time, what his health instructor, Mr. Franklin, was articulating didn’t seem to make too much sense to Jeffrey. Due to the fact that he almost passed away, conversely, he felt that he should have listened more alertly in Mr. Franklin’s health class and applied what he had learned to his daily living.

Jeffrey informed his parents that he couldn’t wait to go to school and express regret to Mr. Franklin for not paying better attention to something that was as significant as learning about alcohol abuse and how to steer clear of an alcohol overdose.

His parents smiled at Jeffrey and said that they were proud of the way he was taking responsibility for his destructive drinking activities. All he had to do now was to let this near-death experience make an impact his life in a constructive way so that he would never again suffer from an alcohol overdose.

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When Irresponsible and Heavy Drinking Leads to Serious Health Problems

August 24, 2009 at 3:34 am · Filed under Health & Fitness

For several years alcohol dependency exploration has demonstrated the fact that there is strong correlation between alcohol addiction and serious health conditions.

For example, in 2005, medical research revealed that alcohol abuse and alcoholism cost the United States an estimated $220 billion annually. Interestingly, this enormous alcohol-related cash outlay was substantially more than the cost associated with cancer ($196 billion) or with obesity ($133 billion). While it is important to emphasize these facts, it is also noteworthy to point out that an interrelationship exists between all three of these health issues.

More accurately, chronic alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction are also highly associated with obesity and with cancer.

Definitely, substance abuse exploration has revealed that alcoholism can augment the risk for different kinds of cancer, particularly cancer of the kidneys, rectum, colon, voice box (larynx), esophagus, throat, and the liver. Excessive and repetitive drinking can also result in immune system problems and deformity to the fetus during pregnancy.

Hazardous and Abusive Drinking Breaks Down the Drinker’s Systems and Organs

Additionally, if alcohol dependency continues over a period of years, the person’s body organs will likely be affected in a negative manner. For instance, long-term, hazardous drinking is especially harmful to the liver due to the fact that the liver does most of the work of processing the alcohol that has been consumed. Excessive amounts of alcohol kills liver cells and eradicates the ability of liver cells to redevelop. This medical condition results in a progressive inflammatory malfunction of the liver that can in the long run lead to cirrhosis of the liver, a dangerous and possibly lethal medical problem.

Excessive, long-term drinking not only can lead to dangerous liver damage, but it can also lead to damage to the heart and to the brain. Physical damage this critical may be unalterable and may, in turn, result in severe llness or an untimely death.

The Relevance of Alcohol Treatment

It is vital, as a result, to know how to recognize the different alcoholism symptoms and signs so that the alcohol addicted individual can be given the opportunity to get the quality alcohol treatment he or she needs.

Alcohol Dependency and Sophisticated Brain Research

Fortunately, scientific research is relentlessly generating innovative and important information. Recent alcoholism exploration supplies a high-quality example. More accurately, for approximately the last ten years, sophisticated brain-imaging scanning instruments have confirmed that continuous and chronic hazardous drinking changes the configuration of the brain to a substantial extent, consequently resulting in brain disease that can last months, years, or conceivably as long as the person exists.

More exactly, medical examination has revealed that individuals who have been drinking abusively for a considerable length of time increase their risk for developing permanent and serious alterations 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.

Malnutrition, Hazardous Drinking, and Mental Disorders

As a final example of various medical problems that are largely associated with alcohol dependency, consider that in accordance with scientific research, the excessive and repeated abuse of alcohol can lead to erosive gastritis, a condition that decreases the absorption of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.

This type of organ failure is related to malnutrition and to a variety of acute neurological and mental maladies including memory loss, sleep disturbances, and psychosis such as Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome. This latter health problem is a long-term incapacitating health problem that is characterized by recurring memory and learning complications.

Conclusion

It is evident that continued, hazardous drinking is directly or indirectly linked to a variety of serious medical problems that can and do result in dangerous diseases and premature death. Such information needs to be emphasized and presented to everyone in our society so that most people will be able to abstain from abusive drinking while other individuals who have a drinking problem will get the quality treatment they require.

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Is Your Drinking Starting to Become a Problem?

August 21, 2009 at 6:21 am · Filed under Health & Fitness

How do you know that you have a drinking problem? When is it clear that you are engaging in excessive drinking?

If you have ineffectively struggled to discontinue your drinking or if you have given your word to yourself that your drinking days are finished and then you were made aware that you were drinking excessively just a few days later, chances are exceedingly good that you have drinking problems. The bottom line is that if you have attempted to quit drinking and cannot bring this about, then your drinking is controlling you, instead of the other way around.

In a similar manner, if it takes larger amounts of alcohol to get the same “high,” more likely than not you need to become aware that you have a drinking problem.

You may be telling yourself that the justification for your drinking is so that you can lessen your nervousness or get rid of the sorrow that you feel. Similarly, you may be trying to steer clear of a harmful circumstance and may be looking for something more beneficial, more constructive, or less sorrowful.

As you continue your drinking, on the other hand, you will comprehend that drinking does not elicit the same high and you will also comprehend that drinking doesn’t help eliminate whatever led to your problem in the first place.

As you continue to drink, regrettably, you may become alcohol dependent and, as a result, you may add another important issue to manage rather than discovering more effective and healthy ways of coping with your alcohol generated difficulties.

An Alcohol Appraisal is Probably Necessary

If you have figured out that you have a problem with your drinking, maybe the healthiest thing you can do for yourself is to call your physician or healthcare provider and arrange for an appointment for a thorough physical and for a review of your drinking circumstances.

If you in fact feel that you have a crucial problem with your drinking, it may be a good idea to get prepared to hear that you need to get alcohol counseling.

At this point, what are your options? You can certainly decide against seeing your general practitioner and continue your pattern of abusive drinking.

It really doesn’t take a wiz kid, nevertheless, to realize that repeated, out-of-control drinking, if left untreated, will deteriorate over time and quite probably lead to an early death. As a result, your most practical option is to confront your drinking circumstance and obtain the alcohol rehabilitation you need.

The Deception of the Functioning Alcohol Addicted Individual

It is somewhat paradoxical to note the fact that several alcoholics lead busy and active lives and have families, jobs, houses, vehicles, pets, and any number of material possessions similar to individuals who are not addicted to alcohol.

Many of these “functional” alcohol addicted individuals may have never been cited for a DUI and may have been fortunate enough to avoid all alcohol induced legal predicaments. In spite of this fortunate circumstance, to the contrary, these alcoholics need to drink in order to live on a daily basis while continuing their facade as they associate with the outside world.

Ask anyone who has seen them when they are out on a drunken binge or in a drunken stupor or ask a family member about the problem drinker’s alcohol dependency, nevertheless, and they will be quick to assert the reality of the drinker’s situation and the essentials about the alcohol addicted person’s drinking condition and about his or her alcohol generated predicaments.

Why Do Individuals Addicted to Alcohol Fail to Acknowledge Their Drinking Problems?

As alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse research has emphasized, no matter how clear the alcohol induced difficulties seem to those who interact with the alcohol addicted person, alcohol addicted people normally deny that drinking is the root of their alcohol-related predicaments. Not only this, but alcohol dependent individuals usually blame their alcohol-related difficulties on other individuals or upon other circumstances that surround them rather than seeing their part in the problem.

The origin of the problem is that alcohol dependency is a disease of the brain. Once the alcohol abuser has become addicted to alcohol, he or she characteristically resorts to denial, manipulation, and lying as a way of dealing with the fact that his or her drinking is out of control. And to make matters worse, the experience of alcohol withdrawal symptoms often counteracts the alcohol addicted person’s rare attempts to suddenly refrain from drinking. As gloomy as the alcohol addicted individual’s way of life is, conversely, the good news is that quality assistance is generally available – if the alcoholic reaches out and tries to get alcohol rehab.

Summary

Acknowledging the fact that drinking is producing problems in your day by day functioning is perhaps the most straightforward way to determine if you have a drinking problem. Stated another way, if your drinking is bringing about difficulties with your health, at work, in your relationships, with your finances, at school, or with the law, then you have a drinking problem that needs to be resolved.

If you have a drinking problem, moreover, this means that you are involving yourself in excessive drinking.

While some individuals may be able to pinpoint their drinking problems and greatly decrease the quantity and rate of their drinking, other drinkers, nonetheless, need to manage their drinking difficulties by getting professional alcoholism therapy. Furthermore, due to their penchant to deny the facts and distort the truth, alcohol dependent individuals definitely require proficient alcoholism therapy for their hazardous drinking.

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My High School Alcohol and Drug Abuse Class

August 21, 2009 at 6:21 am · Filed under Health & Fitness

When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I took a drug abuse class. At that age, I did not understand that alcohol abuse in reality was a sub division of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse, 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 quite a bit about alcohol rehab and the various alcohol rehab clinics that are usually available to people who engage in excessive drinking.

Some of the detrimental effects associated with alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class certainly worried me. The ruined lives and numerous 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 damage and ruination that alcohol dependent individuals almost always encounter.

Think about this for a moment. What fifteen-year-old person 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 teen 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 young person wants to go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms when he or she tries to stop drinking? Why would an individual engage in drinking to such an extent that it would cause problems in every area of his or her life? Drinking later in life after a person 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 revolves around irresponsible drinking?

These issues were so important that I discussed some of them in class during the school year. What was absolutely incredible to me was the number of students who simply didn’t care about the harmful outcomes of abusive drinking that I talked about. It was almost as if they couldn’t be bothered with the facts and how these results can destroy their lives. For the first time in my life I started to comprehend a saying that my grandfather used to articulate throughout my adolesence: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.

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When Alcohol Poisoning Serves as a Wakeup Call for an Adolescent

August 20, 2009 at 2:54 am · Filed under Health & Fitness

Jeffrey was a ninth grader who frequently seemed to be living on the edge.  Jeffrey had a daring personality and as a rule wanted to do what his older brothers were doing for fun. The underlying glitch with this was that all three of his brothers were at least 21 years old and were as a result within their legal rights to operate a car or truck and to drink alcohol. 

Jeffrey, however, had a difficult time comprehending that as a fifteen-year-old young person he should not be drinking alcoholic beverages. In fact, on the other hand, Jeffrey generally drank with his pals after school, predominantly on the weekends.

One weekend, Jeffrey decided to drive around with some of his older pals.  One of his friends was old enough to buy alcohol.  After buying some beer, wine coolers, and wine, Jeffrey and his friends went to a public park and drank for approximately two or three hours.

A Young Man Loses Consciousness

After drinking more or less ten wine coolers, Jeffrey started to feel woozy and then vomited. When he passed out on the baseball field, one of his buddies called 911 for immediate help. It was fortunate that the call for medical help was made because when his buddies went to the hospital to see Jeffrey, they were notified that Jeffrey had been showing evidence of alcohol poisoning symptoms.  In short, Jeffrey had experienced an alcohol overdose.

When Your Cronies Drink Too Much

Jeffrey had heard that drinking in an excessive manner can lead to alcohol poisoning but he never thought that this would ever affect him. After all, some of his guy friends over and over again declared that they could drink twenty four or more bottles of beer in a couple of hours without suffering from any serious difficulties.

Armed with this information, Jeffrey was in point of fact shocked to learn that he had overdosed on alcohol because he “only” had about ten alcoholic beverages.  When he articulated this to the attending healthcare practitioner at the hospital, on the other hand, the doctor notified Jeffrey that drinking ten wine coolers over a two or three hour period of time could certainly be substantially more alcohol than can be processed by the body.  The physicain further expressed how excessive alcohol can cause the brain to shut down an individual’s respiratory system and that when this transpires, a person can pass away.

The First Signal of Hazardous Drinking

This was the first indication to Jeffrey that he was drinking in a perilous way and that there is a price tag for such actions.  The physicain told Jeffrey that he was a fortunate person because he almost died from an alcohol overdose the previous night.

The healthcare professional also talked to Jeffrey’s parents and suggested that they get alcohol rehabilitation for Jeffrey.  His parents were jubilant that Jeffrey was all right and notified the physicain that they would look into getting Jeffrey alcohol rehab.

While talking to his parents, Jeffrey informed them that there must be a solid reason why he did not perish and that he felt a sense of thankfulness that he was still alive.  He also told his parents that the odd part about the entire drinking event was that he had learned about alcohol poisoning the previous week in health class at school.

When Learning Something in Class Can Change Your Life

At the time, what his health instructor, Mr. Franklin, was saying didn’t seem to make too much sense to Jeffrey.  Since he almost passed away, however, he felt that he should have listened more attentively in Mr. Franklin’s health class and applied what he had learned to his life.

Jeffrey told his parents that he couldn’t wait to go back to the classroom and express regret to Mr. Franklin for not paying more attention to a topic that was as relevant as learning about alcohol abuse and how to steer clear of alcohol poisoning.

His parents smiled at Jeffrey and said that they were happy with the way he was being responsible for his negative drinking actions.  All he had to do now was to let this near fatal experience have an effect on his life in a productive way so that he would never again experience a case of alcohol poisoning.

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When Drinking Causes Problems With Your Health and With Your Life

August 18, 2009 at 5:17 am · Filed under Health & Fitness

How do you know that you have a problem with your drinking? When is it clear that you are engaging in alcohol abuse?

If you have unproductively struggled to stop drinking or if you sworn to yourself that your drinking days are behind you and then you recognized that you were drinking in an excessive manner just a few days later, the probability is exceedingly good that you have a drinking problem. The bottom line is that if you have attempted to terminate your drinking and cannot bring this about, then your drinking is controlling you, instead of the other way around.

Similarly, if it takes greater amounts of alcohol to get the same “high,” you probably need to realize that you have a problem with your drinking.

You may be telling yourself that the justification for your drinking is so that you can decrease your stress or get rid of the distress that you feel. In much the same way, you may be trying to stay away from an unsafe circumstance and may be looking for something better, more constructive, or less sorrowful.

As you continue to drink, then again, you will grasp the fact that drinking does not bring about the same high and you will also understand that drinking doesn’t help eradicate whatever was causing your distress in the first place.

As you continue to drink in a hazardous way, unfortunately, you may become addicted to alcohol and, as a consequence, you may add another essential problem to cope with rather than unearthing more successful and wholesome ways of dealing with your alcohol induced predicament.

When an Alcohol Assessment is Required

If you have figured out that you have a problem with your drinking, perhaps the most practical thing you can do for yourself is to call your medical doctor or healthcare practitioner and arrange for an appointment for a physical and for an evaluation of your drinking activities.

If you truthfully think that you have a crucial problem with your drinking, it may be a good idea to get prepared to find out that you need to get alcohol counseling.

At this point in your life, what are your choices? You can definitely say no and refuse to see your doctor and continue your pattern of hazardous drinking.

It certainly doesn’t take a nuclear physicist, nevertheless, to understand that long-term, heavy drinking, if left untreated, will worsen over time and more likely than not result an early death. For that reason, your most beneficial alternative is to confront your drinking circumstance and get the alcohol rehab you need.

The Deception of the Functioning Alcohol Addicted Individual

It is somewhat paradoxical to note the fact that many alcoholics lead busy and active lives and have families, jobs, houses, vehicles, pets, and any number of material possessions similar to people who are not alcohol dependent.

Many of these “functional” alcohol dependent people may have never been apprehended for a DUI and may have been lucky enough to avoid all alcohol induced legal issues. Despite this good fortune, on the other hand, these alcohol dependent people need to drink in order to function on a day by day basis while keeping up their facade as they interact with people outside their family.

Ask anyone who has seen them when they are out on a drunken binge or in a drunken stupor or ask a family member about the problem drinker’s alcohol dependency, nevertheless, and they will be quick to state the legitimacy of the drinker’s situation and the whole story about the alcoholic’s drinking condition and about his or her alcohol produced predicaments.

Why Do Alcohol Addicted People Fail to Acknowledge Their Drinking Problems?

As alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse research has stressed, no matter how noticeable the alcohol induced problems seem to those who interact with the alcohol dependent person, alcohol addicted individuals characteristically deny that drinking is the cause of their alcohol induced problems. Not only this, but alcohol addicted individuals normally blame their alcohol induced problems on other individuals or upon other circumstances that surround them rather than seeing their part in the issue.

The origin of the problem is that alcohol addiction is a disease of the brain. Once the person has become addicted to alcohol, he or she normally resorts to denial, manipulation, and lying as a way of coping with the fact that his or her drinking is out of control. And to make things more problematic, the experience of alcohol withdrawal symptoms typically circumvents the alcohol dependent person’s rare attempts to abruptly stop drinking. As bleak as the alcohol addicted individual’s existence is, to the contrary, the encouraging news is that competent help is generally accessible – if the alcohol dependent individual reaches out and gets alcoholism rehab.

Conclusion

Conceding the fact that drinking is triggering problems in your day by day functioning is conceivably the most trouble-free way to determine if you have a drinking problem. More to the point, if your drinking is eliciting difficulties with your health, at work, in your relationships, with your finances, at school, or with the law, then you have a drinking problem that needs to be resolved.

If you have a drinking problem, furthermore, this means that you are engaging in abusive drinking.

While some drinkers may be able to pinpoint their alcohol abuse problems and substantially decrease the amount and frequency of their drinking, other drinkers, conversely, need to address their drinking difficulties by getting quality alcoholism counseling. What is more, due to their inclination to deny the facts and twist the truth, alcoholics absolutely need proficient alcoholism therapy for their abusive drinking.

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Alcoholism, Alcohol Relapse, and Enabling

August 18, 2009 at 5:17 am · Filed under Health & Fitness

It is fascinating to bring up something that family members who have been unfavorably affected by the alcoholism of another family member clearly do not realize. It seems that by protecting the alcohol addicted individual with untruths and dishonesty to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have in reality created a situation that makes it easier for the alcohol dependent individual to persist and advance with his or her harmful, devastating lifestyle.

To be sure, rather than helping the alcohol addicted person and themselves, these family members have in reality become enablers who have mistakenly helped worsen the alcohol dependent person’s drinking problem even more.

The Possibility of a Relapse is Real

Another key alcoholism issue has to do with alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcohol addicted person has effectively gone through alcoholism therapy and then returns to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first glance, this predicament flies in the face of rational thinking and appears to be so doubtful that it forces a person to wonder why anyone who has gone through the awfulness of alcoholism can return to drinking a short while after successful alcohol treatment and in turn after attaining sobriety. There are, to be sure, more than a few plausible reasons for this.

It should be noted, however that alcoholism research that has centered on the enduring consequences of alcohol addiction has shown that long after the alcohol dependent individual has stopped his or her drinking, significant transformations in the way in which the alcohol dependent person’s brain works are still present. As a consequence, all a recovering alcoholic has to do to involve himself or herself in behaviors that correspond with the modifications that have taken place in the brain is to engage in drinking again.

The Necessity for A Fundamental Lifestyle Modification

There are even more reasons why quite a lot of recovering alcohol addicted individuals return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after attaining sobriety. According to the alcohol dependency research literature, to make a successful recovery, the alcohol dependent person needs new ways of responding and thinking in order to deal more competently with demanding 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 alcoholic was drinking in a hazardous manner; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these circumstances can bring forth memories that can prompt psychological tension or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol dependent individual to engage in hazardous drinking once again. Unfortunately, all of these situations may not only work against long standing sobriety for the alcohol addicted person but they can also result in relapse and consequently cancel out one’s sobriety.

Summary

In an attempt to “protect” the family alcoholic, family members can in fact cause unintended harm by enabling the unsafe drinking behavior of the alcoholic.

The addiction research literature validates the fact that most people who effectively complete alcohol rehab experience at least one relapse. Alcohol dependent individuals and their family members need to know this so that they do not get dejected or beleaguered when a relapse takes place.

Fortunately, participation in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up rehab and education have resulted in more effective, long lasting alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency rehab outcomes, have helped diminish alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol addicted persons reach long standing alcohol recovery.

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Alcohol Relapse, Alcoholism, and Enabling

August 18, 2009 at 5:17 am · Filed under Health & Fitness

It is worthy of note to articulate something that family members who have been unfavorably affected by the alcoholism of another family member clearly do not understand. It seems to be that by protecting the alcohol addicted person with falsehoods and deceit to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have in actual fact created a condition that makes it easier for the alcohol addicted individual to persevere and proceed with his or her harmful, destructive existence.

Indeed, rather than helping the alcohol addicted individual and themselves, these family members have in reality become enablers who have involuntarily helped deteriorate the drinking problems of the problem drinker even more.

Relapses Can and Do Happen

Another key alcohol addiction issue involves alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcoholic has effectively gone through alcohol dependency treatment and then returns to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first glance, this predicament seems contradictory to logical thinking and sounds so doubtful that it forces one to wonder why anyone who has lived through the dejection of alcohol addiction can return to drinking a short while after successful alcohol treatment and in turn after achieving recovery. There are, for sure, more than a few plausible reasons for this.

It should be noted, nevertheless that alcohol dependency research that has focused on the long-term effects of alcoholism has demonstrated-proven that long after the alcohol dependent person has halted his or her drinking, key transformations in the way in which the alcohol dependent person’s brain works are still present. As a result, all a recovering alcohol addicted individual has to do to involve himself or herself in actions that correspond with the changes that have come about in the brain is to begin drinking again.

A Requirement for An Essential Lifestyle Change

There are even more reasons why quite a few recovering alcohol addicted persons return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after attaining sobriety. In accordance to the alcohol addiction research literature, to make an effective recovery, the alcohol dependent individual needs new ways of responding and thinking in order to deal more effectively with taxing alcohol-related circumstances 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 days when the alcohol addicted person was drinking abusively; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these conditions can bring about memories that can set off psychological anxiety or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol dependent individual to engage in hazardous drinking once again. Regrettably, all of these situations may not only counteract long standing alcohol recovery for the alcohol addicted person but they can also result in relapse and therefore short-circuit one’s alcohol recovery.

Summary

In an attempt to “protect” the family alcohol addicted person, family members can in fact cause unintended damage by enabling the harmful drinking behavior of the alcohol addicted individual.

The substance abuse research literature demonstrates the fact that most people who successfully complete alcohol rehab go through at least one relapse. Alcohol addicted individuals and their family members need to know this so that they do not get dejected or beleaguered when a relapse occurs.

Happily, participation in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up treatment and training have resulted in more productive, long-term alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction treatment outcomes, have helped decrease alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol addicted persons reach long lasting sobriety.

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Alcohol problems

August 14, 2009 at 3:36 am · Filed under Health & Fitness

alcohol

There are lots of ways that alcohol consumption can affect our health and our social skills; After 1 or 2 drinks you may feel more your self and more loud as the alcohol reaches the brain and affects the way you think.
Alcohol misuse causes your heart rate to heighten and you may experience a warm glow. This is caused by alcohol making the small blood vessels in the skin enlarge, allowing blood to flow nearer to the surface and lowers blood pressure.

The Effects of Alcohol on your health

The results of drinking excessive amounts of alcohol can be extreme. The effects of alcohol abuse include anxiety, slowed breathing and heartbeat, impaired judgment leading to accidents and injuries, loss of consciousness, suffocation through choking on your own vomit and potentially fatal alcohol poisoning. There are also many mental effects, making you feel guilt or anger for no apparant reason and even making you paranoid. Your words may slurr, often don’t recognise your surroundings and drinking too much alcohol can result in memory loss.

Drinking heavily increases your calorie intake, suggesting why alcohol is a large factor in adult obesity. In a medium-sized (175ml) glass of wine there are 125 calories and over 500 in a bottle. So thats about one quarter of your guidline daily calorie allowance!

The morning after – hangover unpleasantries

Drinking alcohol may cause you to have a hangover the next day, often being undesirable to experience. You may get stomach ache, sometimes diarrhea, sickness and nausea, Alcohol consumption also has a dehydrating effect. Alcohol consumption can also make you feel sad, guilty

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Drinking more than the guideline units regularly you are putting your health in damger. Consuming alcohol in large quantities increases blood pressure.

Alcohol is regularly linked with mental health problems. A recent British survey found that people enduring anxiety and depression were twice as likely to be heavy drinkers.

Extreme quantities of drinking could sometimes cause ‘psychosis’, a harsh mental illness where the person beleives others are out to get them. Consuming large amounts of alcohol can lead to lonliness and hopelessness.

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The Basic Issues in An Effective Alcoholism Intervention

August 12, 2009 at 3:39 am · Filed under Health & Fitness

What are the key elements in an effective alcohol intervention? Why do some alcohol dependency interventions go well while others flop?

The Need for a Celebrated Reputation of Intervention Success

Scientific inquiry demonstrates that an effective addiction intervention needs to be overseen by an intervention expert who has an established record of intervention attainment.

Basically this means that instead of opting for an “everyday” alcohol abuse therapist or psychotherapist for an alcoholism intervention, the individual who is hand picked to conduct the intervention needs to be instructed in alcohol intervention techniques and needs to possess a history of productive alcohol interventions.

A Few Uncomplicated Illustrations of The Best Time For an Alcoholism Intervention

Scientific investigation has also demonstrated that the most favorable time for an alcohol abuse intervention is following a significant event in the life of the alcohol addicted individual or abusive drinker. The following represents a few illustrations of these types of significant happenings:

• The alcohol addicted individual or abusive drinker has been caught stealing something of worth
• The abusive drinker or alcohol addicted individual has been caught lying about something of substance
• The alcoholic or abusive drinker has been confined for a DWI or DUI.

In situations like these, the alcohol dependent individual or abusive drinker is more likely to be remorseful or to be embarrassed, thusly making him or her more open to getting the quality alcohol rehabilitation that is required.

At this juncture, additionally, it is also important to mention that the abusive drinker or alcohol dependent individual needs to be alcohol-free during the alcohol intervention. In sum, if the alcohol abuser or alcoholic is “under the influence” during an alcohol addiction intervention, failure is effectively assured.

Moreover, scientific study has also made evident the fact that the abusive drinker or alcohol-dependent person has to at least try to listen to what is said in an alcohol intervention. That is, during an alcohol abuse intervention, the abusive drinker or alcohol addicted person needs to listen to what his or her drinking problems have done to those who care for him or her the most.

The Significance of Alcohol Treatment For the Hazardous Drinker

And finally, scientific inquiry reveals that the key reason for an alcohol intervention in the first place is to convince the hazardous drinker or alcohol-dependent person to get the professional alcoholism therapy that is necessary. Stated more exactly, even if the individual who supervises the intervention has a superior reputation of effective interventions and even if the abusive drinker or alcohol addicted person openly listens to every word that is stated all the way through an intervention, if the hazardous drinker or alcohol-dependent person is not encouraged to request professional alcohol dependency rehabilitation after the alcoholism intervention, then the intervention will be a fiasco.

Obviously all of these factors are needed for an effective alcohol abuse intervention. If, alternatively, the hazardous drinker or alcohol addicted individual is not stimulated to request alcoholism treatment after listening to his or her family members put into words the grief, anger, and regret they feel about the hazardous drinker’s or alcohol addicted person’s careless drinking behavior and the care they feel for the problem drinker, then every other facet of the alcoholism intervention will essentially be inconsequential.

Even Fruitful Alcohol Dependency Interventions Can Fail Down the Road

It also needs to be accentuated that regardless of the fact that the alcohol abuse intervention can be identified as successful in that it helped put the abusive drinker or alcoholic in a more “open” way of thinking and in all honesty helped the alcohol addicted individual or alcohol abuser reach a decision that he or she required alcohol counseling or professional help for alcoholism or alcohol abuse, the plain fact that the intervention took place might lead to acrimony, anger, and suspicion down the road.

In a few words, even when alcohol dependency interventions are seen as effective in the short term, in the long run, however, they may flop and, accordingly, might make the family and/or the alcohol dependent person’s situation even worse than it was before the alcohol abuse intervention was undertaken.

No matter how unwarranted or paradoxical this seems, try to keep in mind that it is essentially one of the main alcohol facts that has to be dealt with when doing an alcohol intervention.

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