The Relevance Of Alcohol Treatment And How Alcohol Dependency And Mental Health Problems Commonly Result In Relationship, Divorce, Marital, And Friendship Problems

June 6, 2010 at 2:23 am · Filed under Uncategorized

Miss Benning was a health instructor at the most popular co-ed high school in the county. Even though she had been teaching for only three of four years, she had already achieved a reputation as an educator with instructional approaches that motivated and encouraged the students in her class to learn and to think.

For example, one Thursday afternoon at 1:00 she addressed the students in her class and stated the following: “For the next week we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a general viewpoint and we are also going to learn about some of the best known signs of alcoholism from a less general and more detailed point of view.”

“Not all of these alcoholism signs will unquestionably confirm that a drinker with a drinking problem is an alcoholic, but the more signs that a drinker displays, the greater the possibility that he or she is an individual who is alcohol dependent.”

Miss Benning then explained to the the students that each pupil would be held responsible for researching four alcoholism signs and then presenting his or her results to the other members in the class via a seven minute oral presentation.

The Pupils are Wound Up About Giving A Comprehensive Presentation to Their Fellow Students About The Signs of Alcohol Addiction

After learning about the various signs of alcohol addiction for quite a few days, the time had finally come for the student presentations. It was instantly apparent that her pupils were keyed up about the subject matter because the material that they presented was extraordinary. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the fervor manifested by the pupils in her class concerning this subject matter was an understatement.

The day after all of the pupils completed their presentations, Miss Benning passed out a piece of paper with a list of all the alcoholism signs that were presented and discussed in class and in the presentations. Miss Benning then asked her pupils to study the list and rank the top five alcohol dependency signs that were most indicative of alcoholism. After approximately fifteen minutes, Miss Benning collected the pieces of paper and informed the students in her class that after she evaluates the results, she will discuss her findings the next school day.

There was some real excitement by the pupils while they were exiting Miss Benning’s classroom. One could swear that her students couldn’t wait for the next day to come so that they could learn about the results of their in-class research.

The Students Match Their Results Against the Assessments From A Board of Alcohol Dependency Specialists

When the next school day came, Miss Benning gave out a sheet of paper that listed the top three alcohol dependency signs according to the pupils’ rankings. To the left of these results, she included another column that was labeled “experts’ answer.” She then informed her pupils that the numbers in the second column she added stood for the findings that were announced by a panel of alcoholism experts.

Miss Benning told the students in her class to look over the information she passed out and then to raise their hand if they had any issues, questions, or concerns. Within 40 or 50 seconds, virtually every pupil in the class raised his or her hand. It was evident that the pupils had some questions, issues, or concerns about their results versus the answers given by the authorities. For instance, virtually every pupil had an issue with the highest ranked answer given by the authorities, that is, “Do you feel really sick when you stop drinking?”

The Major Difference Between Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Addiction is the Physical Dependency That is Experienced With Alcohol Addiction and Not With Alcohol Abuse

Miss Benning then explained to the pupils in her classroom why this answer was the most unambiguous sign of alcohol dependency. She highlighted the fact that the most important difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency is the physical dependency that is experienced with alcohol dependency and not with alcohol abuse.

In essence this means that when an individual who is addicted to alcohol suddenly quits drinking, he or she will suffer through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Miss Benning then told the pupils in her classroom that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the brain and by the body to the deprivation of alcohol to which they had become acclimated. Stated differently, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are signals from the body and from the brain telling a person who is addicted to alcohol that something is very wrong and needs to be fixed. These messages consist of a number of dangerous, painful, and uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms that can potentially result in a fatality if the appropriate treatment is not immediately undertaken.

Miss Benning then discussed the many diverse alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be gone through when a person who is addicted to alcohol suddenly stops drinking.

The fact that Miss Benning tried to emphasize was this: an individual who engages in alcohol abuse can experience almost any and every one of the alcohol dependency signs that the students had ranked, but the one sign or symptom that few, if any, alcohol abusers ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

To explain this as plainly as possible, Miss Benning stressed the point that alcohol abusers, unlike individuals who are alcohol dependent, are not alcohol dependent and consequently, when they quit drinking, they almost never go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

The Students Believe They Have Uncovered An Irregularity With the Findings From The Board of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Specialists

The pupils also disagreed with the second ranked answer given by the alcohol addiction specialists, that is, “Have you ever had a drink the first thing in the morning to get rid of a hangover or to steady your nerves?”

Miss Benning informed her students that this sign does not necessarily suggest that the problem is alcoholism, but that it does underscore the need that alcohol dependent people have to drink in order to keep away from alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

After Miss Benning explained the importance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the individual who is alcohol dependent, the pupils started to grasp the primary difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency.

To add a sense of closure to the topic, Miss Benning asked the students in her classroom to take out a piece of paper and answer the following question: “if every person who is addicted to alcohol knew about every one of the alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcoholism signs we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would seek alcohol dependency rehab?”

After roughly one or two minutes, Miss Benning asked for the students’ answers. While many students thought that roughly 70 to 80 percent of alcohol dependent individuals would obtain alcohol rehab if they knew about the facts related to alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol addiction signs, most of the students thought that this number would not be less than 50 percent.

The Pupils Were Surprised to Learn That Only 25% of People Who are Alcohol Dependent in the United States Ask For Alcoholism Treatment

To the astonishment of most of the students, Miss Benning declared that according to different scientific studies, only 25% of the people who are alcohol dependent in the United States get alcohol addiction rehabilitation. This surprised most of the pupils because they reasoned that first-hand knowledge of the abysmal facts and statistics linked to alcohol addiction would motivate the majority of the alcohol dependent people to ask for alcohol addiction rehabilitation.

Miss Benning then stated that individuals who are addicted to alcohol not only need alcohol on an everyday basis in order to function but they also need alcohol on an everyday basis so they can keep away from possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Apparently, the alcoholic’s need to drink on a daily basis is more powerful than facts or logic. As a matter of fact, due to the fact that the desire for alcohol is “reality” to the individual who is alcohol dependent, this is hard to undo.

The Occurrence of Alcoholism and Mental Health Issues Frequently Results in Marital, Relationship, Divorce, and Friendship Problems

Finally, Miss Benning explained to her pupils that it is important to comprehend that alcohol dependency and various mental health predicaments such as depression are highly related. In addition, the occurrence of mental health difficulties and alcoholism regularly lead to friendship, marital, relationship, and divorce problems.

The Pupils are Inspired to Learn About Alcohol Addiction Symptoms and Signs in Today’s Society

A few minutes later the bell rang, indicating that the end of class had arrived. Based on the buzz manifested by the pupils when they were leaving the classroom, Miss Benning realized that she had inspired and encouraged the pupils in her class to stop and think about an important health and social problem that exists in our culture.

Comments

A Young Male Drinks Abusively, Gets Inspired to Get Treatment for Alcohol Addiction and Depression, and Enhances His Life

May 31, 2010 at 3:35 am · Filed under Health & Fitness

Stanley started drinking excessively when he was in the seventh grade. From a positive way of looking at things, even though he drank abusively and excessively when he was an adolescent and a young adult, when he got beyond the age of twenty-five he almost always drank in moderation.

After he finished his education he eventually found employment at a local auto assembly plant where he applied himself and worked his way up from stock person, to office assistant, to purchasing assistant, to purchasing agent. Unlike his other work positions, as the purchasing manager he over and over again took potential vendors and existing vendors to lunch and to a variety of sporting events.

Though it was not written in concrete, meeting with potential vendors and existing vendors constantly involved situations in which alcohol was present. In truth, over the past year, Stanley had started to appreciably increase his work related and his social drinking. This has led to a dilemma. Namely, the more successful he became as a purchasing agent, the more he began to drink.

His Increasing Bouts of Depression Also Made Him Wonder if He Was Becoming Alcohol Dependent

In fact, it didn’t take long at all before Stanley’s irresponsible and careless drinking started to negatively affect his work efficiency, the money in his savings account, his health, his relationships, and his mental health. After many weeks of excessive drinking, Stanley, in point of fact, started to be anxious about his hazardous and careless drinking and questioned if his alcohol related problems were alcoholism signs. Moreover, his increasing bouts of depression also made him wonder whether he was becoming an alcohol dependent person. In short, Stanley clearly needed to learn more about the facts about alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency.

Stanley Needs Alcohol Detox and Alcohol Rehabilitation For His Alcohol Dependency and a Medical Assessment Regarding His Depression

So Stanley used his problem solving skills, called his healthcare professional, and made an appointment for a thorough physical examination. A week later after seeing his family doctor, Stanley unfortunately was told that he was addicted to alcohol. His family doctor told Stanley that he needed to get alcohol detox and alcohol rehab for his alcoholism and that he also needed to get a medical assessment regarding his depression. In short, Stanley needed treatment for his alcoholism and depression.

The Positive News is That After His Treatment For Alcohol Addiction and For Depression, He Felt Like a Different Person

His healthcare practitioner recommended to Stanley that he take a 45-day leave of absence from work and get enrolled in a quality in-patient alcohol treatment clinic where his depression could also be treated. This is specifically what Stanley did. The positive news is that after his treatment for depression and for alcohol addiction, he felt like a different individual. In fact, now that he was living an alcohol-free life he almost never got depressed and he now comprehended how to better manage his job, his health, his relationships, and his finances.

To no one’s wonder, the biggest “test” Stanley came across was at the office. To be more specific, he still took his existing vendors and potential vendors to various sporting events and to lunch, but after his alcohol treatment he managed to refrain from drinking while entertaining his clients.

Interestingly, Stanley also found out that none of his existing vendors or potential vendors thought any less of him because of his abstinence. Conversely, he found out that his existing vendors and potential vendors respected him for maintaining his convictions.

After Stanley went through alcohol treatment, however, he found out that he was a person who, for whatever reason, could not drink responsibly and in moderation. Indeed he learned the hard way that if he said “no” to drinking, all of the other significant parts of his life would be upgraded. Every so often, Stanley missed drinking, but the better work performance, health, finances, and the better relationships he experienced more than made up for his love of drinking.

Comments

The Alcohol Related Problems and Alcohol Related Deaths That Are Interlinked With Hazardous Drinking

April 3, 2010 at 4:52 pm · Filed under Health & Fitness

On an annual basis, how many alcoholics fail to get the professional alcohol treatment they require? How many people die each year from a condition that is 100% preventable, such as alcohol poisoning? How many individuals are the victims of alcohol related crime or violence each and every year? How many individuals get injured or lose their lives in alcohol related traffic accidents every year? How many people face serious consequences in their lives because they received a “drunk driving” conviction? How many junior high, high school, and college students lose their lives every year due to an alcohol overdose? How many children are born each year with fetal alcohol syndrome? How many people’s lives are cut short due to hazardous and irresponsible drinking? How many individuals lose their lives every year because of drinking problems?

Why Would Anyone Want to Drink in an Excessive and Abusive Manner?

So what’s the point in asking these questions? Basically to highlight the devastating and destructive nature of abusive and unhealthy drinking. Indeed, and based on the above questions, I wonder why anyone would choose to drink in a hazardous and abusive manner.

Stated more forcefully, with the host of health issues, employment difficulties, legal proceedings, financial problems, and relationship dilemmas that are linked to alcoholism and chronic alcohol abuse, why would any person with good reasoning skills want to drink in a hazardous and abusive manner? If truth be told when some of the above topics are put under the microscope more closely, abusive drinking becomes more illogical and makes even less sense.

Wouldn’t you think that alcoholics would be able to see some of the alcohol symptoms that they display? In a similar way doesn’t it seem reasonable to think that many more families would involve themselves in an alcohol intervention for the individual in the household who is an alcoholic or an alcohol abuser? What is more, wouldn’t you think that people who drink abusively would try to learn more about their drinking behavior by reading about various alcohol related statistics?

After reviewing the alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse research findings, the point is so important that it needs to be stated again: With all of the dangerous and disastrous outcomes that are directly or indirectly correlated with continuous and repetitive alcoholism and alcohol abuse, why would any individual want to engage in abusive drinking?

What Can be Done About the Widespread Nature of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in the U.S.?

So what can be done about the pervasive nature of alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency in the United States?

1. Our students need more meaningful and more relevant preventative and educational methods and approaches so that more students at all grade levels, including those at college, are “reached.
2. In a similar manner, our students need to learn how to become problem solvers in life rather than resorting to the ”quick fix” and the “instant gratification” of a drug or alcohol abuse ”high” or “buzz”.
3. People who are alcohol abusers or alcohol addicts need to look look at themselves honestly and ask why they are not getting the professional alcohol rehab they need.
4. Society needs to get the message to more individuals about the damaging and destructive effects of careless and excessive drinking.

There’s Room For Hope if Those Who Engage in Hazardous and Excessive Drinking Can Become Motivated to Get the Alcohol Treatment They Require

There’s a lot of room for optimism and hope if people can start drinking responsibly and those who engage in continuous and repeated drinkingcan become motivated to get the alcohol treatment they need. Indeed, why put your loved ones through suffering, turmoil, and pain because of your excessive drinking when you have the power to control your life by drinking responsibly or even refraining from drinking if you can’t control your drinking behavior?

Comments

Alcohol effects – The potential effects of alcohol misuse

February 6, 2010 at 3:24 am · Filed under Health & Fitness

alcohol abuse

Alcohol abuse affects us in many ways and our social skills; After one or two drinks you may become more at ease and more talkative as the alcohol reaches the brain and affects the way you think.
Drinking alcohol causes your heart rate to heighten and you may experience a warm glow. This is caused by alcohol making the tiny blood vessels in the skin enlarge, allowing blood to flow nearer to the surface and lowers blood pressure.

The Effects of Alcohol on Our Health

The dangers of drinking too much alcohol can be dire. Alcohol consumption effects include anxiety, impaired judgment leading to accidents and injuries, loss of consciousness, slowed breathing and heartbeat, suffocation through choking on your own vomit and potentially fatal alcohol poisoning. There are also many mental effects, inducing guilt, anger and even paranoia, for no real reason. Your words may slurr, often don’t recognise your surroundings and drinking too much alcohol can result in memory loss.

Drinking heavily also increases your calorie intake, which is why alcohol is a big factor in adult obesity. In a medium-sized (175ml) glass of wine there are 125 calories and in a bottle there are over 500 calories. Thats approximately 1 quarter of the national guidline daily amount!

Hangovers – Headaches could be the least of your worries

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

.
Drinking more than the guidline daily units often you are putting your health in damger. Large amounts of alcohol consumed increases blood pressure.

Alcohol is frequently associated with mental health problems. A recent British survey found that people with anxiety and depression were twice as likely to be alcoholics.

High quantities of drinking may sometimes lead to ‘psychosis’, a bad mental illness where the person beleives others are out to get them. Heavy drinking can lead to seclusion and depression.

Comments

Cirrhosis Isn’t Pretty

November 29, 2009 at 6:36 am · Filed under Health & Fitness

Alcoholism

The Banana Man

I’ve seen Cirrhosis firsthand and it’s not a pretty sight. One of my lifelong friends and my former business partner is an alcoholic. His name is John and he promised to stay on the wagon to entice me to work with him, and it proved to be the biggest mistake of my life. He worked out of his house on the West Coast and I was in Chicago, so it was difficult to see what he was up to every day.His wife had  died after a short illness and he took it badly, and I suspected he was drinking again. Those fears were confirmed when I received a phone call four or five months after his wife’s passing from a mutual friend who said John had been taken to the hospital after a binge.He said his prospects were not good.

I hopped on the next plane and got to California and took a cab to the hospital. I couldn’t believe my eyes. My friend was the color of a fresh banana–sort of like the Incredible Hulk but the color of French’s mustard. He was babbling incomprehensible phrases. He recognized me but quickly forgot I was there. A group of our Bay Area friends met at the hospital. The doctors said it didn’t look good. One pulled me aside and said my friend had Cirrohisis, which wasn’t a surprise from his appearance.His liver had shut down–liver failure, and as I learned over the next few days, when your liver goes, so does everything else in your body, The liver controls most of your major organs, at least in a dependant way. His kidneys were failing and he had to go on dialysis treatments three times a day.

Bedside Vigil

Most of the next week he really didn’t know where he was. The doctors said the next few days were critical but that he probaby wouldn’t make it six months even if he survived this immediate crisis. I literally spent thirty minutes talking to him one morning trying to get him to give me the details on how to retrieve his phone messages back at his apartment. He couldn’t remember the password. And this entire time his body was still 100% pure banana colored. It was a real bummer.

Kidney Dialysis 3 Times A Day

A week passes and he starts to get better. Gradually. He’s still on dialysis three times a day, but at least he can talk fairly cogently. And slowly he regains his personality–starts kidding with all the nurses and telling stories. After three weeks he was discharged but had to go to a half-way house that could take care of his dialysis and other medical needs. He would get transported three times a day in a van to a clinic where the dialysis was done. I flew home as I had been there a month and had a lot of business matters to attend to and see my wife, who was very supportive during this period.

A month goes by and my friend’s best friend in SF calls and says John is going home–he’s getting out of the half-way house after six weeks, but still requires dialysis daily, but now just once a day. I flew back to San Francisco and we all (there were about six of us) go out to celebrate John’s birthday. As dinner ended and we were having a cognac (not John!), our mutual friend says he wants to make an announcement. He makes a toast and says that today is a special day. It’s John’s birthday, and he’s pleased to announce that the doctors have decided he no longer needs dialysis! There was a hurrah that filled the restaurant!

It was truly a remarkable experience. On the plane back to Chicago, Icouldn’t help remembering all the good times I had with John over the past thirty years. We threw down a lot of beers and told lies, but he ended up in a drunk ward and I was untouched by it all. We had a lot of laughs, something we repeated many times together over the years. It was really part of our culture.

But this is where it led. And there were no laughs and jokes being told. If it weren’t so personally tragic, I wish we could have fast-forwarded into the future from those early care-free days to see what drinking and alcoholism is all about and where it leads.

Luck Of The Irish (At Least Some Of Them)

John was lucky, and his liver bounced back and healed. But the doctors told him that he could never drink alcohol again–that it would poison him, like drinking a glass of cyanide.  And you know what? John hasn’t touched a drop of alcohol since. He still goes to bars and shoots the bull with his friends. He’s no longer a beer drinker but drinks only soft drinks. And he’s enjoying his life just as much as before. Lucky for him. He got a second chance.

Alcohol Is A Killer

If you or someone you know is a heavy drinker and  has looked a little jaundiced of late, it’s probably a sign that the liver is damaged. Before it gets to the point my friend faced there are some  natural homeopathic remedies to detox your liver and get you back on the right track. Of course, once you go through this process, you need to be committed to a life of alcohol abstinance if you want to live a longer life. Not lecturing here, but those are just the facts.

Good luck!

Published By Rehab Help Online

Comments

Is Your Drinking Causing Problems in Your Life?

September 4, 2009 at 3:32 am · Filed under Health & Fitness

How do you recognize that you have a drinking problem? When is it clear that you are involving yourself in abusive drinking?

If you have unsuccessfully made an effort to quit drinking or if you have given your word to yourself that your drinking days are terminated and then you were made aware that you were drinking excessively just a few days later, chances are exceptionally good that you have drinking problems. The fundamental idea is that if you have attempted to stop drinking and cannot get this accomplished, then your drinking is controlling you, instead of the other way around.

Likewise, if it takes larger amounts of alcohol to get the same “high,” you probably need to become aware that you have a drinking problem.

You may be telling yourself that the rationale for your drinking is so that you can decrease your stress or get rid of the hurt that you feel. Similarly, you may be trying to steer clear of an injurious situation and may be looking for something more useful, more favorable, or less sorrowful.

As you continue your drinking, nonetheless, you will grasp the fact that drinking does not produce the same high and you will also understand that drinking doesn’t help remove whatever led to your sorrow in the first place.

As you continue to drink in a hazardous way, regrettably, you may become an alcoholic and, as a result, you may add another significant problem to manage rather than uncovering more efficient and wholesome ways of managing your alcohol induced predicament.

When an Alcohol Assessment is Required

If you have determined that you have a problem with your drinking, possibly the healthiest thing you can do for yourself is to call your doctor or healthcare professional and arrange for an appointment for a thorough physical and for an evaluation of your drinking circumstances.

If you truly think that you have a dangerous problem with your drinking, it may be a good idea to get prepared to hear that you need to get alcohol treatment.

At this point in your life, what are your alternatives? You can positively say no and refuse to see your health care practitioner and persist with your pattern of hazardous drinking.

It actually doesn’t take a nuclear physicist, conversely, to realize that long-term, abusive drinking, if left untreated, will degenerate over time and more likely than not lead to an early death. Therefore, your healthiest option is to confront your drinking circumstance and get the alcohol rehabilitation you require.

The Facade of the Functioning Alcoholic

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

Many of these “functional” alcoholics may have never been cited for drunk driving and may have been lucky enough to avoid all alcohol generated legal issues. In spite of this good fortune, conversely, these alcohol dependent people need to drink in order to operate on a regular basis while keeping their facade as they associate with people outside their family.

Ask anyone who has seen them when they are engaging in one of their drinking binges or in a drunken stupor or ask a family member about the problem drinker’s alcohol dependency, then again, and they will be quick to assert the reality of the drinker’s situation and the whole story about the alcohol dependent individual’s drinking condition and about his or her alcohol generated predicaments.

Why Do Alcohol Addicted Individuals Fail to Deal With Their Drinking Difficulties?

As alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse research has highlighted, no matter how obvious the alcohol-related problems seem to those who interact with the alcohol addicted person, alcoholic individuals commonly deny that drinking is the origin of their alcohol-related problems. Not only this, but alcohol dependent individuals usually blame their alcohol induced difficulties on other individuals or upon other circumstances around them instead of seeing their part in the problem.

The origin of the issue is that alcoholism is a disease of the brain. Once the drinker has become dependent on alcohol, he or she typically resorts to denial, manipulation, and deceit as a way of coping with the fact that his or her drinking is out of control. And to make matters more difficult, the experience of alcohol withdrawal symptoms characteristically thwarts the alcohol addicted person’s rare attempts to suddenly abstain from drinking. As dreary as the alcohol addicted individual’s existence is, nonetheless, the good news is that professional help is commonly obtainable – if the alcohol dependent person reaches out and gets alcohol therapy.

Conclusion

Owning up to the fact that drinking is eliciting difficulties in your day by day functioning is conceivably the most trouble-free way to find out if you have a drinking problem. Stated more precisely, if your drinking is bringing about difficulties with your health, at work, in your relationships, with your finances, at school, or with the legal system, then you have a drinking problem that needs to be dealt with.

If you have a drinking problem, what is more, this means that you are getting involved with alcohol abuse.

While some problem drinkers may be able to detect their drinking difficulties and substantially diminish the quantity and incidence of their drinking, other individuals, to the contrary, need to address their drinking problems by getting quality alcohol rehab. Moreover, due to their tendency to deny the facts and bend the truth, alcohol dependent individuals unquestionably need professional alcoholism counseling for their irresponsible drinking.

Comments

Alcohol Relapse and When Helping the Alcoholic Becomes Harmful

September 4, 2009 at 3:32 am · Filed under Health & Fitness

It is interesting to articulate something that family members who have been unfavorably affected by the alcoholism of another family member apparently do not realize. It appears that by protecting the alcoholic with untruths and dishonesty to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have basically created a condition that makes it easier for the alcohol dependent person to continue and go forward with his or her damaging, detrimental lifestyle.

Undeniably, rather than helping the alcoholic and themselves, these family members have in fact become enablers who have unintentionally helped deteriorate the alcohol addicted person’s drinking problem even more.

Relapses Can and Do Occur From Time to Time

Another key alcoholism issue concerns alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcohol addicted individual has successfully gone through alcoholism rehabilitation and then resorts to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first thought, this situation seems contradictory to logical thinking and sounds so far-fetched that it forces one to question why anyone who has gone through the dreadfulness of alcohol dependency can return to drinking a short while after effective alcohol treatment and in turn after achieving recovery. There are, for sure, many plausible reasons for this.

It should be highlighted, nonetheless that alcohol dependency research that has centered on the lasting outcomes of alcoholism has shown that long after the alcohol dependent individual has stopped his or her drinking, significant modifications in the way in which the alcohol addicted individual’s brain operates are still present. As a result, all a recovering alcohol dependent individual has to do to involve himself or herself in actions that correspond with the transformations that have taken place in the brain is to start drinking again.

The Necessity for An Essential Lifestyle Modification

There are additional reasons why quite a lot of recovering alcoholics return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after reaching sobriety. According to the alcoholism research literature, to make a successful recovery, the alcohol dependent individual needs new ways of responding and thinking in order to deal more successfully with taxing alcohol-related situations that will take place.

Circumstances such as returning to the same alcohol addictive environment or to the same geographic location; interacting once again with friends from the time when the alcohol dependent individual was drinking abusively; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these conditions can elicit memories that can prompt psychological stress or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol addicted individual to engage in excessive drinking once again. Unfortunately, all of these circumstances may not only work against ongoing sobriety for the alcohol dependent person but they can also lead to relapse and consequently counteract one’s sobriety.

Conclusion

In an attempt to “protect” the family alcohol dependent individual, family members can actually cause unplanned destruction by enabling the destructive drinking behavior of the alcohol dependent person.

The addiction research literature confirms the fact that most individuals who successfully complete alcohol treatment go through at least one relapse. Alcoholics and their family members need to know this so that they do not get down in the dumps or stressed out when a relapse manifests itself.

Happily, participation in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up counseling and education have resulted in more successful, long lasting alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency rehab results, have helped diminish alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol addicted individuals attain enduring sobriety.

Comments

When Heavy and Abusive Drinking Leads to Serious Health Problems

September 1, 2009 at 4:18 am · Filed under Health & Fitness

For several years alcohol dependency research has demonstrated the fact that there is strong relationship between alcohol addiction and critical health conditions.

For instance, in 2005, medical research showed that alcohol abuse and alcoholism cost the United States an estimated $220 billion on an annual basis. It can be emphasized that this considerable alcohol-related expenditure was substantially more than the cost linked with cancer ($196 billion) or with obesity ($133 billion). While it is appropriate to underline these facts, it is also noteworthy to highlight the fact that an interrelationship exists between all three of these health problems.

More exactly, chronic alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency are also highly correlated with obesity and with cancer.

Definitely, substance abuse examination has shown that alcohol dependency can augment the risk for various forms of cancer, particularly cancer of the kidneys, rectum, colon, voice box (larynx), esophagus, throat, and the liver. Heavy and recurring drinking can also result in immune system difficulties and injury to the fetus during pregnancy.

Abusive and Excessive Drinking Destabilizes the Individual’s Systems and Organs

Additionally, if alcohol addiction continues over a period of years, the person’s body organs will probably be affected in an unsafe manner. As an illustration, long-term, excessive drinking is particularly 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 destroys the ability of liver cells to redevelop. This medical circumstance leads to a progressive inflammatory malfunction of the liver that can in the end lead to cirrhosis of the liver, a serious and potentially terminal medical problem.

Abusive, long-term drinking not only can result in critical liver damage, but it can also result in damage to the heart and to the brain. Physical damage this dangerous may be irrepairable and may, in turn, result in serious llness or premature death.

The Importance of Alcohol Treatment

It is vital, then, to know how to identify the various alcohol dependency symptoms and signs so that the alcohol addicted person can be given the opportunity to get the quality alcohol rehabilitation he or she requires.

Alcoholism and Sophisticated Brain Research

Fortunately, scientific examination is continuously generating original and significant information. Recent alcoholism research offers a high-quality illustration. Stated differently, for approximately the past ten years, sophisticated brain-imaging scanning instruments have verified that continuous and recurring hazardous drinking modifies the functionality of the brain to a substantial extent, thereby resulting in brain disease that can last months, years, or conceivably as long as the person lives.

Stated differently, medical examination has shown that individuals who have been drinking in an irresponsible manner for an extensive length of time increase their risk for developing permanent and severe alterations in the brain.

This type of damage may be indirectly associated with the drinker’s poor overall health or directly related to severe liver disease or to the alcohol’s effects on the brain.

Malnutrition, Hazardous Drinking, and Mental Disorders

As a final illustration of assorted health problems that are to a great extent associated with alcoholism, take into consideration the fact that according to medical research, the abusive and repeated abuse of alcohol can lead to erosive gastritis, a health problem that decreases the absorption of minerals, nutrients, and vitamins.

This form of organ failure is associated with malnutrition and to a number of critical neurological and mental 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 condition that is exemplified by persistent memory and learning difficulties.

Conclusion

It is plain to see that repetitive, hazardous drinking is directly or indirectly linked to a variety of dangerous medical problems that can and do lead to dangerous ailments and premature death. Such information needs to be emphasized and presented to everyone in our society so that a massive amount of people will be able to refrain from irresponsible drinking while other people who have a drinking problem will get the quality rehab they need.

Comments

When Drinking Becomes a Serious Problem

September 1, 2009 at 4:18 am · Filed under Health & Fitness

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

If you have hopelessly struggled to quit drinking or if you have given your word to yourself that your drinking days are terminated and then you were made aware that you were drinking in a hazardous way just a few days later, chances are exceedingly good that you have drinking problems. The fundamental idea is that if you have made an effort to stop drinking and cannot accomplish this, then your drinking is controlling you, rather than the other way around.

Similarly, if it takes larger amounts of alcohol to get the same “high,” more likely than not you need to recognize the fact that you have a problem with your drinking.

You may be telling yourself that the reasoning for your drinking is so that you can lower your anxiety or get rid of the agony that you feel. Likewise, you may be trying to avoid a hurtful circumstance and may be looking for something more beneficial, more positive, or less regretful.

As you continue to drink, nevertheless, you will grasp the fact that drinking does not elicit the same high and you will also comprehend that drinking doesn’t help stamp out whatever elicited your pain in the first place.

As you continue to drink in an abusive manner, unfortunately, you may become addicted to alcohol and, as a consequence, you may add another essential difficulty to cope with rather than finding more successful and wholesome ways of coping with your alcohol produced predicament.

An Alcohol Assessment is Probably Warranted

If you have figured out that you have a problem with your drinking, perchance the most beneficial thing you can do for yourself is to call your physician or healthcare professional and arrange for an appointment for a thorough physical and for an evaluation of your drinking circumstances.

If you in fact feel that you have a critical drinking problem, it might be a good idea to get prepared to hear that you need to get alcohol reahbilitation.

At this point in time, what are your choices? You can without a doubt refuse to see your doctor and continue your pattern of out-of-control drinking.

It definitely doesn’t take a mastermind, then again, to understand that long-term, excessive drinking, if left untreated, will go downhill over time and quite probably result an early death. Accordingly, your most expedient alternative is to face your drinking problem and obtain the alcohol therapy you require.

The Deception of the Functioning Alcohol Addicted Person

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

Many of these “functional” alcohol addicted people may have never been arrested for a DUI and may have been lucky enough to avoid all alcohol induced legal issues. Despite this fortunate circumstance, to the contrary, these alcohol addicted people need to drink in order to operate on a day by day basis while sustaining 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 addiction, nevertheless, and they will be quick to articulate the truth of the drinker’s situation and the facts about the alcohol dependent person’s drinking circumstances and about his or her alcohol generated problems.

Why Do Individuals Addicted to Alcohol Fail to Deal With Their Drinking Difficulties?

As alcoholism and alcohol abuse research has underscored, no matter how observable the alcohol-related difficulties seem to those who interact with the alcohol addicted person, alcohol addicted individuals commonly deny that drinking is the source of their alcohol generated predicaments. Not only this, but alcohol dependent people typically blame their alcohol induced predicaments on other individuals or upon other situations around them instead of seeing their part in the problem.

The source of the issue is that alcoholism is a disease of the brain. Once the problem drinker has become addicted to alcohol, he or she usually resorts to denial, manipulation, and dishonesty as a way of coping with the fact that his or her drinking is out of control. And to make matters more complex, the experience of alcohol withdrawal symptoms commonly circumvents the alcohol addicted person’s rare attempts to abruptly refrain from drinking. As dreary as the alcoholic’s existence is, nevertheless, the good news is that professional assistance is typically obtainable – if the alcohol dependent individual reaches out and seeks alcoholism counseling.

Conclusion

Acknowledging the fact that drinking is triggering problems in your day by day functioning is conceivably the most straightforward way to find out if you have a problem with your drinking. In other words, if your drinking is eliciting issues with your health, with your employment, in your relationships, with your finances, at school, or with the legal system, then you have a drinking problem that needs to be tackled.

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

While some drinkers may be able to recognize their drinking problems and greatly decrease the quantity and rate of their drinking, others, to the contrary, need to deal with their drinking problems by getting quality alcoholism rehab. What is more, due to their propensity to deny the facts and alter the truth, alcohol addicted people undeniably need professional alcoholism treatment for their irresponsible drinking.

Comments

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.

Comments