Posts Tagged ‘alcohol abuse’

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Excessive and Hazardous Drinking, an Enabling Spouse, and Inspiration for Positive Change and Successful Alcoholism Rehabilitation

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

It took several years but Emily eventually determined that she had it with her husband’s negative drinking. She was fed up from seeing Barry come home late at night from drinking instead of spending time with the family. She was also tired of the DWI Barry recently received. Moreover she was fed up from generating justifications for her husband when he couldn’t make it to work on time due to his problems with drinking. In a similar manner she was concerned about the fact that their relationship was going downhill due to Barry’s unhealthy and excessive drinking. And finally she was tired of the dangerous financial bind into which he had put his family because of his abusive drinking behavior.

When Excessive and Irresponsible Drinking Motivates a Person to do Something Productive About an Individual’s Drinking Problem

One morning when Emily was pondering what she could do about her husband’s careless and hazardous drinking, she got to the point that she frankly had to do something positive to cut into the negative cycle of Barry’s harmful drinking behavior.

So she looked on the Internet under “alcohol treatment” and located scores of rehab facilities that were all located less than 30 miles away from where she and Barry lived.

Since she didn’t know much about these rehab clinics, she eventually decided that she needed to call some of them and ask a few questions. When she called each rehab facility she identified who she was and stated that her spouse was exhibiting abusive and hazardous drinking behavior. She also mentioned that her husband had a top-rate health insurance program at his place of employment and that outpatient or inpatient alcohol rehabilitation would be covered if a health care professional in the company health network prescribed the rehabilitation.

At one rehab center, Emily was shocked that she was able to communicate directly with a doctor who suggested that she come to the rehab clinic to talk about her husband’s abusive and hazardous drinking behavior in much more detail.

Emily Talks to a Healthcare Practitioner About Her Husband’s Abusive and Careless Drinking

When Emily got to the treatment center, she filled out some paperwork and then after just a few minutes got to see a psychologist.

After listening to Emily describe her husband’s excessive and hazardous drinking, the doctor in an encouraging but firm way told Emily how she probably played a part in her husband’s abusive and hazardous drinking through the months and the years by rationalizing his drinking instead of letting him experience the results of his abusive and unhealthy drinking behavior.

Emily Finds Out She Has Been Enabling Her Husband’s Hazardous and Irresponsible Drinking

Stated in a slightly different way, the physician told Emily that she may have been accidentally enabling Barry’s excessive and abusive drinking behavior. The healthcare professional also highlighted the fact that while Emily would not be able to control Barry’s conduct, with the encouragement and guidance of the rehabilitation team at the healthcare center she would not only be able to learn how to abstain from contributing to Barry’s harmful drinking but she could also learn how to encourage him to schedule an appointment at the rehab center so that he could discuss his careless and abusive drinking behavior with a physician.

The good news was that after Emily explained this to her husband, and he saw that she was serious, Barry told her that he had been quite anxious about his hazardous drinking behavior and that he was very relieved to hear that Emily wanted to do something beneficial about his abusive drinking behavior. As a result, he made an appointment to see a healthcare practitioner at the local alcohol rehabilitation clinic.

Barry Agrees to See a Doctor About His Careless and Abusive Drinking

While simply calling a treatment clinic does not guarantee that an individual’s hazardous and careless drinking behavior will end or that one’s warning signs of alcoholism or the alcohol abuse signs one displays will simply go away, scheduling an appointment is obviously a necessary step in the rehabilitation process. And since Barry was serious about getting rehab for his careless drinking, the likelihood of a successful recovery was substantially enhanced.

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A Sunday School Teacher Gets Arrested for Driving Under the Influence, Gets Motivated and Inspired To Obtain Alcohol Rehabilitation for Her Hazardous and Abusive Drinking, and Increases Her Sense of Worth

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

For the past six years Jenny has been a licensed practical nurse at a urban hospital. In addition she has also been teaching Sunday school at the local Methodist Church. Despite the fact that she lived in a medium size countryside town where it appeared like every person knew everyone’s business, very little was known about Jenny. Of course almost everyone knew that she had worked several years as an RN and that she taught Sunday school for as long as she was a resident of their small town. Other than that, nevertheless, it almost appeared as if Jenny was merely a visitor in their town.

You can envisage the hubbub that took place when it was found out that one Sunday morning Jenny had lost consciousness because of drinking and driving. If truth be told, the article in the hometown weekly newspaper stated that Jenny not only passed out, but that she also received a DWI due to the fact that her blood alcohol content was substantially higher than the legal limit for drunk driving. This is obviously one of the alcohol effects on the body that no Sunday school teacher wants to have discussed by the entire town. But this is specifically what occurred, much to the dismay of Jenny.

Jenny Gets Very Depressed About Her Arrest for Drunk Driving

Evidently, Jenny was very upset about her arrest for driving while intoxicated. Not only should she have known better about driving while inebriated because of her nursing job, but she also should have held herself accountable to a higher benchmark because of the basic fact that she taught Sunday school.

After her drunk driving arrest, Jenny thought about moving out of town so that she would not have to feel disappointed about her arrest and also so she wouldn’t have to justify her actions for the hundredth time to the people in town. After speaking with her minister, nevertheless, she made up her mind that she would get alcohol rehabilitation at a local drug and alcohol rehabilitation hospital. She did this for two specific reasons. First, it was relatively convenient for her to drive to a local rehab facility. And second, she truthfully wanted the word to get disseminated among all the residents in the community that she was openly dealing with her careless drinking.

Jenny Goes Through Alcohol Detox and Gets a Thorough Physical Examination

After Jenny went through detox, she got thoroughly checked by a physician at the rehab facility. She then underwent a couple of lab tests where it was established that she was not an alcoholic but rather was involving herself in hazardous and abusive drinking. In a word Jenny was engaging in long term alcohol abuse.

Jenny was presented with the option of getting registered as a residential patient or getting alcohol rehab as an outpatient. Jenny, nonetheless, believed that she could still work at the hospital and maintain her Sunday school teaching position if she were to be admitted as an out-patient and this is specifically what she did.

According to her counseling game plan, Jenny went to three sessions per week, she learned a lot about alcohol info, she worked on her homework “assignments,” and she discovered how to involve herself doing things in life that did not involve alcohol.

After five weeks, Jenny determined that her abusive and hazardous drinking was under control and so she got released from the drug and alcohol rehab facility under the stipulation that she would return for follow up therapy once per month for the next nine months. Jenny agreed and followed through on her “promise.”

Jenny Decides to Abstain From Any and All Drinking Circumstances and Finds Out That Her Self Confidence Gets Stronger

After she finished her rehabilitation Jenny thought that she would be able to drink in moderation. After pondering her situation more rigorously, nevertheless, she concluded that she would totally stay away from any and all drinking situations.

When Jenny arrived at this decision, she found out that her sense of worth became more augmented the more she displayed her power over her life. And as her self-worth grew stronger, it seemed like she became more sociable and started going to more community activities such as flower festivals, local high school football and basketball games, music festivals, Christmas tree lighting ceremonies, strawberry festivals, rib roasts, and carnivals.

Jenny Addresses Her Irresponsible and Hazardous Drinking, Makes up Her Mind To Do Something Positive About It, and Rediscovers Her Faith

As the years passed, the individuals in the community manifested more affection for Jenny because she was involving herself with them more often and also because she addressed her unhealthy and excessive drinking and did something productive about it. It may have been her imagination, but it also appeared that her Sunday school students exhibited more affection and respect for her.

Jenny is a living illustration of someone who faced a critical issue and who did something positive about it. She is also a person who learned that her religious faith is not only something that is intrinsic, but that it is also something that affects the way in which an individual interacts with other people.

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A Young Couple Appraises Their Abusive and Heavy Drinking and Their Short and Long-Term Hopes, Plans, and Dreams

Friday, September 11th, 2009

Merissa and Augie have been dating one another for four years. They met while taking the same urban studies class at a relatively small, country, private liberal arts college located in the Northern part of the United States. While they were only good buddies at first, they at long last began dating when they were in their second year of college.

Given the fact that both of them came from very strict backgrounds, neither one of them drank much beyond the casual drinking stage when they first began dating. As the time went by, nevertheless, they began to go to more sorority and fraternity parties, football bashes, keg parties, and happy hours. Consequently, they steadily began to drink more as they proceeded in their relationship.

Their Social Life Commonly Consisted of Going to Parties With Their Friends, Going to Restaurants Three or Four Nights Per Week, Going to Professional Sporting Events, Going to Happy Hour With Their Friends, and Going With Their Friends to the Local Discotheque on the Weekends

After they graduated, they both found jobs in a large city that was located approximately fifty miles from their undergraduate college. Then they decided to move into the same apartment together.

Given the fact that they were far removed from the college drinking scene, then again, their social life regularly consisted of going to professional sporting events, going to happy hour with their friends, going to parties with their friends, going to restaurants three or four nights per week, and going to the local nightspot with their friends on the weekends. Simply put, Augie and Merissa started to drink in an irresponsible manner.

Now that were living with one another and beginning to get more unwavering about their relationship, then again, they started to think about getting married, becoming more responsible, having children, and buying a house.

With any substantial adjustment in an individual’s life there is often something that prompts the particular alteration in question. For Merissa and Augie the thought of having children and buying a new house was this “source of change.” Stated more forcefully, for the first time in their lives, Merissa and Augie started to critically appraise their excessive and hazardous drinking and the long term effects of alcohol on their health.

How Would Their Abusive Drinking Affect Their Relationship With One Another, Their Finances, Their Relationship With Their Parents, Their Mental Health, and Their Ability to Have Children?

Would their heavy and abusive drinking unfavorably affect their ability to have children? How would they be able to continue spending almost all of their money on drinking if they were to start saving for a new house? How mature would they be if they had children and continued to drink in an irresponsible manner? How would they be able to face their parents and tell them about their long term plans, dreams, and hopes while they still drank in an excessive and abusive manner while having fun as they did when they were in college? What would their abusive and hazardous drinking do to their relationship? How would their hazardous drinking affect their mental health?

From a different perspective, although neither one of them ever suffered from alcohol poisoning, received a DUI, or experienced alcohol withdrawal symptoms, they realized that their abusive drinking was becoming an issue that they could not disregard any longer.

After Giving Their Situation Much Deliberation, Augie and Merissa Finally Comprehended That Their Dreams, Plans, and Hopes Would not be Attained if They Continued Their Heavy Drinking

All of these queries undeniably resulted in the same conclusion: Augie and Merissa needed to be more aware that they couldn’t continue their irresponsible and excessive drinking if their dreams, aspirations, and goals were to be attained.

Once they settled upon this conclusion, they informed their drinking friends about their goal of buying or building a new house, about their plans to start a family, and about their marital plans. They also told their drinking pals that they still wanted to pal around with them but that they would be drinking responsibly from this moment forward so that they could start to realize their future aspirations, dreams, and hopes.

Amazingly, all of their buddies expressed relief because they too had been reflecting on their lives and concluded that their life-styles were too focused on drinking. They also realized that they would have to change substantially if they were to become more accountable and show more care for their health, their aspirations, and for their careers in the next five or ten years.

After opening up to their buddies about their dreams, goals, and aspirations, Augie and Merissa actually started to have more meaningful relationships with all of their pals. The primary reason for this was the fact that all of them were on the same wave-length regarding their hazardous and irresponsible drinking and their short and long-term aspirations, goals, and plans.

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A Young Man’s Irresponsible Drinking Results In a DUI, the Need For Alcohol Detox, and Time Locked Up In Jail

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

Jesse had a hard time keeping a job. As a matter of fact, due to his lethargy and lack of drive, he was jobless far more regularly than he was in work. And when he did land a job, he had a particularly difficult time getting to work when his shift began, he regularly received poor performance appraisals, and he called off sick so habitually that he commonly got fired a week or two after he began working. Not surprisingly, one of the results of Jesse’s deplorable employment history was the fact that he was virtually broke much of the time.

Despite Jesse’s less than positive work track record and financial negligence, on the other hand, by some means he managed to drink in an abusive manner on a day-to-day basis.

So it came as no big surprise when Jesse got arrested for a fifth DWI. When he went before the court, the judge told Jesse that his alcohol-related behavior was irresponsible and, consequently, he was going to sentence Jesse to spend seven months in the local jail.

Time In Jail To Think About The Demoralizing Effects of Excessive and Irresponsible Drinking

During his time in the county jail, Jesse was expected to learn more about alcohol facts, about the damaging results of irresponsible drinking, and he was required to get alcohol rehab. The magistrate underscored the fact that unless Jesse gets professional alcohol therapy and learns how to live an alcohol-free life, he will most probably be spending quite a bit of his time in the county jail.

Jesse articulated that he grasped what the judge was pronouncing but he still stated that placement in the municipal jail was not the right ruling. The magistrate thought otherwise and declared that it was his professional duty to keep alcohol abusers off the streets who drive and drink and who get a DUI. To validate this perspective, the magistrate articulated some honored, extensively researched alcohol statistics that pointed to some of the damaging effects that are related to excessive drinking.

Even though Jesse comprehended that he drank excessively, he never felt that he was alcohol dependent. So it was a big surprise when Jesse started to have alcohol withdrawal symptoms around five hours after getting placed behind bars.

To manage his symptoms of alcohol withdrawal in a safe and secure manner, Jesse was taken to a rehabilitation facility for alcohol detoxification and then brought back to jail. While locked up in the county jail Jesse undertook alcohol therapy but since he received this counseling as something that was mandated for him, he neglected to take ownership of his abusive and irresponsible drinking.

When his time in the municipal jail was completed, the magistrate announced to Jesse that he would be under close scrutiny and would be required to take periodic random breathalyzer alcohol tests.

Jessie’s Hazardous and Abusive Drinking Stops Him From Living in a Mature and Productive Manner

After hearing how Jesse did not take ownership of his drinking circumstances and how he halfheartedly followed the rehabilitation protocol while in the county jail, the judge knew that it was basically a matter of time before he would be seeing Jesse once again in court about his hazardous and abusive drinking behavior. As the magistrate thought about Jesse’s situation, he couldn’t help but think about how some individuals never use their brain and learn how to live in a productive and mature manner.

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A Young Couple Assesses Their Irresponsible and Hazardous Drinking and Their Short and Long-Term Hopes, Dreams, and Aspirations

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

Merissa and Augie have been dating for six-and-a-half years. They met while taking the same business communications class at a medium size, rural, Church affiliated liberal arts college located in the Eastern part of the U.S. While they were mostly good friends at first, they finally began dating when they were in their second year of college.

Due to the fact both of them came from very conventional backgrounds, neither one of them drank very much beyond the casual drinking stage when they first started to date. As the time advanced, nevertheless, they started to go to more happy hours, sorority and fraternity parties, keg parties, and football bashes. As a consequence, they progressively began to drink increasingly more as time passed by.

Their Social Life Frequently Consisted of Going to Parties With Their Friends, Going to Restaurants Three or Four Nights Per Week, Going to Professional Sporting Events, Going to Happy Hour With Their Friends, and Going With Their Friends to the Local Cabaret on the Weekends

After they graduated, they both landed jobs in a relatively small city that was located roughly eighty-five miles from their undergraduate college. Then they at long last made up their mind to move into the same apartment together.

Because they were far removed from the college drinking scene, however, their social life usually consisted of going to happy hour with their friends, going to parties with their friends, going to restaurants three or four nights per week, going to professional sporting events, and going to the local club with their friends on the weekends. In a word, Augie and Merissa began drinking in a hazardous and irresponsible manner.

Now that they were living in the same apartment with one another and beginning to get more unwavering about their relationship, nonetheless, they began to think about getting married, buying a house, becoming more responsible, and having children.

With any momentous transformation in an individual’s life there is regularly something that sets off the specific alteration in question. For Merissa and Augie the idea of buying a new house and having children was this “vehicle for change.” To put it simply, for the first time in their lives, Merissa and Augie began to reflect on their irresponsible and abusive drinking and the long term alcohol effects on their health.

How Would Their Irresponsible Drinking Affect Their Finances, Their Mental Health, Their Relationship With Their Parents, Their Relationship With One Another, and Their Ability to Have Children?

Would their abusive and hazardous drinking negatively affect their ability to have children? How would they be able to continue spending so much money on drinking if they were to start saving for a new house? How adult-like would they be if they had children and continued to drink in an abusive and irresponsible manner? How would they be able to face their parents and tell them about their long term dreams, goals, and aspirations while they still drank in an irresponsible and hazardous manner while having fun as they did when they were in college? What would their excessive and irresponsible drinking do to their relationship? How would their abusive and heavy drinking affect their mental health?

From a different perspective, although neither one of them ever suffered from alcohol poisoning, received a DUI, or experienced alcohol withdrawals, they realized that their irresponsible and hazardous drinking was becoming a reality that they could not disregard any longer.

After Giving Their Circumstances Much Deliberation, Merissa and Augie Finally Realized That Their Aspirations, Dreams, and Goals Would not be Completed if They Continued Their Hazardous and Irresponsible Drinking

All of these questions undoubtedly led to the same conclusion: Augie and Merissa needed to realize that they couldn’t continue their excessive and heavy drinking if their plans, hopes, and dreams were to be realized.

Once they arrived at this conclusion, they informed their drinking friends about their their plans to start a family, about their goal of buying or building a new house, and about their marital plans. They also told their drinking friends that they still wanted to pal around with them but that they would be drinking responsibly from this point forward so that they could start realizing their future plans, hopes, and dreams.

Surprisingly, all of their buddies expressed relief because they too had been reappraising their lives and concluded that their life-styles were much too often centered around drinking. They also thought that they would have to change radically if they were to become more responsible and manifest more respect for their goals, their careers, and for their health in the next fifteen or twenty years.

After their heart-to-heart discussion with their pals about their dreams, goals, and aspirations, Augie and Merissa actually started to have more meaningful relationships with all of their buddies. The fundamental reason for this was the fact that all of them had the same outlook regarding their irresponsible and excessive drinking and their short and long-term goals, aspirations, and plans.

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A Reckless High School Student Exhibits More Than a Few Alcohol-Related Problems, Gets Kicked Out of School, and Has to See the School Therapist

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

Larry was a sixteen year old high school junior who was displaying a number of alcohol-related difficulties at school. For that reason, the principal informed him that he had to see Miss Johns, the school counselor, before he would be allowed to come back to class.

Later that afternoon when Larry went home after school, he had to explain his school expulsion to his Mom and Dad. His Mother and Father were “relatively old-style” and informed Larry that getting discharged from school was not a possible educational option. They told Larry that failing to graduate from high school would most probably be like a lead weight around his feet that could quite possibly impede his educational achievement for the rest of his life. Furthermore, Larry’s Mom and Dad were extremely let down that he was drinking in the first place and drinking with his friends in the second.

They explained to Larry that although he may be young, he has to understand fairly swiftly that drinking is the road to failure, ill health, pain, and financial problems.

It was apparent that his Mom and Dad were absolutely in concurrence with Larry’s principal and explained to Larry that he had better come to the understanding that he needs to see Miss Johns, the school counselor. After his talk with his parents, Larry at last agreed to see Miss Johns the next school day. So Larry called the school and scheduled an appointment to see Miss Johns the next afternoon after school.

The Counselor Asks Larry if He Knows Why His Recent Alcohol-Related Actions Caused Quite a Bit of Concern By the School Administrators

When Larry arrived at his scheduled appointment with Miss Johns, she instantly examined all of the alcohol-related difficulties Larry had experienced and asked him if he understood why his recent alcohol-related behavior caused quite a bit of concern by the school administrators.

Quite honestly, Larry was not sure why the principal explained to him that he had to see a school psychologist. As he stated to Miss Johns, why should he see a professional counselor about his drinking activities? Since virtually all of his peers drink about as much as he does, fundamentally, drinking shouldn’t be such a big deal. Stated another way, if nearly everyone is drinking, why is this such a big thing?

Miss Johns asked Larry when he started to drink. He said that some of his older buddies introduced him to drinking wine when he was twelve or thirteen years old and getting ready to enter junior high school.

Miss Johns informed Larry that while his buddies may indeed drink as much as he does and that they may be a negative influence on him, the facts are that he is the one who is getting expelled from school due to alcohol-related absenteeism, fighting, and delinquency, not his buddies. Furthermore, Miss Johns also underscored the fact that Larry, and not his classmates, is the one who is failing and who is missing at least one day of school per week due to his alcohol related problems. Finally, Miss Johns underscored the fact that due to his drinking circumstances, Larry is getting into a harmful cycle of abusive drinking that can in time destroy his aspirations, hopes, and dreams.

In short, Larry’s involvement with teen alcohol abuse was starting to foil his ability to act like an accountable young man. As articulated by Miss Johns, “Just because most of your friends drink hard liquor, wine, beer, or wine coolers does not mean that it is the best thing in the world for you.”

Larry Learns That Eventually He Must Claim Responsibility For Himself In Order to Steer Clear of Damaging, Unhealthy, Dangerous, and Destructive Circumstances In the Foreseeable Future

Miss Johns explained to Larry that one’s classmates can indeed influence an individual in a negative way, but that the person herself or himself has to sooner or later claim responsibility for herself or himself in order to prevent destructive, dangerous, unhealthy, and damaging consequences down the road.

Fortunately, Miss Johns was quite organized for her scheduled time with Larry. She showed him research studies and reports she had highlighted that summarized diverse drinking facts and statistics that applied to most people in general. Then she showed Larry quite a lot of figures and reports that applied especially to underage drinkers.

For instance, Miss Johns stressed the difference between alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse and told Larry that people who continue to abuse alcohol repeatedly become addicted to alcohol.

Miss Johns also explained the concept of binge drinking that she defined as follows: consuming four or more drinks in one sitting for females and drinking five or more drinks in one sitting for males.

The Therapist Lists Quite a Few Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Addiction Facts and Statistics

Then Miss Johns stated the following eight alcoholism facts and alcohol abuse statistics:

1. As demonstrated by the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, there are 105,000 yearly alcohol-related deaths in the United States due to drunk drivers and related injuries, diseases, or medical conditions.

2. Around twenty-five percent of all U.S. people who register in general hospitals have alcohol problems or are undiagnosed people who are alcohol dependent who are being treated for the effects of their abusive drinking.

3. Alcoholism and alcohol abuse are the third leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States.

4. More than seven percent of the population that is 18 years old and older — approximately 13.8 million Americans — has problems with drinking, including 8.1 million drinkers who suffer from alcohol addiction.

5. 500,000 Americans who are dependent on alcohol are between the ages of 9 and 12.

6. As demonstrated by one U.S. study of 18 to 24 year-old current drinkers who did not graduate from high school, almost 60 percent began to drink before they were 16 years old.

7. Currently, approximately 14 million Americans, 1 in every 13 adults, are dependent on alcohol or are alcohol abusers.

8. According to the research literature, non-alcoholic members of alcoholic’s families use ten times as much sick leave as families who do not exhibit alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency.

Larry Gets A Relevant Jolt of Reality About the Long Term and the Short Term Consequences of Teenage Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse

After Miss Johns went over the aforementioned alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency facts and statistics, it was evident that what Miss Johns made known to Larry was a real source of discovery for him. Why? Because for the first time in his young life, someone not only took the time to go over the long term and the short term results of alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse, but she also made the effort to corroborate what she was saying with alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse statistics and facts that related to people in general, and chiefly to today’s youth.

As a matter of fact, it was almost as if a light went on and Larry at once grasped why he should not be engaging in abusive and excessive drinking with or without his peers any longer. Larry thanked Miss Johns for her concern and for the information she presented.

Miss Johns then asked Larry how he felt about getting a physical exam and an alcohol appraisal for the alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency rehabilitation he would probably need.

Larry thought about this for few minutes and then agreed to get a comprehensive physical exam and to go through a comprehensive evaluation of his drinking circumstances so that he could start an alcohol rehabilitation program immediately.

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Alcohol Relapse and When Helping the Alcoholic Becomes Hazardous

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

It is worthy of note to mention something that family members who have been harmfully affected by the alcoholism of another family member obviously do not grasp. It appears that by shielding the alcohol dependent person with lies and deceitfulness to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have in actual fact created a circumstance that makes it easier for the alcohol dependent person to continue and move forward with his or her damaging, detrimental daily life.

In fact, instead of helping the alcohol dependent individual and themselves, these family members have in truth become enablers who have inadvertently helped negatively affect the alcohol addicted person’s drinking problems even further. Evidently, this is not a great help to problem drinkers.

The Chances of a Relapse are Real

Another key alcohol dependency issue concerns alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcohol addicted individual has fruitfully gone through alcoholism treatment and then returns to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first glance, this predicament seems contradictory to common sense and looks so unrealistic that it forces one to speculate 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, without a doubt, numerous rational reasons for this.

It should be highlighted, on the other hand that alcoholism research that has focused on the long-term effects of alcohol dependency has revealed that long after the alcohol addicted person 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 consequence, all a recovering alcohol addicted person has to do to involve himself or herself in behaviors that correspond with the changes that have come about in the brain is to engage in drinking again.

The Necessity for A Drastic Lifestyle Modification

There are even more reasons why numerous recovering alcohol dependent persons return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after attaining sobriety. In accordance to the alcohol addiction research literature, to make a successful recovery, the alcohol addicted individual needs new ways of reacting and thinking in order to deal more competently with tough alcohol-related situations that will take place.

Situations 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 individual was drinking abusively; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these circumstances can bring forth memories that can trigger psychological tension or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol addicted person to engage in excessive drinking once again. Unfortunately, all of these situations may not only negate ongoing alcohol recovery for the alcohol dependent person but they can also result in relapse and consequently go against one’s alcohol recovery.

Conclusion

In an attempt to “protect” the family alcohol dependent individual, family members can essentially cause unintended destruction by enabling the negative drinking behavior of the alcoholic.

The substance abuse research literature highlights the fact that most people who effectively complete alcohol rehab go through at least one relapse. Alcohol addicted persons and their family members need to know this so that they do not get defeated or beleaguered when a relapse takes place.

Happily, participation in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up counseling and training have resulted in more effective, enduring alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency rehab outcomes, have helped decrease alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol dependent persons reach lasting sobriety.

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The Necessary Elements in A Fruitful Alcohol Abuse Intervention

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

What are the central factors in a fruitful alcohol intervention? Why do some alcoholism interventions succeed as expected while several bomb?

The Requirement for a Distinguished History of Intervention Accomplishment

Scientific analysis makes obvious the fact that a productive alcoholism intervention needs to be directed by an intervention specialist who has a recognized track record of intervention achievement.

Basically this means that instead of opting for an “average” alcoholism therapist or psychotherapist for an alcohol abuse intervention, the individual who is decided upon to carry out the intervention needs to be educated in alcohol intervention procedures and needs to display a track record of fruitful alcohol dependency interventions.

A Few Rudimentary Examples of The Most Productive Time For an Alcohol Intervention

Scientific investigation has also displayed that the most productive time for an alcoholism intervention is following a special occasion in the life of the alcohol addicted individual or abusive drinker. The following represents a few illustrations of these types of meaningful occasions:

  • The alcohol-dependent person or abusive drinker has been caught stealing something of significance
  • The abusive drinker or alcohol-dependent person has been caught lying about something of significance
  • The alcohol dependent individual or alcohol abuser has been arrested for a DUI or DWI.

In situations like these, the alcohol addicted individual or alcohol abuser is more apt to feel sorry or to feel guilt-ridden, thereby making him or her more willing to get the professional alcohol therapy that is needed.

At this moment in time, moreover, it is also essential to articulate that the alcohol abuser or alcohol addicted individual needs to be free of alcohol during the alcohol intervention. In sum, if the alcohol abuser or alcohol dependent individual is inebriated during an alcohol abuse intervention, the lack of success is in effect assured.

In the same way, scientific examination has also revealed the fact that the abusive drinker or alcohol addicted person has to at least try to listen to what is articulated in an alcohol addiction intervention. Stated more precisely, during an alcoholism intervention, the hazardous drinker or alcohol addicted individual needs to listen to what his or her drinking problems have done to those who care for him or her the most.

The Magnitude of Alcohol Counseling For the Irresponsible Drinker

And finally, scientific research makes obvious the fact that the major reason for an alcohol intervention in the first place is to entice the abusive drinker or alcohol addicted person to get the professional alcoholism counseling that is needed. In other words, even if the person who oversees the intervention has a superb profile of productive interventions and even if the alcohol abuser or alcohol addicted person truly listens to every word that is mentioned during an intervention, if the hazardous drinker or alcoholic is not encouraged to seek quality alcohol abuse treatment after the alcohol dependency intervention, then the intervention will be a failure.

Obviously all of these factors are needed for an effective alcohol dependency intervention. If, nonetheless, the abusive drinker or alcohol dependent individual is not stimulated to seek alcohol dependency rehab after listening to his or her family members put into words the sorrow, wrath, and discontent they feel about the hazardous drinker’s or alcoholic’s hazardous drinking behavior and the concern they feel for the problem drinker, then every other phase of the alcoholism intervention will to a large extent be a waste of time.

Even Productive Alcohol Abuse Interventions Can Go Wrong In the Long Term

It also needs to be underscored that notwithstanding the fact that the alcohol dependency intervention can be seen as effective in that it helped put the abusive drinker or alcohol addicted person in a more “open” outlook and openly helped the alcohol addicted person or abusive drinker come to a decision that he or she needed alcohol rehab or professional help for alcoholism or alcohol abuse, the plain reality that the intervention happened might result in bitterness, anger, and doubt in the future.

In brief, even when alcohol addiction interventions are seen as effective in the short term, in the long term, on the other hand, they may flop and, as a result, might make the family and/or the alcohol addicted individual’s circumstance even worse than it was before the alcoholism intervention was initiated.

No matter how unwarranted or odd this seems, try to keep in mind that it is simply one of the main alcohol facts that has to be addressed when conducting an alcohol intervention.

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Talking to Your Doctor About Your Depression and Your Alcoholism Symptoms

Friday, July 24th, 2009

Larry eventually made up his mind that he needed to go and see his doctor about his drinking behavior. At first, Larry thought he would be able to essentially go online, look for some basic alcohol info, and determine whether or not he was alcohol dependent. Not unexpectedly, he discovered numerous websites that specified some of the general alcoholism symptoms.

That’s the encouraging news. The less positive news, sadly, was that Larry showed signs of many of these alcoholism symptoms.

Examples of Alcohol Addiction Symptoms

As a case in point, Larry was drinking a lot more than normal and he was starting to have more angry disagreements with the young lady he was dating. Additionally, for the first time in his young life he was suffering through sleeping problems. In a similar way, Larry repeatedly felt depressed and on an increasing basis he had been displaying less than usual concentration while at work.

In addition, he felt stressed out and more anxious on a day-to-day basis and for the past eight or nine months he displayed foggy thinking at work. Due to the fact that Larry manifested all of these symptoms, he was understandably uncomfortable about his problem drinking.

So Larry decided to contact his family healthcare practitioner and make an appointment. Actually, this was somewhat demanding for Larry because his family doctor was also his parents’ family physician. The origin of his worry was this: at the risk of embarrassing his family, he had to go and make known his careless and hazardous drinking behavior to his family physician.

When Larry arrived at the family doctor’s office, he frankly informed the family physician about the trepidation he had about his hazardous drinking behavior. When the family healthcare practitioner asked what was prompting this anxiety, Larry affirmed that he had gone on the Internet and read about alcoholism and especially about alcohol addiction symptoms. He then stated all of the alcohol addiction symptoms that he unmistakably thought he possessed.

An In Depth Physical Appraisal and Outpatient Alcohol Rehabilitation

The family doctor notified Larry that it was intelligent of him to deal with his drinking problems, he gave Larry an in depth physical examination, and recommended that he register in an out-patient alcohol rehab center that was managed by one of his doctor co-workers.

In much the same way, when Larry mentioned that he had been feeling a sense of melancholy more habitually, the family doctor notified Larry that alcoholism and depression often crop up in the same person. For that reason, the doctor also recommended that Larry seek counseling to attend to his gloom.

The Significance of Addressing Your Drinking Issues

The family doctor made it a point to inform Larry that he might not necessarily be alcohol dependent, but that he was undoubtedly drinking in an abusive manner. The family physician then notified Larry that the reason he suggested alcohol treatment in the first place was because he wanted him to confront his drinking issues, make sure that he stopped them from deteriorating, and start to live in a more healthy manner, even if it meant that he had to fully quit drinking.

In sum, by productively treating his drinking difficulties, Larry would be able to get his drinking issues under control and quit the negative sequence of events that could possibly lead to alcohol dependency.

Undeniably, Larry did not want to face the thought of getting registered into an alcohol rehab center. Nor was he elated about going to a counselor about his melancholy. Irrespective of these anxieties, alternatively, Larry as a matter of fact experienced some emotional relief for the first time in many months because he finally gave up making excuses for himself and finally determined that he needed to do something productive about his drinking issues.

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A Woman Exhibits Symptoms of Depression and Alcohol Abuse and Makes an Appointment to See Her Healthcare Professional About Her Abusive Drinking and Mental Health Problems

Friday, July 24th, 2009

Teresa was a thirty-seven-year-old receptionist who knew that she had some problems with her drinking. As an illustration, within the past five months she has experienced the need to have a drink or two before going to work, seven weeks ago she failed a random urine alcohol test at her place of employment, seven weeks ago she got pulled over by the police for a DUI, and finally, for the past five months she has started to forget what she says and does when she drinks with her pals.

Not unlike hosts of other drinkers, Teresa’s experiences with alcohol began slowly and remained at this level of involvement for quite some time due to the fact once in a “blue moon” she engaged in intermittent social drinking. If truth be told, for roughly six months, every time she drank, she made sure to drink moderately. Something about her pattern of drinking, nevertheless, seemed to totally change when she divorced her husband.

So She Can Get Beyond the Breakup of Her Husband With Less Sorrow, Teresa Decided to Begin Going Out More Repeatedly With Some of Her Friends Who Love to Whoop it Up and Drink

Teresa got exceedingly dejected about the loss of her husband, and as a way to quit her preoccupation with her discouraging feelings she came to a decision that she would begin palling around more routinely with some of her pals who love to drink and have fun.

Quite honestly, Teresa reasoned that having fun nearly every day by getting a “buzz” by drinking with her pals would help her get beyond the loss of her husband more quickly.

Teresa’s Drinking Increases Considerably the More Habitually She Goes to Private Parties, Sporting Events, Happy Hours, Family Get-Togethers, and Dinner Dates With Her Pals

It didn’t take very long, however, before her drinking increased significantly the more frequently she went to and drank at private parties, dinner dates, happy hours, sporting events, and family get-togethers with her pals. Furthermore, the fact that her drinking buddies were all many years younger than she was and therefore able to drink and party more thoughtlessly was one of the reasons that she didn’t concentrate more on her increased drinking. In short, she was drinking and having lots of fun just like everybody else in her group of friends without giving too much thought to the consequences of her drinking behavior.

Yet in the recesses of her mind she knew that she more likely than not required alcohol treatment but stayed away from the thought as much as humanly possible.

Teresa Gets a Physical Examination, Discloses the Facts About Her Hazardous Drinking to Her Physician, and Owns Up to the Truth About Her Dejection

One day during her yearly physical examination, her doctor asked her if she drank alcohol. Not wanting to tell falsehoods to her healthcare practitioner, Teresa disclosed the truth that she routinely drinks more than she should. As a matter of fact, she stated that she commonly drinks in an excessive and abusive manner. Then Teresa told her physician about her general state of despair. More explicitly, she mentioned that shattered relationships usually sparked a depressing chain of events typified by increased drinking which further resulted in more disheartening feelings that, in turn, led to more drinking. And this is explicitly what happened when she and her husband got divorced five years ago.

When her healthcare practitioner heard this, he told Teresa that according to various facts and statistics on alcoholism he has been reviewing, alcoholism and depression often occur in the same individual. He then told her that some of the alcohol statistics, research investigations, and facts he has been looking into also stress the fact that individuals who drink in an excessive and abusive manner and who also suffer from depression need to receive treatment for both medical circumstances.

Teresa’s Healthcare Professional Schedules an Appointment for a Psychological Assessment and For an Alcohol Addiction and Alcohol Abuse Evaluation

Teresa’s healthcare practitioner then stated the following: “I am not trying to make a spur-of-the-moment analysis, but with your medical circumstances we may be confronting two separate concerns. Consequently, I think we need to make an appointment for you to get an alcoholism and alcohol abuse appraisal from my partner, Dr. Hults, who is an alcoholism and alcohol abuse specialist. Whether your drinking circumstance is more linked to alcoholism or alcohol abuse is unclear at this time, but I feel that further exploration is warranted. Then I believe we probably should schedule an appointment for you to get a psychological exam from another one of my partners, Dr. Barney, who is a clinical psychologist. I want to get a better handle on your sadness and see how much your depression and drinking are related.” Teresa displayed her approval of her healthcare practitioner’s strategy and thanked him for his time and assistance. Now all she had to do was to try to lessen her drinking and get ready for her appointments.

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