Posts Tagged ‘alcohol abuse’

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A High School Student Experiences Alcohol Poisoning

Friday, October 9th, 2009

Jeffrey was a ninth grader who usually seemed to be living on the edge. Jeffrey had an adventurous personality and commonly wanted to do what his older brothers were doing for fun. The basic problem with this was that all three of his brothers were at least 21 years old and were for than reason able from a legal framework to drive a car or truck and to ingest alcohol.

Jeffrey, however, had a tough time understanding that as a fifteen-year-old young person he should not be drinking. In fact, conversely, Jeffrey regularly drank with his friends after school, primarily on the weekends.

One weekend, Jeffrey decided to drive around with some of his older pals. One of his friends was old enough to buy alcohol. After purchasing some beer, wine, and wine coolers, Jeffrey and his cronies went to a recreational area and drank for about three hours.

Jeffrey Passes Out

After drinking roughly ten glasses of wine, Jeffrey started to feel nauseous and then threw up. When he passed out on the baseball field, one of his cronies called 911 for immediate help. It was fortunate that the call for emergency help was made because when his buddies went to the hospital to see Jeffrey, they learned that Jeffrey had been showing evidence of alcohol poisoning symptoms. More precisely, Jeffrey had experienced an alcohol overdose.

When Your Pals Drink Excessively

Jeffrey had heard that drinking in an abusive manner can lead to an alcohol overdose but he never thought that this would affect him. After all, some of his pals over and over again claimed that they could drink twenty four or more bottles of beer in a couple of hours without experiencing any significant setbacks.

Based on this, Jeffrey was truthfully surprised to discover that he had overdosed on alcohol because he “only” had approximately ten alcoholic beverages. When he explained this to the attending doctor at the hospital, in spite of this, the healthcare practitioner informed Jeffrey that drinking ten alcoholic beverages over a two or three hour period of time could in reality be substantially more alcohol than can be processed by the body. The healthcare practitioner further explained how significant amounts of alcohol can cause the brain to shut down an individual’s breathing and that when this takes place, an individual can cease to exist.

The First Signal of Excessive Drinking

This was the first warning to Jeffrey that he was drinking in a hazardous manner and that there are consequences for such activities. The healthcare professional told Jeffrey that he was a lucky person because he almost died from an alcohol overdose the previous night.

The doctor also conversed with Jeffrey’s parents and suggested that they get alcohol therapy for Jeffrey. His parents were jubilant that Jeffrey was out of harm’s way and informed the physicain that they would get Jeffrey alcohol therapy.

While conversing with his parents, Jeffrey informed them that there must be a special reason why he did not die and that he felt grateful that he was still alive. He also informed his parents that the peculiar part about the entire drinking event was that he had learned about alcohol poisoning last week in health class.

When Learning Something in Class Can Make a Difference

At the time, what his health teacher, Mr. Franklin, was articulating didn’t seem to make too much sense to Jeffrey. Now that he almost died, however, he felt that he should have listened more attentively in class and applied what he had learned to his daily living.

Jeffrey informed his parents that he couldn’t wait to go to school and express regret to Mr. Franklin for not demonstrating more attention to a topic that was as significant as learning about alcohol abuse and how to avoid an alcohol overdose.

His parents smiled at Jeffrey and said that they were thrilled with the way he was accepting responsibility for his injurious actions. All he had to do now was to let this life threatening experience make an impact his life in a productive manner so that he would never again go through an alcohol overdose.

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When Irresponsible and Excessive Drinking Leads to Serious Health Problems and the Significance of Education and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Friday, October 9th, 2009

For several years alcoholism research has demonstrated the fact that there is strong correlation between alcohol addiction and dangerous health conditions.

For example, in 2005, medical exploration and alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics revealed that alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction cost the United States an estimated $220 billion per year. It can be stressed that this substantial alcohol-related cash outlay was substantially more than the cost associated with cancer ($196 billion) or with obesity ($133 billion). While it is appropriate to give emphasis to these facts, it is also important to point out that an interrelationship exists between all three of these health problems.

More to the point, chronic alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency are also highly associated with obesity and with cancer.

Undeniably, substance abuse investigation has demonstrated the fact that alcoholism can augment the risk for different types of cancer, particularly cancer of the kidneys, rectum, colon, voice box (larynx), esophagus, throat, and the liver. Excessive and repetitive drinking can also lead to immune system difficulties and harm to the fetus during pregnancy.

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

Additionally, if alcoholism continues over a period of years, the individual’s body organs will more likely than not be affected in an unhealthy manner. For instance, long-term, excessive drinking is particularly dangerous to the liver since the liver does most of the work of processing the alcohol that has been consumed. Extreme amounts of alcohol kills liver cells and eradicates the ability of liver cells to regenerate. This condition leads to a progressive inflammatory disease of the liver that can in due course lead to cirrhosis of the liver, a precarious and possibly incurable disease.Heavy, long-term drinking not only can result in serious liver damage, but it can also result in damage to the heart and to the brain. Physical damage this critical may be unalterable and may, in turn, result in serious disease or premature death.

The Significance of Alcohol Treatment

It is essential, then, to know how to identify the different alcoholism symptoms and the “alcohol signs” so that the alcohol addicted individual can be given the opportunity to get the quality alcohol treatment he or she requires.

Alcohol Dependency and Sophisticated Brain Exploration

Fortuitously, medical examination is constantly generating original and significant information. Recent alcoholism exploration offers a high-quality illustration. More precisely, for approximately the past ten years, sophisticated brain-imaging scanning instruments have shown that repetitive and long lasting hazardous drinking modifies the makeup of the brain to a significant extent, thereby resulting in brain disease that can last months, years, or conceivably as long as the person lives.

More exactly, medical investigation has shown that individuals who have been drinking in a hazardous manner for an extensive length of time increase their risk for developing permanent and substantial transformations in the brain.

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

Abusive Drinking, Malnutrition, and Mental Disorders

As a final example of assorted health problems that are to a great extent related to alcohol addiction, consider that according to medical research, the hazardous and repeated abuse of alcohol can lead to erosive gastritis, a health problem that limits the absorption of minerals, nutrients, and vitamins.

This kind of organ malfunctioning is associated with malnutrition and to an array of acute neurological and mental disorders including memory loss, sleep disturbances, and psychosis such as Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome. This latter medical condition is a long-term debilitating medical condition that is typified by recurring learning and memory difficulties.

The Importance of Education and Alcohol Rehab

It is obvious that repetitive, excessive drinking is directly or indirectly related to a number of critical medical problems that can and do result in dangerous ailments and premature death. Such information needs to be underlined and presented to everyone in our society so that a massive amount of individuals will be able to abstain from abusive drinking while other people who have a drinking problem will get the professional treatment they require. For without professional counseling most people who drink in an irresponsible manner will not start the healing process and work towards recovery.

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When Drinking Becomes a Major Problem and the Need for Alcohol Rehab

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

How do you know that you have a drinking problem? When is it apparent that you are involving yourself in hazardous drinking?

If you have hopelessly tried to discontinue your 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 an excessive way just a few days later, the probability is exceptionally good that you have drinking problems. The major point of emphasis is that if you have attempted to stop drinking and cannot get this done, then your drinking is controlling you, rather than the other way around.

In a similar manner, 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 justification for your drinking is so that you can reduce your nervousness or get rid of the agony or depression that you feel. Similarly, you may be trying to stay away from an injurious situation and may be looking for something better, more positive, or less mournful.

As you keep on drinking, then again, you will understand that drinking does not produce the same high and you will also become aware that drinking doesn’t help do away with whatever produced your problem in the first place. You may also observe that the more heavily you drink, the more depressed you feel.

As you continue to drink, sadly, you may become an alcoholic and, as a consequence, you may add another significant issue to deal with rather than becoming aware of more successful and beneficial ways of dealing with your alcohol produced difficulties.

An Alcohol Assessment is Probably Needed

If you have determined that you have a problem with your drinking, maybe the most expedient thing you can do for yourself is to call your medical doctor or healthcare practitioner and schedule an appointment for a thorough physical and for a review of your drinking circumstances.

If you honestly believe that you have a crucial problem with your drinking, it might be a good idea to get prepared to hear that you need to get alcohol counseling.

At this juncture, what are your options? You can without a doubt say no and refuse to see your health care practitioner and persist with your pattern of hazardous drinking.

It certainly doesn’t take a genius, conversely, to have a handle on the fact that continuous, out-of-control drinking, if left untreated, will deteriorate over time and most likely result an early death. Consequently, your best option is to face your drinking circumstance and get the alcohol counseling you require.

The Pretext of the Functioning Alcohol Addicted Person

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

Many of these “functional” alcohol dependent people may have never been arrested for drunk driving and may have been lucky enough to avoid all alcohol-related legal predicaments. Despite this fortunate circumstance, however, these alcohol dependent people need to drink in order to function on a daily basis while sustaining their facade as they interact with people outside their family.

Ask anyone who has seen them when they are bingeing or in a drunken stupor or ask a family member about the problem drinker’s alcoholism, however, and they will be quick to state the legitimacy of the drinker’s situation and the essentials about the alcohol addicted individual’s drinking circumstances and about his or her alcohol produced difficulties.

Why Do Alcoholics Fail to Perceive Their Drinking Problems?

As alcohol dependency research and statistics on alcohol abuse have stressed, no matter how observable the alcohol induced difficulties seem to those who interact with the alcohol dependent person, alcoholic people usually deny that drinking is the root of their alcohol produced issues. Not only this, but alcohol dependent people characteristically blame their alcohol induced issues on other people or upon other circumstances that surround them instead of seeing their part in the problem.

The origin of the problem is that alcohol addiction is a disease of the brain. Once the person has become addicted to alcohol, he or she commonly resorts to denial, manipulation, and deceit as a way of dealing with the fact that his or her drinking is out of control. And to make things more difficult, the experience of alcohol withdrawal symptoms usually counteracts the alcohol addicted person’s rare attempts to suddenly refrain from drinking. As bleak as the alcohol dependent person’s way of life is, to the contrary, the positive news is that professional help is generally accessible – if the alcoholic reaches out and tries to get alcohol treatment.

Conclusion

Admitting the fact that drinking is eliciting difficulties in your day by day functioning is perhaps the most straightforward way to find out if you have a drinking problem. Stated differently, if your drinking is eliciting issues 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 resolved.

If you have a problem with your drinking, moreover, this means that you are engaging in excessive drinking.

While some drinkers may be able to detect their “alcohol signs,” pinpoint their difficulties, and significantly decrease the quantity and rate of their drinking, others, to the contrary, need to address their drinking difficulties by getting professional alcoholism counseling. Furthermore, due to their propensity to deny the facts and twist the truth, alcoholics certainly require professional alcohol treatment for their hazardous drinking.

And finally, if you feel more depressed the more you drink, you will probably need to obtain therapy for your drinking and for your depression.

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A Saturday Night Out With School Friends at a Local Disco Leads To Excessive and Abusive Drinking, Alcohol Poisoning Symptoms, and Then a Feeling of Appreciation

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

When Janice was in high school, she had secured a reputation as a person who studied a lot and who rarely, if ever, “painted the town red” by drinking with her pals. She seemed nearly obsessed about “shining” academically so that she would be able to find a career that she not only liked but one that also gave her some monetary security.

After much consideration, in time she made up her mind that she wanted to be a trial lawyer. In order to achieve this goal, nonetheless, she would first have to attend four years of undergraduate education.

After Completing High School Janice Gets Accepted Into A Famous Undergrad University as Training For a Career as a Lawyer

After Janice graduated from high school, she applied to and was accepted into a highly regarded program in sociology. Her logic behind this decision was that this area of study would be good preparation for law school and wouldn’t be indistinguishable from the preponderance of law school applicants who pick political science as their undergraduate major.

After graduating with a 3.8 GPA at the undergrad level, she applied to and was accepted at an esteemed law school at one of the Pacific Ten universities.

She enjoyed her legal studies but every so often she was inundated with all the work that was required at law school. In much the same way as she had done in her high school and undergraduate days, nonetheless, she made buddies painlessly but hardly ever got involved in social functions until the quarter had ended.

After Being Elated With the Fact That She Had Done a Super Job on Her Tests, Janice Wanted to Let Her Hair Down and Do Something Enjoyable

Janice was the type of person who worked in a diligent manner to finish what she started and then would take a break when she could. As it turns out, however, a large number of the things she did between terms or during her summer vacations did not have much to do with drinking. Obviously, Janice was anything but a party-person. Now that her final examinations for her second year in law school were done and pleased that she had done a super job on her finals, nonetheless, she wanted to let her hair down and do something besides school work for a change.

Drinking at a Local Club Results in Alcohol Poisoning, Calling 911, The Emergency Services Number, and a Trip to An Alcohol Rehab Clinic

So Janice and some of her buddies went to a local watering hole where they had a few glasses of wine. As the hours flew by, Janice continued to drink without having a care in the world about tests the following day. Indeed, Janice mentioned to her pals how overjoyed she was to party with her pals from school.

As the evening progressed, Janice and her pals continued to drink. As a matter of fact, she was having such an incredible time that she didn’t want the night to end. It was almost like she was making up for lost time and making an attempt to force a year’s worth of laughter and fun into a single evening. Such a “game plan,” however, seldom works. In truth, when Janice went to the powder room and vomited, her pals started to feel apprehensive about her safety.

Around ten minutes later when Janice started to slur her words, speak in a confused manner, and then fall unconscious, nonetheless, her pals instantly knew that they needed to call the emergency number and ask for emergency assistance because they thought that Janice was displaying alcohol poisoning symptoms.

Once Janice was in the hospital, the presiding physician corroborated what her pals had thought, namely, that Janice had far more alcohol than her body could process and, as a consequence, she suffered from an alcohol overdose.

After the emergency room treatment team pumped her stomach until no gastric contents were observable, Janice was transported to the recovery room. After staying approximately two hours in recovery, Janice was then wheeled to one of the regular hospital rooms. Fortunately, the worst was over and all of her vital signs were back to normal.

In response to Janice’s medical predicament, her friends caringly telephoned her Mom and Dad. As a consequence, early the next morning, her parents and her favorite pals went to the hospital to visit Janice and look into her medical condition.

Janice Narrowly Escapes Death, is Thankful to be Alive, and Promises to Never Again Drink in an Irresponsible Manner

Janice was attentive to the fact that she had dodged a bullet and, as a consequence, was thankful to be alive. At the same time, however, she was somewhat disheartened knowing that she had almost died the night before. Her Mom and Dad realized how intensely she worked at school and how little she let herself socialize with her friends. Nevertheless, they also were aware that Janice needed to avoid irresponsible drinking.

As a consequence, they recommended that down the road, whenever a drinking opportunity presents itself, that she always drink in moderation and responsibly. Janice was fine with this and assured her friends and her Mom and Dad that she would never again drink in an excessive and irresponsible manner. In her own words, “I never had a clue that I would become one of the alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics in the local town newspaper. I now realize that excessive and hazardous drinking is not for me. I swear that this will never happen again.”

Fortunately, Janice was not only “book smart” but she also had a lot of common sense. That is, she rapidly understood that she had made an error in judgment and decided that she would never make the same mistake again. In actual fact, she now knew that she had involved herself in “binge drinking” and that even one instance of this kind of abusive drinking can end in a fatality.

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A Teenager Talks to His Doctor About His Alcoholism Symptoms and His Depression

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

Denny is a fifteen-year-old adolescent who has finally decided to go and see his healthcare professional about his careless drinking. At first, Denny thought he would be able to essentially go on the Internet, look for some straightforward alcohol info and make up his mind whether or not he was dependent on alcohol.

Not surprisingly, he discovered several websites that highlighted some of the common alcoholism symptoms. That’s the good news. The bad news, unfortunately, was that Denny manifested many of these alcoholism symptoms.

Alcoholism Symptoms: Some Illustrations

As an illustration, Denny has been drinking significantly more than customary and he has started to have more fiery disagreements with the young girl he is dating. Furthermore, for the first time in his life he has been going through sleeping difficulties. Likewise, Denny habitually has felt depressed and on an escalating basis he has been exhibiting poor attentiveness while at school. Furthermore, he has felt highly stressed and more uptight on a daily basis and for the past few months he has shown signs of confused thinking in the classroom. Since Denny has been demonstrating all of these symptoms, he was excusably uncomfortable about his excessive drinking.

So Denny finally made up his mind to call his family healthcare practitioner and make an appointment. As a matter of fact, this was tough for Denny because his physician was also his parents’ physician. The origin of his discomfort was this: at the risk of embarrassing his family, he had to go and divulge his careless and abusive drinking behavior to his healthcare professional.

When Denny arrived at the family doctor’s office, he plainly told the family physician about the concern he feels about his abusive drinking behavior. When the family healthcare practitioner asked what was inducing this concern, Denny confirmed that he had gone on the world wide web and read about dependency on alcohol and especially about alcohol dependency symptoms. He then listed all of the alcoholism symptoms that he clearly thought he has.

A Complete Physical Evaluation and Outpatient Alcohol Treatment

The healthcare practitioner notified Denny that it was intelligent of him to concentrate on his drinking problems, he gave Denny an in depth physical appraisal, and recommended that he talk to his Mother and Father about entering into an out-patient alcohol rehabilitation facility that was supervised by Doctor Bodnar, one of his doctor partners who is a chemical dependency and substance abuse specialist.

Furthermore, when Denny expressed the fact that he has been feeling a sense of gloom to an increasing extent, the family physician notified Denny that depression and alcoholism frequently come about in the same individual. Accordingly, the family doctor also recommended that Denny talk to his Mother and Father about getting therapy in order to concentrate on his sense of despair. In fact, Denny can go to the local mental health clinic and make an appointment with Doctor Thomas, a distinguished psychologist who specializes in treating youth.

The Advantage of Handling Your Drinking Problems and Getting Enthused About Making Positive and Healthy Changes in Your Life

The healthcare professional made it a point to notify Denny that he might not necessarily be addicted to alcohol, but that he was clearly drinking in an abusive manner. Stated more explicitly, Denny was engaging in teen alcohol abuse. The doctor then notified Denny that the reason he suggested alcohol rehab in the first place was because he wanted him to sort out his drinking issues, make sure that he prevented them from going downhill further, and start to live in a more healthy manner, even if it meant that he had to entirely quit drinking.

To be brief, by successfully treating his problem drinking, Denny would be able to get his drinking issues under control and refrain from the negative cycle of events that could most likely lead to alcoholism.

Denny understandably did not look forward to facing his Mother and Father about his drinking problems and his depression. And he certainly did not want to face the thought of getting registered into an alcohol rehabilitation facility. And as a final point, he was not overjoyed about going to a psychologist about his depression. Irrespective of these anxieties, nonetheless, Denny in point of fact experienced some emotional relief for the first time in several months because at last he quit making excuses for himself and decided to do something constructive about his unhealthy and abusive drinking.

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Enabling, Alcohol Addiction, and Alcohol Relapse

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

It is fascinating to point out something that family members who have been unfavorably affected by the alcohol dependency of another family member evidently do not comprehend. It appears that by protecting the alcohol addicted person with falsehoods and dishonesty to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have in actual fact created a condition that makes it easier for the alcohol dependent person to carry on and go forward with his or her hurtful, detrimental style of life.

In fact, rather than helping the alcohol dependent person and themselves, these family members have in fact become enablers who have mistakenly helped negatively affect the alcoholic’s drinking problem even more.

Perhaps the real downside of this is that the alcohol addicted person will continue drinking in an excessive and abusive manner and experience a variety of “alcohol side effects.” Some of these side effects include deteriorating relationships, considerable financial problems, legal issues (such as getting arrested for one or more DUIs), employment difficulties, diminished mental functioning, and poor health.

Relapses Can and Do Transpire

According to the research findings and statistics on alcohol addiction, another key alcoholism issue has to do with alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcoholic has effectively gone through alcohol dependency therapy and then returns to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first thought, this circumstance flies in the face of rational thinking and looks so improbable that it forces an individual to wonder why anyone who has gone through the dreadfulness of alcoholism can return to drinking a short while after successful alcohol therapy and in turn after achieving sobriety. There are, to be sure, more than a few plausible reasons for this.

It should be mentioned, nevertheless that alcoholism research that has centered on the long-term consequences of alcohol dependency has shown that long after the alcohol addicted individual has halted his or her drinking, significant transformations in the way in which the alcohol addicted person’s brain functions are still present. As a result, all a recovering alcohol dependent person has to do to involve himself or herself in actions that correspond with the changes that have taken place in the brain is to start drinking again.

The Need for A Far Reaching Lifestyle Modification

There are even more reasons why several recovering alcohol dependent persons return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after achieving sobriety. According to the alcohol dependency research literature, to make a successful recovery, the alcohol dependent individual needs new ways of responding and thinking in order to deal more competently with challenging alcohol-related situations that will take place.

Situations 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 addicted person was drinking in a hazardous manner; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these situations can bring forth memories that can prompt psychological stress or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol addicted individual to engage in abusive drinking once again. Regrettably, all of these situations may not only contradict enduring alcohol recovery for the alcohol addicted individual but they can also result in relapse and therefore circumvent one’s alcohol recovery.

The Good News: Quality Help is Readily Available

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

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

Luckily, participation in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up counseling and training have resulted in more successful, long standing alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction therapeutic outcomes, have helped decrease alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol dependent persons attain enduring alcohol recovery.

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The Vital Features in A Productive Alcohol Intervention

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

What are the fundamental elements in a successful alcohol intervention? Why do some addiction interventions succeed as projected while several flop?

The Need for a Celebrated History of Intervention Success

Scientific exploration makes obvious the fact that a productive alcohol abuse intervention needs to be conducted by an intervention professional who has a recognized history of intervention achievement.

Basically this means that rather than making a choice for a “normal” alcohol dependency counselor or psychotherapist for an alcoholism intervention, the person who is chosen to carry out the intervention needs to be educated in chemical dependency intervention methods and needs to possess a track record of effective alcoholism interventions.

A Few Basic Illustrations of The Best Time For an Alcohol Intervention

Scientific investigation and alcoholism facts about interventions has also made evident the fact that the best possible time for an alcoholism intervention is following a meaningful incident in the life of the alcohol addicted person or hazardous drinker. The following represents a few examples of these types of important happenings:

  • The alcohol-dependent person or abusive drinker has been caught stealing something of significance.
  • The abusive drinker or alcoholic has been caught lying about something of importance.
  • The alcohol addicted individual or alcohol abuser has been locked up for driving under the influence.

In events such as these, the alcohol dependent individual or alcohol abuser is more apt to be repentant or to feel guilty, thusly making him or her more open to getting the professional alcohol rehab that is required.

At this point in time, additionally, it is also important to state that the abusive drinker or alcohol addicted individual needs to be sober during the alcohol intervention. To sum up, if the abusive drinker or alcoholic is smashed during an alcohol dependency intervention, the lack of success is in effect a sure thing.

In the same way, scientific study has also made obvious the fact that the abusive drinker or alcohol addicted individual has to at least try to listen to what is articulated in an alcohol abuse intervention. Stated more precisely, during an alcohol addiction intervention, the abusive drinker or alcohol dependent individual needs to listen to what his or her drinking behavior has done to those who care for him or her the most.

The Impact of Alcohol Treatment For the Alcohol Abuser

And lastly, scientific exploration displays that the key reason for an alcohol addiction intervention in the first place is to influence the abusive drinker or alcoholic to get the professional alcoholism rehab that is required. Stated more specifically, even if the individual who directs the intervention has a splendid reputation of effective interventions and even if the abusive drinker or alcohol-dependent person openly listens to every word that is said for the duration of an intervention, if the hazardous drinker or alcohol-dependent person is not motivated to seek quality alcohol treatment after the alcoholism intervention, then the intervention will be a fiasco.

Plainly all of these factors are needed for a fruitful alcohol addiction intervention. If, on the other hand, the abusive drinker or alcohol addicted person is not encouraged to get alcohol dependency rehabilitation after listening to his or her family members put into words the sorrow, irritation, and dissatisfaction they feel about the hazardous drinker’s or alcohol dependent individual’s hazardous drinking behavior and the affection they feel for the problem drinker, then every other facet of the alcoholism intervention will effectively be meaningless.

Even Successful Alcohol Abuse Interventions Can Go Wrong Down the Road

It also needs to be emphasized that regardless of the fact that the alcoholism intervention can be seen as effective in that it helped put the hazardous drinker or alcohol addicted individual in a more “open” state of mind and frankly helped the alcohol addicted individual or alcohol abuser come to a decision that he or she required alcohol treatment or professional help for alcoholism or alcohol abuse, the simple fact that the intervention occurred might lead to bitterness, wrath, and mistrust in the long term.

In a nutshell, even when alcohol dependency interventions are seen as successful in the short run, in the long run, alternatively, they may fail to go as planned and, for that reason, might make the family and/or the alcohol dependent individual’s situation even worse than it was before the alcoholism intervention was undertaken.

No matter how unwarranted or ironic this seems, try to keep in mind that it is basically one of the central alcohol facts that has to be dealt with when engaging in an alcohol intervention.

A Reason For Elation and Joy

Also keep in mind how gratifying and moving it can be when an alcohol intervention is successful. Why? When an alcohol dependency intervention is successful, this means that the person with a drinking problem realizes what he or she has been doing to those who care the most about him or her and is now ready and willing to get rehabilitation and begin the road to recovery.

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When Hazardous and Heavy Drinking Leads to Serious Health Problems

Monday, August 24th, 2009

For a number of years alcohol dependency exploration has revealed the fact that there is strong correlation between alcoholism and life-threatening health conditions.

For instance, in 2005, scientific investigation demonstrated the fact that alcohol abuse and alcoholism cost the United States an estimated $220 billion per year. It can be emphasized that this very large alcohol-related expense was significantly more than the cost linked with cancer ($196 billion) or with obesity ($133 billion). While it is important to underline these facts, it is also noteworthy to highlight the fact that an interrelationship exists between all three of these health issues.

More specifically, chronic alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction are also highly interrelated with obesity and with cancer.

Without a doubt, substance abuse examination has revealed that alcohol addiction can amplify the risk for different types of cancer, particularly cancer of the colon, voice box (larynx), liver, rectum, throat, kidneys, and the esophagus. Abusive and recurring drinking can also lead to immune system issues and impairment to the fetus during pregnancy.

Hazardous and Abusive Drinking Destabilizes the Person’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. For instance, repeated, abusive drinking is especially injurious to the liver due to the fact that the liver does most of the work of processing the alcohol that has been consumed. Unwarranted amounts of alcohol kills liver cells and obliterates the ability of liver cells to redevelop. This medical circumstance results in a progressive inflammatory disease of the liver that can eventually lead to cirrhosis of the liver, an acute and possibly incurable disease.

Heavy, long-term drinking not only can result in dangerous liver damage, but it can also result in damage to the heart and to the brain. Physical damage this serious may be unalterable and may, in turn, lead to severe disease or premature death.

The Importance of Alcohol Treatment

It is vital, therefore, to know how to identify the different alcoholism signs and symptoms 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 Exploration

Fortuitously, scientific examination is persistently discovering novel and significant information. Recent alcoholism research offers a good illustration. More precisely, for approximately the last ten years, sophisticated brain-imaging scanning instruments have verified that repetitive and recurring abusive drinking transforms the constitution of the brain to a great extent, consequently resulting in brain disease that can last months, years, or perhaps as long as the person exists.

More exactly, medical research has demonstrated that people who have been drinking in an excessive manner for a sizeable length of time increase their risk for developing long lasting and serious transformations in the brain.

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

Mental Disorders, Malnutrition, and Excessive Drinking

As a final example of different health problems that are substantially associated with alcohol addiction, take into consideration the fact that according to scientific research, the abusive and repeated abuse of alcohol can lead to erosive gastritis, a condition that diminishes the absorption of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.

This form of organ malfunctioning is correlated with malnutrition and to an array of critical mental and neurological syndromes including sleep disturbances, memory loss, and psychosis such as Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome. This latter medical condition is a long lasting incapacitating medical condition that is exemplified by incessant learning and memory difficulties.

Conclusion

It is plain to see that continued, abusive drinking is directly or indirectly linked to a variety of severe medical problems that can and do lead to dangerous ailments and premature death. Such information needs to be highlighted and presented to everyone in our society so that a massive amount of individuals will be able to abstain from excessive drinking while other individuals who have a drinking problem will get the professional rehabilitation they require.

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A High School Student Almost Dies From Alcohol Poisoning

Friday, August 21st, 2009

Jeffrey was a ninth grader who regularly seemed to be living on the edge. Jeffrey had a daring personality and as a rule wanted to do what his older brothers were doing to have fun. The primary difficulty with this was that all three of his brothers were at least 21 years old and were thusly able from a legal standpoint to operate a vehicle and to consume alcohol.

Jeffrey, however, had a difficult time realizing the fact that as a fifteen-year-old teenager he should not be drinking. In fact, then again, Jeffrey regularly drank with his cronies after school, primarily on the weekends.

One weekend, Jeffrey made up his mind to drive around with some of his older guy friends. One of his cronies was old enough to buy alcohol. After purchasing some wine coolers, beer, and wine, Jeffrey and all of his pals went to a public recreational area and drank for something like three hours.

A Young Man Experiences Alcohol Poisoning Symptoms

After drinking something like ten bottles of beer, Jeffrey started to feel nauseous and then vomited. When he passed out on the tennis court, one of his pals called 911 for assistance. It was fortunate that the call for emergency assistance was made because when his buddies went to the hospital to see Jeffrey, they were notified that Jeffrey had been going through alcohol poisoning symptoms. In short, Jeffrey had overdosed on alcohol.

When Your Pals Drink Excessively

Jeffrey had heard that drinking in an abusive manner can result in alcohol poisoning but he never thought that this would affect him. After all, some of his buddies repeatedly argued that they could drink two or three six packs of beer at one sitting without going through any serious problems.

Armed with this information, Jeffrey was quite flabbergasted to hear that he had overdosed on alcohol because he “only” had around ten alcoholic beverages. When he explained this to the attending healthcare practitioner at the hospital, then again, the healthcare practitioner told Jeffrey that drinking ten wine coolers over a two or three hour period of time could in reality be quite a bit more alcohol than can be processed by the body. The healthcare professional further verbalized how excessive alcohol can cause the brain to shut down a person’s respiratory system and that when this happens, an individual can cease to exist.

The First Signal of Abusive Drinking

This was the first warning to Jeffrey that he was drinking in a dangerous way and that there are effects for such activities. The healthcare professional told Jeffrey that he was a lucky individual because he almost lost his life from an alcohol overdose the night before.

The doctor also had a word with Jeffrey’s parents and suggested that they get alcohol treatment for Jeffrey. His parents were overjoyed that Jeffrey was safe and informed the healthcare professional that they would follow through on getting Jeffrey alcohol rehabilitation.

While conversing with his parents, Jeffrey told them that there must be a good reason why he did not die and that he felt grateful that he was still alive. He also notified his parents that the peculiar part about the entire drinking occurrence was that he had learned about alcohol poisoning the previous week at school in Mr. Franklin’s health class.

When Listening in Class Can Affect Your Life

At the time, what his health instructor, Mr. Franklin, was articulating didn’t seem to make too much sense to Jeffrey. Due to the fact that he almost passed away, in spite of this, he felt that he should have listened more thoroughly in class and applied what he had learned to his personal life.

Jeffrey notified his parents that he couldn’t wait to go back to Mr. Franklin’s classroom and make an apology to Mr. Franklin for not displaying more attention to a subject that was as relevant as learning about alcohol abuse and how to keep away from an alcohol overdose.

His parents smiled at Jeffrey and said that they were proud of the way he was taking responsibility for his unsafe behavior. All he had to do now was to let this almost deadly experience influence his life in a beneficial way so that he would never again suffer from a case of alcohol poisoning.

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The Main Factors in A Successful Alcohol Intervention

Monday, June 29th, 2009

What are the important elements in a productive alcohol intervention? Why do some alcoholism interventions happen as expected while many bomb?

The Necessity for a Distinguished History of Intervention Accomplishment

Scientific examination demonstrates that a fruitful alcohol intervention needs to be carried out by an intervention specialist who has a time-honored reputation of intervention accomplishment.

In effect this means that instead of deciding upon a “normal” alcohol addiction counselor or psychotherapist for an alcohol intervention, the person who is decided upon to conduct the intervention needs to be instructed in chemical dependency intervention techniques and needs to possess a reputation of effective alcohol abuse interventions.

A Few Elementary Illustrations of The Most Optimal Time For an Alcohol Abuse Intervention

Scientific investigation has also made evident the fact that the most productive time for an alcohol dependency intervention is following a meaningful “happening” in the life of the alcohol addicted individual or alcohol abuser. The following represents a few illustrations of these kinds of significant occasions:

  • The alcohol addicted person or abusive drinker has been caught stealing something of importance
  • The abusive drinker or alcohol dependent individual has been caught lying about something of import
  • The alcohol addicted person or abusive drinker has been arrested for driving under the influence.

In events such as these, the alcohol dependent individual or abusive drinker is more apt to feel contrite or to be embarrassed, therefore making him or her more interested in getting the professional alcohol counseling that is necessary.

At this point in time, moreover, it is also imperative to articulate that the abusive drinker or alcohol addicted person needs to be free of alcohol during the alcohol intervention. To put it briefly, if the alcohol abuser or alcohol-dependent person is “under the influence” during an alcohol addiction intervention, failure is practically assured.

In much the same way, scientific analysis has also demonstrated the fact that the abusive drinker or alcohol dependent individual has to at least try to listen to what is articulated in an alcohol abuse intervention. Stated more explicitly, during an alcohol abuse intervention, the abusive drinker or alcoholic needs to listen to what his or her drinking problems have done to those who care for him or her the most.

The Importance of Alcohol Rehabilitation For the Problem Drinker

And lastly, scientific analysis makes obvious the fact that the key reason for an alcohol abuse intervention in the first place is to persuade the abusive drinker or alcohol dependent individual to get the quality alcohol abuse therapy he or she needs. In other words, even if the person who monitors the intervention has a marvelous reputation of fruitful interventions and even if the hazardous drinker or alcohol addicted individual genuinely listens to every single word that is declared all through an intervention, if the hazardous drinker or alcoholic is not stimulated to ask for professional alcohol abuse treatment after the alcohol abuse intervention, then the intervention will be a debacle.

Clearly all of these factors are needed for a successful alcohol dependency intervention. If, however, the alcohol abuser or alcohol addicted individual is not inspired to obtain alcoholism treatment after listening to his or her family members communicate the grief, anger, and frustration they feel about the abusive drinker’s or alcohol addicted person’s excessive drinking behavior and the care they feel for the problem drinker, then every other phase of the alcohol addiction intervention will more or less be unimportant.

Even Fruitful Alcoholism Interventions Can Backfire Down the Road

It also needs to be emphasized that in spite of the fact that the alcohol abuse intervention can be seen as productive in that it helped put the abusive drinker or alcohol dependent individual in a more “open” mindset and in truth helped the alcohol dependent individual or abusive drinker conclude that he or she required alcohol rehab or quality help for alcoholism or alcohol abuse, the plain reality that the intervention occurred may result in resentment, irritation, and distrust in the future.

To be brief, even when alcoholism interventions are seen as productive in the short term, in the long term, then again, they may boomerang and, for that reason, may make the family and/or the alcoholic’s situation even poorer than it was before the alcohol abuse intervention occurred.

No matter how unjust or ironic this seems, try to keep in mind that it is merely one of the central alcohol facts that has to be dealt with when doing an alcohol intervention.

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