Posts Tagged ‘alcohol abuse’

A Young Man Makes an Appointment to See His Family Physician About His Problem Drinking

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

Larry at long last made up his mind to go and see his healthcare practitioner about his drinking behavior. At first, Larry thought he would be able to merely go online, look for some essential alcohol info, and decide whether or not he was addicted to alcohol. Not surprisingly, he found scores of websites that specified some of the well-known alcoholism symptoms. That’s the positive news. The less than encouraging news, unfortunately, was that Larry showed evidence of a number of these alcoholism symptoms.

Examples of Alcohol Dependency Symptoms

For example, Larry was drinking much more than normal and he was starting to have more highly charged quarrels with his spouse. In much the same way, for the first time in his life he was encountering sleeping problems. Likewise, Larry habitually felt depressed and on an escalating basis he had been exhibiting limited attentiveness at his job.

In the same way, he felt highly stressed and more uptight on a regular basis and for the past four or five months he demonstrated foggy thinking while at work. Given that Larry manifested all of these symptoms, he was rightly apprehensive about his problem drinking.

So Larry finally determined that he needed to call his doctor and schedule an appointment. In reality, this was somewhat demanding for Larry because his family physician was also his parents’ healthcare professional. The origin of his anxiety was this: at the risk of embarrassing his family, he had to go and reveal his reckless and excessive drinking behavior to his family healthcare practitioner.

When Larry arrived at the family doctor’s office, he explicitly informed the doctor about the anxiety he felt about his excessive drinking behavior. When the healthcare professional asked what was triggering this trepidation, Larry affirmed that he had gone online and read about dependency on alcohol and especially about alcoholism symptoms. He then articulated all of the alcohol dependency symptoms that he evidently thought he had.

A Thoroughgoing Physical Appraisal and Outpatient Alcohol Rehab

The doctor notified Larry that it was wise of him to deal with his drinking difficulties, he gave Larry a thorough physical exam, and suggested that he go into an out-patient alcohol rehabilitation center that was supervised by one of his doctor associates.

Moreover, when Larry expressed the fact that he had been feeling a sense of melancholy to a greater degree, the doctor informed Larry that alcoholism and depression often crop up in the same individual. Accordingly, the physician also suggested that Larry obtain therapy to attend to his melancholy.

The Advantage of Handling Your Drinking Problems

The healthcare practitioner made it a point to inform Larry that he might not necessarily be addicted to alcohol, but that he was unmistakably drinking in a careless manner. The physician then told Larry that the reason he suggested alcohol treatment in the first place was because he wanted him to confront his drinking difficulties, make sure that he prevented them from deteriorating, and start to live in a more healthy manner, even if it meant that he had to completely refrain from drinking.

To be brief, by productively treating his drinking problems, Larry would be able to get his drinking problems under control and abstain from the negative cycle that could in all probability lead to alcoholism.

Without a doubt, Larry did not want to face the thought of getting admitted into an alcohol treatment center. Nor was he elated about going to a therapist about his despair. Regardless of these anxieties, on the other hand, Larry in actual fact felt some psychological relief for the first time in numerous months because he ultimately quit making excuses for himself and at long last finally determined that he needed to do something constructive about his drinking behavior.

When Drinking Becomes Problematic

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

How do you recognize that you have a problem with your drinking? When is it evident that you are engaging in excessive drinking?

If you have unsuccessfully attempted to stop drinking or if you promised yourself that your drinking days are finished and then you were made aware that you were drinking in an excessive manner just a few days later, the probability is quite good that you have a drinking problem. The point to highlight is that if you have made an effort to quit drinking and cannot accomplish this, then your drinking is controlling you, rather than the other way around.

In much the same way, if it takes greater amounts of alcohol to get the same “high,” more likely than not you need to realize that you have a drinking problem.

You may be telling yourself that the rationale for your drinking is so that you can lower your apprehension or get rid of the hurt that you feel. In much the same way, you may be trying to avoid a negative circumstance and may be looking for something better, more helpful, or less sorrowful.

As you continue to drink, however, you will realize that drinking does not produce the same high and you will also comprehend that drinking doesn’t help stamp out whatever elicited your distress in the first place.

As you continue to drink in an abusive way, regrettably, you may become an alcoholic and, as a consequence, you may add another major issue to deal with rather than unearthing more effective and healthy ways of managing your alcohol induced predicament.

When an Alcohol Assessment is Required

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

If you sincerely believe that you have a dangerous drinking problem, it might be a good idea to get prepared to hear that you need to get alcohol therapy.

At this juncture, what are your choices? You can unquestionably refuse to see your doctor and persevere with your pattern of excessive drinking.

It actually doesn’t take a mastermind, however, to understand that repeated, heavy drinking, if left untreated, will deteriorate over time and almost certainly set in motion an early death. Accordingly, your most expedient option is to confront your drinking problem and get the alcohol rehab you require.

The Deception of the Functioning Alcohol Addicted Person

It is almost counter intuitive to note the fact that numerous alcoholics lead busy and active lives and have pets, vehicles, houses, jobs, families, and any number of material possessions just like individuals who are not addicted to alcohol.

Many of these “functional” alcohol dependent individuals may have never been apprehended for a DUI and may have been lucky enough to avoid all alcohol generated legal difficulties. In spite of this fortunate situation, nonetheless, these alcohol dependent individuals need to drink in order to operate on a regular basis while keeping 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 alcohol addiction, then again, and they will be quick to affirm the legitimacy of the drinker’s situation and the particulars about the alcohol addicted person’s drinking condition and about his or her alcohol generated problems.

Why Do People Addicted to Alcohol Fail to Focus On Their Drinking Difficulties?

As alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse research has stressed, no matter how apparent the alcohol induced difficulties seem to those who interact with the alcohol dependent person, alcohol addicted people commonly deny that drinking is the root of their alcohol induced difficulties. Not only this, but alcohol addicted people frequently blame their alcohol-related problems on other people or upon other situations around them instead of seeing their part in the difficulty.

The origin of the predicament is that alcoholism is a disease of the brain. Once the person has become addicted to alcohol, he or she frequently resorts to denial, manipulation, and lying as a way of coping with the fact that his or her drinking is out of control. And to make things worse, the experience of alcohol withdrawal symptoms usually circumvents the alcohol addicted individual’s rare attempts to suddenly quit drinking. As depressing as the alcohol dependent person’s life is, on the other hand, the positive news is that competent assistance is widely accessible – if the alcohol addicted individual reaches out and tries to get alcoholism counseling.

Conclusion

Admitting the fact that drinking is triggering problems in your day by day functioning is perchance the most trouble-free way to find out if you have a problem with your drinking. Stated differently, if your drinking is bringing about problems with your health, with your employment, in your relationships, with your finances, at school, or with the law, then you have a drinking problem that needs to be dealt with.

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

While some individuals may be able to identify their drinking difficulties and substantially decrease the amount and frequency of their drinking, others, to the contrary, need to deal with their drinking problems by getting professional alcoholism therapy. Moreover, due to their inclination to deny the facts and twist the truth, alcohol addicted people without a doubt require quality alcoholism counseling for their hazardous drinking.

Alcoholism, Enabling, and Alcohol Relapse

Friday, June 12th, 2009

It is remarkable to articulate something that family members who have been unfavorably affected by the alcoholism of another family member plainly do not grasp. It appears that by protecting the alcohol addicted person with falsehoods and dishonesty to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have actually created a situation that makes it easier for the alcohol addicted person to persevere and go forward with his or her injurious, devastating style of life.

Clearly, instead of helping the alcoholic and themselves, these family members have basically become enablers who have unintentionally helped negatively affect the alcohol addicted individual’s problem drinking circumstance even more.

Relapses Can Occasionally Take Place From Time to Time

Another key alcohol dependency issue involves alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcohol dependent individual has fruitfully undergone alcohol addiction rehab and then returns to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first glance, this situation flies in the face of rational thinking and sounds so unbelievable that it forces an individual to question why anyone who has lived through the dreadfulness of alcohol dependency can return to drinking a short while after successful alcohol treatment and in turn after attaining recovery. There are, of course, more than a few possible reasons for this.

It should be mentioned, however that alcoholism research that has focused on the enduring effects of alcohol dependency has demonstrated-proven that long after the alcoholic has quit his or her drinking, significant modifications in the way in which the alcohol dependent individual’s brain functions are still present. As a consequence, all a recovering alcohol dependent person has to do to involve himself or herself in behaviors that correspond with the transformations that have taken place in the brain is to begin drinking again.

A Requirement for A Crucial Lifestyle Modification

There are even more reasons why many recovering alcohol addicted individuals return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after attaining sobriety. In accordance to the alcohol addiction research literature, to make an effective recovery, the alcoholic needs new ways of responding and thinking in order to deal more efficiently with demanding alcohol-related circumstances that will take place.

Conditions such as returning to the same alcohol addictive atmosphere or to the same geographic location; interacting once again with friends from the days when the alcohol dependent person was drinking abusively; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these circumstances can bring about memories that can prompt psychological stress or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcoholic to engage in hazardous drinking once again. Unfortunately, all of these situations may not only negate ongoing sobriety for the alcohol dependent individual but they can also result in relapse and as a result negate one’s sobriety.

Conclusion

In an attempt to “protect” the family alcohol addicted person, family members can in fact cause unplanned harm by enabling the unhealthy drinking behavior of the alcohol dependent individual.

The drug abuse research literature confirms the fact that most individuals who successfully 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 overwhelmed when a relapse takes place.

What I Learned About Alcohol and Drug Abuse in High School

Friday, June 12th, 2009

When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I enrolled into a substance abuse class. At that age, I did not understand that alcohol abuse in reality was a sub classification of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse, I read a lot about Alcoholic Anonymous, their meetings, how their programs have twelve steps, and how successful the Alcoholics Anonymous recovery program has been for people all through the world. I also learned quite a bit about alcohol treatment and the various alcohol rehab clinics that are commonly available to alcohol abusers.

Some of the negative consequences associated with alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class definitely terrified me. The ruined lives and frequent problems experienced by most alcohol dependent people made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. In short, I did not want to face the wreckage and destruction that alcohol addicted individuals almost always go through.

Reflect on this for a moment. What fifteen-year-old individual wants to face premature death due to his or her drinking behavior? What young person wants to become so out-of-control regarding his or her drinking that ingesting alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What young person wants to go to one of the local alcoholic rehabilitation centers to deal with alcohol-related problems before he or she becomes an adult?

What youth wants to deal with alcohol withdrawal symptoms when he or she tries to stop drinking? Why would an individual engage in drinking to such an extent that it would cause difficulties in every area of his or her life? Drinking later in life after a person has a career, a family, and develops personal responsibilities makes sense. But why would an adolescent want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that focuses on irresponsible drinking?

These issues were so noteworthy that I discussed some of them in class during the school year. What was entirely unbelievable to me was the number of students who essentially didn’t care about the harmful outcomes of hazardous drinking that I talked about. It was almost as if they couldn’t be bothered with the truth and how these effects can shatter their lives. For the first time in my life I started to appreciate a saying that my grandfather used to articulate throughout my younger years: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.