Mar 05

Russ got suspended from high school when he was seventeen years old and eventually got a job at a local food processing plant. For the last nine years he has gained a reputation as a hard-working and reliable person who rarely calls off work due to illness.

Around five months ago he started dating a woman named Emma. They appeared to hit it off right away and looked like they had a lot of good times together.

The Irresponsible and Abusive Drinking Begins

When Russ met Emma, he rarely drank. This circumstance changed when Emma and Russ started seeing each other on a fairly usual basis. If truth be told, their relationship was going fine until Emma called Russ one night approximately 3:30 AM and said that she had to call off their relationship and that she couldn’t tell him what was going on at that time.

The next morning before he went to work, Russ drove to Emma’s apartment and immediately discovered that Emma had already moved out. Russ took this exceedingly hard. In point of fact, he was dismayed because they seemed to be getting along so well.

When Irresponsible and Excessive Drinking Leads to Work Problems

So what did Russ do? Rather than working through his pain and sorrow, he began getting inebriated nearly every night. It didn’t take long for his coworkers or for his supervisor to notice that Russ was coming to work late at least twice per week and that he routinely called off sick. Moreover, some of the workers made an appointment with staff in Human Resources Department and said that Russ repeatedly came to work with a noticeable smell of alcohol on his breath or on his clothes.

Russ’s boss heard about all of this from Human Resources and also from Russ’s co-workers. So one Friday afternoon he called Russ into his office. He told Russ that he had recently noticed a distinct change in his attendance, work performance, sick time, and in his behavior.

When a Supervison Can Encourage a Worker to Get Help For His or Her Irresponsible and Excessive Drinking

Russ’s supervisor also articulated that a number of his co-workers reported him to Human Resources because he had been coming to work with a noticeable smell of alcohol. His supervisor then stated the following: “Russ, your co-workers are not reporting you to the Human Resources Department to get you into any trouble or because they don’t like you but instead because they are concerned about you. And I am concerned too. I don’t want to intrude into your affairs, but it is evident that you are exhibiting some of the basic signs and symptoms of a drinking problem. As a consequence, I want you to go and see someone in the employee’s assistance program to discuss your drinking and your depression.”

“Russ, I’m no physician or a therapist, but I have seen several of my relatives and friends go through some very negative alcohol side effects. What is more, I have also experienced the signs of alcoholism first-hand in my own family. When people experience problems with drinking, these problems not only affect the drinker, but they also make an impact on his or her neighbors, family, friends, relatives, and co-workers.”

Russ respected his supervisor a lot and consequently followed through with his suggestion the very next day when he called and scheduled an appointment with a counselor in the employee’s assistance program.

Russ is Still Depressed But Experiences Some Hope That He Will Get Back on Track With His Life

Even though Russ didn’t automatically feel any better or less depressed about the hurt he still has about Emma, he felt comfort knowing that his manager and his co-workers wanted what’s best for him and cared about him. This gave Russ some psychological relief for the first time in a number of weeks and he actually felt some hope that he would get back on track with his life.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

written by admin \\ tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nov 02

It took quite a few years but Emily eventually made up her mind that she had enough with her husband’s unhealthy and abusive drinking. She was sick of seeing Barry come home in the early hours of the morning from drinking instead of spending quality time with her and the children. She was also weary from the third DUI Barry recently received. Moreover she was drained from generating reasons for her spouse when he couldn’t make it to work due to his problems with drinking. In a similar manner she was nervous and depressed about the fact that their relationship was in constant conflict due to Barry’s careless and abusive drinking. And finally she was weary from the unstable financial predicament into which he had put his family due to his careless and abusive drinking behavior.

When Careless and Abusive Drinking Inspires a Person to do Something Helpful About a Person’s Drinking Problem

One Friday evening when Emily was thinking about what she could do about her husband’s hazardous and careless drinking, she got to the point that she frankly had to do something helpful to cut into the destructive cycle of Barry’s abusive and unhealthy drinking behavior.

So she looked in the local yellow pages under “alcohol rehab” and discovered scores of treatment clinics that were all located less than thirty miles away from where she and Barry lived.

Due to the fact that she didn’t know much at all about these rehabilitation centers, she finally determined that she needed to call some of them and ask some relevant questions. When she called each treatment center she introduced herself and articulated that Barry, her husband, was involved in hazardous and careless drinking behavior. She also mentioned that her husband had a comprehensive health insurance program at his place of employment and that outpatient or inpatient alcohol dependency rehab would be covered if a health care practitioner in the company health network called for the treatment.

At one rehabilitation center, Emily was shocked that she was able to converse directly with a counselor who asked her to come to the rehabilitation facility to talk about her husband’s excessive and hazardous drinking behavior in more detail.

Emily Talks to a Counselor About Her Husband’s Excessive and Irresponsible Drinking

When Emily arrived at the rehab facility, she filled out some forms and then after approximately five or ten minutes got to see a healthcare practitioner.

After listening to Emily discuss her husband’s careless and abusive drinking, the healthcare practitioner in a caring but firm way explained to Emily how she probably contributed to her spouse’s unhealthy and abusive drinking through the years by making excuses for him rather than allowing him to suffer the results of his careless drinking behavior.

Emily Discovers She Has Been Enabling Her Husband’s Hazardous and Excessive Drinking

Stated in a slightly different way, the therapist told Emily that she may have been unintentionally enabling Barry’s excessive and unhealthy drinking behavior. The therapist also underlined the fact that while Emily would not be able to control her husband’s conduct, with the encouragement and support of the rehab team at the rehab clinic she would not only be able to learn how to stop contributing to Barry’s abusive and unhealthy drinking but she could also learn how to motivate him to schedule an appointment at the rehab clinic so that he could go over his excessive and abusive drinking behavior with a physician.

Fortunately after Emily explained this to Barry, and he saw that she meant business, Barry told her that he had been quite upset with his careless drinking behavior and that he was very comforted to discover that Emily wanted to do something positive about his abusive and unhealthy drinking behavior. As a result, he scheduled an appointment to see a physician at the local alcohol treatment facility.

Barry Agrees to See a Psychologist About His Irresponsible Drinking

While simply calling a treatment facility does not ensure that a person’s problem drinking behavior will stop or that one’s warning signs of alcoholism or the alcohol abuse signs one exhibits will simply fade away, scheduling an appointment is undoubtedly a vital component in the rehab process. And because Barry was serious about getting treatment for his excessive and abusive drinking, the likelihood of a successful recovery was significantly enhanced.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

written by admin \\ tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Oct 04

For the past twenty-five years Jenny has been a nurse practitioner at a rural hospital. What is more, she has also been teaching Sunday school at the local Anglican Church. Despite the fact that she lived in a medium size rural town where it seemed that every person knew everyone’s business, very little was known about Jenny. To be sure virtually everyone knew that she had worked numerous years as a nurse and that she taught Sunday school for as long as she lived in their small town. Other than that, nonetheless, it almost appeared as if Jenny didn’t exist.

You can picture the hubbub that happened when it was discovered that one Sunday morning Jenny had lost consciousness due to too much alcohol. In truth, the article in the neighborhood weekly newspaper claimed that Jenny not only passed out, but that she also was arrested for drunk driving due to the fact that her blood alcohol level was significantly higher than the legal limit for intoxication. This is obviously one of the alcohol effects on the body that no Sunday school teacher wants to have publicized by the whole community. But this is specifically what occurred, much to the regret of Jenny.

Jenny Gets Very Saddened About Her Arrest For Driving While Intoxicated

Needless to say, Jenny was very letdown about her drunk driving arrest. Not only should she have known better about driving while intoxicated because of her nursing position, but she also should have conducted herself according to a higher yardstick because of the straightforward fact that she taught Sunday school.

After her DWI arrest, Jenny contemplated whether or not she should move out of town so that she would not have to feel upset about her arrest and also so she wouldn’t have to explain her actions for the thousandth time to the people in town. After discussing things with her reverend, nevertheless, she finally determined that she would get alcohol therapy at a local drug and alcohol rehab facility. She did this for two simple reasons. First, it was relatively easy for her to drive to a local rehabilitation facility. And second, she honesty wanted the message to get circulated among all the individuals in the community that she was sincerely dealing with her excessive and hazardous drinking.

Jenny Goes Through Alcohol Detoxification and Gets an Extensive Examination

After Jenny went through alcohol detox, she was completely examined by a doctor at the drug and alcohol rehab hospital. She then underwent a couple of lab tests where it was concluded that she was not alcohol dependent but rather was engaging in hazardous and abusive drinking. In a word Jenny was engaging in long term alcohol abuse.

Jenny was provided with the option of getting alcohol treatment as an in-patient or getting alcohol treatment as an outpatient. Jenny, nonetheless, thought that she could still work as a nurse practitioner and continue with her Sunday school teaching position if she were to be registered as an out-patient and this is precisely what she did.

According to her rehabilitation game plan, Jenny went to four sessions every three weeks, she learned more than she thought was possible about alcohol info, she worked on her take home “projects,” she received counseling for her depression and other mental health issues, and she discovered how to accomplish things in life that did not have anything to do with alcohol.

After twelve weeks, Jenny concluded that her unhealthy drinking was under control and so she got discharged from the alcohol rehab hospital under the stipulation that she would return for follow up treatment once every three months for the next eight months. Jenny signed an agreement form and followed through on her “word of honor.”

Jenny Decides to Remove Herself From All Drinking Situations and Finds Out That Her Sense of Worth Grows

After she completed her counseling Jenny concluded that she would be able to drink more responsibly than before. After reflecting on things more thoroughly, nevertheless, she concluded that she would completely stay away from any and all drinking situations.

When Jenny made this decision, she found out that her self image became more enhanced the more efficiently she managed her life. And as her positive attitude about herself grew, it appeared that she became more gregarious and started going to more local events such as flower festivals, local high school football and basketball games, music festivals, Christmas tree lighting ceremonies, strawberry festivals, rib roasts, and carnivals.

Jenny Faces Her Excessive and Irresponsible Drinking, Comes to a Decision To Do Something Beneficial About It, and Reaffirms Her Faith

As time went by, the people in the town manifested more fondness for Jenny because she was involving herself with them more frequently and also because she addressed her unhealthy and excessive drinking and decided to do something productive about it. It may have been her imagination, but it also appeared that her Sunday school students displayed more admiration and respect for her.

Jenny is a living example of an individual who had a dangerous problem and who did something constructive about it. She is also an individual who discovered 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 relates to other individuals.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

written by admin \\ tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sep 21

For several years alcohol addiction exploration has demonstrated the fact that there is strong relationship between alcoholism and life-threatening health conditions and mental health issues such as depression.

For example, in 2005, scientific exploration and alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics showed that alcohol abuse and alcoholism cost the United States an estimated $220 billion on an annual basis. It can be emphasized that this gigantic alcohol-related expenditure was substantially more than the cost associated with cancer ($196 billion) or with obesity ($133 billion). While it is appropriate to stress these facts, it is also important to emphasize the point that an interrelationship exists between all three of these health issues.

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

Without a doubt, substance abuse research has revealed that alcohol dependency can amplify the risk for various kinds of cancer, particularly cancer of the voice box (larynx), esophagus, liver, rectum, colon, kidneys, and throat. Hazardous and recurring drinking can also result in immune system problems and impairment to the fetus during pregnancy.

Irresponsible and Hazardous Drinking Destabilizes the Drinker’s Organs and Systems

Additionally, if alcohol addiction continues over a period of years, the individual’s body organs will probably be affected in a negative manner. As an illustration, repeated, excessive drinking is particularly hurtful 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 reproduce. This medical condition results in a progressive inflammatory malfunction of the liver that can in due course lead to cirrhosis of the liver, a grave and potentially terminal medical problem.Abusive, long-term drinking not only can result in critical liver damage, but it can also result in damage to the heart and to the brain. Physical damage this serious may be irreversible and may, in turn, lead to serious disease or an untimely death.

The Critical Nature of Alcohol Therapy

It is imperative, consequently, to know how to recognize the various alcoholism symptoms and the “alcohol signs” so that the alcoholic can be given the opportunity to get the professional alcohol treatment he or she needs.

Alcohol Addiction and Sophisticated Brain Exploration

Fortuitously, scientific exploration is constantly generating innovative and important information. Recent alcoholism research offers a first-rate illustration. Stated another way, for approximately the last ten years, technologically advanced brain-imaging scanning devices have verified that repetitive and long-term abusive drinking changes the constitution of the brain to a significant extent, thereby resulting in brain disease that can last months, years, or perchance as long as the person lives.

Stated another way, medical exploration has shown that individuals who have been drinking abusively for a considerable length of time increase their risk for developing permanent and serious modifications in the brain.

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

Malnutrition, Hazardous Drinking, and Mental Disorders

As a final example of various health problems that are to a great extent related to alcohol addiction, take into account the fact that according to scientific research, the hazardous and repeated abuse of alcohol can lead to erosive gastritis, a health problem that reduces the absorption of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.

This type of organ failure is associated with malnutrition and to an array of critical mental and neurological problems including memory loss, sleep disturbances, and psychosis such as Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome. This latter health problem is an enduring debilitating condition that is typified by recurring learning and memory complications.

Summary

It is plain to see that continued, hazardous drinking is directly or indirectly related to many acute medical problems that can and do lead to serious diseases and premature death. Such information needs to be stressed and presented to everyone in our society so that most people will be able to abstain from abusive drinking while other individuals who have a drinking problem will get the professional rehabilitation they require.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , ,

written by admin \\ tags: , , , , , , , ,

Sep 20

How do you identify the fact that you have a problem with your drinking? When is it plain to see that you are engaging in abusive drinking?

If you have unproductively attempted to quit drinking or if you have given your word to yourself that your drinking days are behind you and then you recognized that you were drinking in an abusive way just a few days later, the probability is very good that you have drinking problems. The point to highlight is that if you have made an effort to terminate your drinking and cannot get this accomplished, then your drinking is controlling you, rather than the other way around.

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

You may be telling yourself that the rationale for your drinking is so that you can decrease your stress or get rid of the agony or depression that you feel. Likewise, you may be trying to stay away from a negative circumstance and may be looking for something more useful, more constructive, or less regretful.

As you maintain your drinking, nevertheless, you will become aware that drinking does not elicit the same high and you will also become aware that drinking doesn’t help do away with whatever triggered your misery in the first place. You may also observe that the more you drink, the more depressed you feel.

As you continue to drink in an abusive way, sadly, you may become an alcoholic and, as a consequence, you may add another pivotal difficulty to manage rather than finding more successful and healthy ways of coping with your alcohol-related issues.

An Alcohol Evaluation is Probably Warranted

If you have concluded that you have a problem with your drinking, conceivably the best thing you can do for yourself is to call your physician or healthcare practitioner and schedule an appointment for a thorough physical and for an evaluation of your drinking circumstances.

If you actually believe that you have a serious problem with your drinking, it may be a good idea to get prepared to find out that you need to get alcohol reahbilitation.

At this point in your life, what are your alternatives? You can certainly decide against seeing your doctor and carry on with your pattern of excessive drinking.

It really doesn’t take a genius, nevertheless, to understand that long-term, abusive drinking, if left untreated, will go downhill over time and quite possibly set in motion an early death. As a result, your most practical choice is to face your drinking situation and get the alcohol rehabilitation you need.

The Pretext of the Functioning Alcohol Addicted Person

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

Many of these “functional” alcohol addicted individuals may have never been arrested for a DUI and may have been lucky enough to avoid all alcohol generated legal difficulties. Despite this fortunate situation, nonetheless, these alcohol addicted people need to drink in order to deal with life on a day to day basis while maintaining their facade as they associate with the outside world.

Ask anyone who has seen them when they are out on a drunken binge or in a drunken stupor or ask a family member about the problem drinker’s alcoholism, to the contrary, and they will be quick to assert the authenticity of the drinker’s situation and the details about the alcoholic’s drinking circumstances and about his or her alcohol produced predicaments.

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

As alcohol dependency research and statistics on alcohol abuse have stressed, no matter how noticeable the alcohol-related issues seem to those who interact with the alcoholic, alcohol addicted people regularly deny that drinking is the basis of their alcohol-related problems. Not only this, but alcohol addicted individuals frequently blame their alcohol-related predicaments on other individuals or upon other circumstances that surround them rather than seeing their part in the issue.

The origin of the predicament is that alcohol dependency is a disease of the brain. Once the drinker has become dependent on alcohol, he or she normally resorts to denial, manipulation, and dishonesty as a way of dealing with the fact that his or her drinking is out of control. And to make matters worse, the experience of alcohol withdrawal symptoms commonly circumvents the alcoholic’s rare attempts to suddenly quit drinking. As gloomy as the alcohol addicted individual’s existence is, however, the good news is that professional help is generally available – if the alcohol dependent person reaches out and seeks alcoholism therapy.

Summary

Coming to grips with the fact that drinking is producing difficulties in your daily functioning is perchance the easiest way to find out if you have a drinking problem. More to the point, if your drinking is eliciting problems with your health, at work, in your relationships, with your finances, at school, or with the legal system, then you have a drinking problem that needs to be dealt with.

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

While some problem drinkers may be able to identify their “alcohol signs,” pinpoint their problems, and significantly decrease the amount and frequency of their drinking, others, conversely, need to tackle their drinking difficulties by getting quality alcohol counseling. Additionally, due to their tendency to deny the facts and distort the truth, alcohol addicted individuals absolutely need proficient alcohol rehabilitation for their hazardous drinking.

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

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

written by admin \\ tags: , , , , , , , , , ,