Home and Family

Sarah and Jerry have been married for four years. They wanted to experience some excitement and fun before they decided to have some kids and so they willfully developed an exceptionally dynamic social life.

The central issue, however, is that practically everything they do for excitement is related to drinking. For instance, all of the dinner engagements, parties with friends, happy hours, sporting events, and family get-togethers they frequent somehow include drinking.

Sarah and Jerry Start to Become Aware of Some Clearly Identifiable Alcohol Related Issues That are Directly Related to Their Abusive Drinking

If they were moderate or responsible drinkers, this wouldn’t be a big issue. Because they drink in a hazardous manner, nevertheless, they are beginning to observe some instantly recognizable alcohol-related difficulties in their lives.

For instance, just five days ago Jerry received a third DUI and has been shirking responsibilities at work due to alcohol-related health issues. Not only this, but Jerry’s last two performance evaluations at his place of employment have been less than commendable and he has started to fail to recall what he says or does when he drinks. Finally, Jerry has been having sleep-related problems and his family has begun to get anxious about his drinking difficulties.

In a similar way, Sarah has been feeling dejected with life and to handle these feelings, she has been drinking more regularly than any time in the past eleven months. Furthermore, Sarah has been getting more than a few headaches and suffering from dreadful hangovers due to her drinking. Finally, Sarah has been feeling appreciably less active in the morning, she has been getting to work late almost every Monday, and she has been getting some damaging criticism from her family members, friends, coworkers, and relatives about her hazardous drinking.

Sarah and Jerry Feel the Need to Get Help For Their Sexuality Difficulties and Their Affairs

And both Jerry and Sarah have been worried about how their drinking problems has lead to sexuality difficulties and affairs. Indeed, they became aware that difficulties such as these can, and do wreck relationships and marriages.

Watching the TV and Inadvertently Finding An Interesting Program About the Signs of Alcohol Dependency

One Wednesday evening while watching the television, Jerry and Sarah happened upon an exciting documentary about the signs of alcoholism.

This television program was a real realization to Jerry and Sarah because quite a few of the alcoholism signs that were highlighted seemed like they were directly related to some of the alcohol-related drinking problems Sarah and Jerry had been experiencing.

A Forthright Conversation About Drinking Situations Unearths Alcohol Related Financial, Relationship, Employment, Health, and Legal Problems

After watching the television documentary, Jerry and Sarah determined that they needed to have a truthful dialogue about their drinking circumstances. They both agreed that most, if not all, of their social activities included drinking, that they were drinking in an excessive manner, and that as a married couple, they were beginning to observe alcohol related health, legal, financial, relationship, and employment problems for the first time since they were married.

With thoughts of the television documentary still running through her mind, Sarah asked Jerry if some of the alcohol dependency signs they have been displaying could be a signal that they are alcoholic or conceivably becoming dependent on alcohol. Jerry didn’t know the answer to Sarah’s question and so he suggested that they schedule an appointment with one of the doctors at the local alcohol treatment center to find out more about the seriousness of their drinking situation.

Coming to Terms With Your Drinking Difficulties Just Might Decrease Your Nervousness and Give You A Sense of Calm

Paradoxically, even though their drinking circumstances hadn’t yet changed, it was obvious that Sarah and Jerry were at the very least focusing on their drinking problems, they were enthusiastic about finding out more about their drinking circumstances, and they were concerned about how they could appreciably cut down the severity or eliminate the drinking-related problems that had begun to deteriorate. What is more, by facing their problem drinking, Jerry and Sarah learned how to avoid marital conflict by becoming better friends and marital partners.

When Jerry and Sarah went to bed that night, they came to a decision that the next morning, Jerry would call and make an appointment for both of them at the drug and alcohol rehab clinic located downtown just outside of the business district. After they promised one another that they would do whatever it takes to surmount the alcohol-related problems that had cropped up in their lives, they in point of fact had the most revitalizing night’s sleep they could recall in the last four years.

Just before he fell asleep, Jerry turned to Sarah and remarked how painless it is to lessen one’s fear and actually experience some peace of mind by coming to terms with one’s problems straight on and making up one’s mind to do something productive about them.

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

If you have unproductively struggled to stop drinking or if you promised yourself that your drinking days are terminated and then you were made aware that you were drinking in an abusive manner just a few days later, the probability is exceptionally good that you have drinking problems. The key point is that if you have made an effort to stop drinking and cannot get this accomplished, then your drinking is controlling you, rather than the other way around.

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

You may be telling yourself that the reason for your drinking is so that you can decrease your stress or get rid of the hurt or depression that you feel. Similarly, you may be trying to stay away from an unsafe circumstance and may be looking for something more beneficial, more favorable, or less regretful.

As you continue to drink, on the other hand, you will comprehend that drinking does not bring forth the same high and you will also comprehend that drinking doesn’t help eliminate whatever led to your discomfort in the first place. You may also notice that the more frequently you drink, the more depressed you feel.

As you continue to drink in an excessive manner, regrettably, you may become an alcoholic and, as a consequence, you may add another key issue to deal with rather than finding more productive and healthy ways of coping with your alcohol induced predicament.

When an Alcohol Appraisal is Necessary

If you have decided that you have a problem with your drinking, perchance the healthiest 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 an assessment of your drinking activities.

If you actually think that you have a dangerous problem with your drinking, it might be a good idea to get prepared to find out that you need to get alcohol counseling.

At this point in your life, what are your choices? You can without a doubt say no and refuse to see your health care professional and carry on with your pattern of hazardous drinking.

It truly doesn’t take a wiz kid, on the other hand, to comprehend that chronic, abusive drinking, if left untreated, will get worse over time and more likely than not bring about an early death. Consequently, your most beneficial option is to confront your drinking problem and get the alcohol rehab you require.

The Sham of the Functioning Alcohol Addicted Individual

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

Many of these “functional” alcohol addicted individuals may have never been arrested for a DUI and may have been fortunate enough to avoid all alcohol generated legal difficulties. In spite of this fortunate circumstance, to the contrary, these alcoholics need to drink in order to function on a day to day basis while preserving their facade as they interact with the outside world.

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, then again, and they will be quick to affirm the validity of the drinker’s situation and the essentials about the alcohol addicted person’s drinking predicament and about his or her alcohol generated difficulties.

Why Do Alcohol Addicted Individuals Fail to See Their Drinking Difficulties?

As alcohol dependency research and statistics on alcohol abuse have highlighted, no matter how observable the alcohol induced predicaments seem to those who interact with the alcohol dependent individual, alcohol addicted individuals frequently deny that drinking is the cause of their alcohol induced difficulties. Not only this, but alcohol dependent people characteristically blame their alcohol induced problems on other individuals or upon other situations around them rather than seeing their part in the issue. In a similar manner, alcohol dependent people often manifest home and family issues.

The origin of the problem is that alcoholism is a disease of the brain. Once the drinker has become an alcoholic, he or she typically 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 the situation worse, the experience of alcohol withdrawal symptoms commonly counteracts the alcohol dependent individual’s rare attempts to abruptly refrain from drinking. As gloomy as the alcohol addicted individual’s life is, on the other hand, the positive news is that competent help is generally accessible – if the alcohol addicted person reaches out and tries to get alcoholism rehabilitation.

Summary

Coming to grips with the fact that drinking is leading to difficulties in your daily functioning is perhaps the most trouble-free way to determine if you have a drinking problem. In other words, if your drinking is leading to issues 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 resolved.

If you have a problem with your drinking, what is more, this means that you are involving yourself in excessive drinking.

While some problem drinkers may be able to identify their “alcohol signs,” pinpoint their difficulties, and substantially decrease the amount and frequency of their drinking, others, on the other hand, need to manage their drinking problems by getting professional alcohol treatment. Moreover, due to their propensity to deny the facts and alter the truth, alcohol addicted individuals definitely need competent alcohol rehabilitation for their abusive drinking.

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

For a number of years alcohol addiction exploration has revealed the fact that there is strong linkage between alcohol dependency and dangerous health conditions and mental health issues such as depression.

For example, in 2005, medical research and alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics revealed that alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction cost the United States an estimated $220 billion per year. Interestingly, this immense alcohol-related expense was significantly more than the cost linked with cancer ($196 billion) or with obesity ($133 billion). While it is appropriate to call attention to these facts, it is also important to point to the fact that an interrelationship exists between all three of these health issues.

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

Without a doubt, substance abuse exploration has demonstrated the fact that alcoholism can augment the risk for various forms of cancer, especially cancer of the kidneys, rectum, colon, voice box (larynx), esophagus, throat, and the liver. Heavy and recurring drinking can also lead to immune system issues and damage to the fetus during pregnancy.

Heavy and Abusive Drinking Breaks Down the Problem Drinker’s Organs and Systems

What is more, if alcohol dependency continues over a period of years, the individual’s body organs will more likely than not be affected in an unsafe manner. As an illustration, long-term, abusive drinking is particularly harmful to the liver since the liver does most of the work of processing the alcohol that has been ingested. Unwarranted amounts of alcohol kills liver cells and obliterates the ability of liver cells to reproduce. This condition results in a progressive inflammatory malfunction of the liver that can in the end lead to cirrhosis of the liver, an acute and potentially terminal disease. Abusive, long-term drinking not only can lead to serious liver damage, but it can also result in damage to the heart and to the brain. Physical damage this critical may be irreversible and may, in turn, lead to serious ill health or an untimely death.

The Critical Nature of Alcohol Rehabilitation

It is critical, then, to know how to identify the different alcoholism symptoms and the “alcohol signs” so that the alcohol dependent individual can be given the opportunity to seek the quality alcohol counseling he or she requires.

Alcohol Dependency and Technologically Advanced Brain Research

Fortuitously, medical investigation is continuously finding innovative and important information. Recent alcoholism research supplies an excellent example. More to the point, for roughly the past ten years, technologically advanced brain-imaging scanning devices have confirmed that repetitive and recurring hazardous drinking modifies the structure of the brain to a significant extent, as a consequence resulting in brain disease that can last months, years, or maybe as long as the individual exists.

More precisely, medical examination has shown that people who have been drinking excessively for an extensive length of time increase their risk for developing lasting and severe adaptations 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 diverse medical conditions that are largely related to alcohol addiction, take into account the fact that according to scientific research, the abusive and repeated abuse of alcohol can result in erosive gastritis, a health problem that lessens the absorption of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.

This kind of organ failure is linked to malnutrition and to an array of acute mental and neurological maladies including memory loss, sleep disturbances, and psychosis such as Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome. This latter health problem is an enduring incapacitating medical condition that is exemplified by repetitive memory and learning difficulties.

Abusive and Hazardous Drinking Also Results in Friendship and Relationship Issues

In addition to acute medical problems, abusive drinking also leads to relationship and friendship problems. As an illustration, people who involve themselves in heavy drinking frequently suffer from affairs, marital issues, sexuality problems, and divorce.

Conclusion: The Relevance of Education

It is evident that continued, abusive drinking is directly or indirectly linked to numerous severe medical problems that can and do lead to dangerous diseases and premature death. Such information needs to be stressed and presented to everyone in our society, especially to all students, so that a massive amount of individuals will be able to refrain from excessive drinking while other individuals who have a drinking problem will get the quality rehabilitation they require.

Let us look at this pragmatically. Yes, alcohol rehabilitation is important, but alcohol rehabilitation is something that is frequently done AFTER the fact. Education, conversely, is something that is done BEFORE the problem emerges. Stated a different way, whereas alcohol rehabilitation is “reactive,” education is “proactive.” It is stressed that both approaches are needed when discussing alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction.