A Woman Exhibits Signs Of Depression And Alcohol Abuse, Gets Motivated And Inspired About Making An Appointment To See Her Healthcare Professional About Her Hazardous And Excessive Drinking, And Establishes Sound Relationships And Friendships
Teresa was a thirty-eight-year-old office manager who realized that she had a drinking problem. As an illustration, within the past five months she has experienced the need to have several drinks before going to work, seven weeks ago she tested positive for a saliva alcohol test at work, two months ago she got stopped by the state highway patrol for a DUI, and last but not least, for almost six months she has begun to forget what she does and says when she drinks with her buddies.
Like huge numbers of other people, Teresa’s alcohol involvement started out slowly and continued at this tempo for quite a long period of time due to the fact every so often she engaged in intermittent social drinking. In fact, for nearly two years, every time she went out with her friends to drink, she made sure to drink in moderation. Something about her drinking, nonetheless, seemed to thoroughly change when she divorced her husband.
In Order To Recover From the Breakup of Her Husband In a More Pain Free Manner, Teresa Decided to Start Going Out More Repeatedly With Some of Her Pals Who Love to ”Get Down” and Drink
Teresa got very dejected about the divorce from her husband, and as a way to stop dwelling on her dismal feelings she arrived at a decision that she would start hanging around more repeatedly with some of her pals who love to party.
Quite forthrightly, Teresa figured that having fun almost every day by getting a “buzz” by drinking with her friends would help her overcome the loss of her husband more painlessly.
Teresa’s Drinking Increases Significantly the More Frequently She Goes to Happy Hours, Dinner Dates, Family Get-Togethers, Sporting Events, and Private Parties With Her Friends
It didn’t take very long, nevertheless, before her drinking escalated significantly the more habitually she went to and drank at private parties, dinner dates, family get-togethers, sporting events, and happy hours with her pals. Moreover, the fact that her drinking friends were all quite a few years younger than she was and therefore able to drink and party harder and more frequently was one of the reasons that she didn’t direct more of her attention to her increased drinking. In brief, she was having fun drinking just like everyone else in her group of buddies without much reflection about the negative consequences of her hazardous and excessive drinking.
Yet someplace in her awareness she knew that she most likely required alcohol rehabilitation but steered clear of the thought as much as humanly possible.
Teresa Gets a Physical Examination, Admits Her Hazardous and Excessive Drinking to Her Doctor, and Owns Up to the Truth About Her General State of Despair
One day during her yearly physical, her doctor asked her if she drank alcohol. Not wanting to lie to her doctor, Teresa owned up to the fact that she commonly drinks more than she should. In reality, she stated that she frequently drinks in an abusive manner. Then Teresa told her physician about her constant negativity. More specifically, she articulated that ruined relationships commonly generated a dismal progression of events typified by increased drinking which further resulted in more negative feelings that, in turn, resulted in even more drinking. And this is specifically what happened when her husband and she got divorced six months ago.
When her physician heard this, he informed Teresa that according to various alcoholism facts and statistics on alcoholism he was investigating, alcoholism and depression often take place in the same person. He then informed Teresa that some of the alcohol statistics, facts, and research investigations he has been looking into also emphasize the fact that people who drink in a hazardous and abusive manner and who also experience depression need to get treatment for both medical conditions.
Teresa’s Physician Schedules an Appointment for a Psychological Assessment and For an Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Dependency Appraisal
Teresa’s healthcare practitioner then told her the following: “I am not trying to make a snap judgment, but with your medical situation we may be facing two separate concerns. As a result, I think we need to make an appointment for you to get an alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse appraisal from my partner, Dr. Vedda, who is an alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction specialist. Whether your drinking circumstance is more linked to alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency is unclear at this time, but I believe that further evaluation is justifiable. Then I feel we probably should schedule an appointment for you to get a psychological exam from another one of my partners, Dr. Manning, who is a clinical psychologist. I want to get some more information about your melancholy and see how much your drinking and depression are related.” Teresa expressed her approval of her healthcare practitioner’s treatment approach and thanked him for his help.
In all honesty, Teresa now felt a sense of personal self esteem and happiness because she finally got inspired to do something positive about her drinking problems and her depression. Not only this, but Teresa also knew that after alcohol rehab she would be better able to develop sound relationships and friendships. Now all she had to do was to try to trim down on her drinking and get ready for her appointments.
The Relationship Between Alcoholism And Serious Health Problems And Marital Conflicts And Problems
For a number of years alcoholism exploration has revealed the fact that there is strong association between alcoholism and serious health conditions and mental health issues such as depression.
As an illustration, in 2005, scientific exploration and alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics demonstrated the fact that that alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency cost the United States an estimated $220 billion per year. It may be noted that this substantial alcohol-related expense was substantially more than the cost associated with cancer ($196 billion) or with obesity ($133 billion). While it is important to underline these facts, it is also noteworthy to point out that an interrelationship exists between all three of these health problems.
That is to say, chronic alcohol abuse and alcoholism are also highly interrelated with obesity and with cancer.
Indeed, substance abuse exploration has demonstrated the fact that alcoholism can augment the risk for different kinds of cancer, particularly cancer of the voice box (larynx), esophagus, liver, rectum, colon, kidneys, and throat. Abusive and recurring drinking can also lead to immune system problems and harm to the fetus during pregnancy.
Heavy and Abusive Drinking Destabilizes the Person’s Organs and Systems
What is more, if alcohol addiction continues over a period of years, the individual’s body organs will more likely than not be affected in a harmful manner. For instance, long-term, abusive drinking is particularly harmful to the liver due to the fact that the liver does most of the work of processing the alcohol that has been consumed. Extreme amounts of alcohol kills liver cells and obliterates the ability of liver cells to reproduce. This condition leads to a progressive inflammatory disease of the liver that can in due course lead to cirrhosis of the liver, a dangerous and possibly lethal disease. Abusive, long-term drinking not only can lead to acute liver damage, but it can also result in damage to the heart and to the brain. Physical damage this severe may be unalterable and may, in turn, lead to severe disease or premature death.
The Importance of Alcohol Counseling
It is critical, consequently, to know how to identify the different alcoholism symptoms and the “alcohol signs” so that the alcohol dependent person can be given the opportunity to seek the professional alcohol treatment he or she requires.
Alcohol Dependency and Sophisticated Brain Exploration
Fortunately, medical research is relentlessly finding innovative and significant information. Recent alcoholism research offers a high-quality example. More to the point, for approximately the last ten years, complicated brain-imaging scanning instruments have verified that continuous and long-term hazardous drinking modifies the configuration of the brain to a significant extent, as a consequence resulting in brain disease that can last months, years, or perchance as long as the individual exists.
More to the point, medical research has shown that individuals who have been drinking in a hazardous manner for an extensive length of time increase their risk for developing long lasting and severe alterations in the brain.
This type of damage may be indirectly associated with the drinker’s poor overall health or directly related to the alcohol’s effects on the brain or to severe liver disease.
Malnutrition, Abusive Drinking, and Mental Disorders
As a final illustration of assorted medical problems that are substantially associated with alcohol addiction, consider that in accordance with scientific exploration, the abusive and repeated abuse of alcohol can result in erosive gastritis, a condition that limits the absorption of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
This form of organ breakdown is correlated with malnutrition and to a variety of acute mental and neurological disorders including sleep disturbances, memory loss, and psychosis such as Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome. This latter health problem is a lasting debilitating medical condition that is epitomized by incessant memory and learning problems.
Careless Drinking Also Leads to Friendship and Relationship Issues and Conflicts
In addition to acute health issues, excessive drinking also results in relationship and friendship difficulties. As an illustration, people who involve themselves in hazardous drinking frequently suffer from affairs, divorce, sexuality problems, and marital problems.
Conclusion: The Importance of Education
It is clear that continued, hazardous drinking is directly or indirectly related to a number of critical medical conditions that can and do result in serious diseases and premature death. Such information needs to be highlighted and presented to everyone in our society, especially to all students, so that a massive amount of individuals will be able to abstain from hazardous drinking while other individuals who have a drinking problem will get the quality treatment they require.
Let us look at this with a common sense perspective. Yes, alcohol treatment is important, but alcohol rehabilitation is something that is frequently done AFTER the fact. Education, on the other hand, is something that is done BEFORE the problem becomes obvious. Stated another way, whereas alcohol rehabilitation is “reactive,” education is “proactive.” It is claimed that both approaches are needed when discussing alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse.
The Importance Of Alcohol Treatment And How Mental Health Problems And Alcoholism Often Lead To Marital, Friendship, Divorce, And Relationship Problems
Miss Benning was a health teacher at the most popular co-educational high school in the county. Even though she had been teaching for only two or three years, she had already acquired a reputation as a person with teaching methods that stimulated and inspired students to think and to learn.
As an illustration, one Wednesday morning at 9:00 she addressed the pupils in her classroom and stated the following: “For the next four or five days we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a more broad-based viewpoint and we are also going to learn about a number of the most typical signs of alcoholism from a less general and more explicit viewpoint.”
“Not all of these alcoholism signs will absolutely establish that someone with a drinking problem is a person who is addicted to alcohol, but the more signs that a drinker displays, the more likely it is that he or she is an alcohol dependent individual.”
Miss Benning then informed the the students that each person would be accountable for researching three alcoholism signs and then presenting his or her findings to the other class members via a ten minute oral presentation.
The Students are Wound Up About Giving A Detailed Presentation to Their Fellow Pupils About The Signs of Alcohol Dependency
After learning about the various signs of alcoholism for several days, the time had arrived for the oral presentations. It was at once apparent that the students were thrilled about the topic because the material that they presented was excellent. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the interest displayed by the students in her classroom regarding this subject matter was an understatement.
The day after all of the students completed their presentations, Miss Benning passed out a sheet of paper with a list of all the alcohol addiction signs that were presented and discussed in class and in the presentations. Miss Benning then asked the students in her class to go over the list and rank the top five alcohol addiction signs that were most indicative of alcoholism. After around fifteen minutes, Miss Benning collected the sheets of paper and informed the pupils in her classroom that after she tallies the results, she will discuss her findings the next school day.
There was a real buzz by the students while they were leaving Miss Benning’s classroom. One could swear that her students couldn’t wait for the next day to come so that they could find out the outcome of their in-class research.
The Pupils Contrast Their Numbers With the Findings From A Board of Chemical Dependency Authorities
When the next school day came, Miss Benning handed out a piece of paper that listed the top four alcohol addiction signs as per the pupils’ rankings. To the left of these results, she included another column that was labeled “experts’ answer.” She then informed the pupils in her class that the numbers in the additional column she added represented the conclusions that were given by a group of alcoholism experts.
Miss Benning asked the students in her class to go over the information on the sheet of paper she handed out and then to raise their hand if they had any issues, questions, or concerns. Within 40 or 50 seconds, almost everyone in the class raised her or his hand. It was evident that the students had some questions, issues, or concerns about their results versus the answers given by the experts. As an illustration, virtually every person in the classroom disagreed with the highest ranked answer given by the specialists, to be precise, “Do you feel awfully nauseous when you abstain from drinking?”
The Central Difference Between Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse is the Physical Dependency That is Experienced With Alcohol Addiction and Not With Alcohol Abuse
Miss Benning then told the students in her class why this answer was the most precise sign of alcohol dependency. She stressed the fact that the key difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism is the physical addiction that is experienced with alcoholism and not with alcohol abuse.
Fundamentally this means that when an individual who is alcohol dependent suddenly stops drinking, he or she will suffer through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Miss Benning then told her students that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the brain and by the body to the deprivation of alcohol to which they had become acclimated. Stated another way, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are messages from the brain and from the body telling an alcohol dependent individual that something is exceedingly wrong and needs to be fixed. These messages consist of several uncomfortable, painful, and dangerous withdrawal symptoms that can potentially result in a fatality if the proper therapy is not promptly undertaken.
Miss Benning then listed the multitude of alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be gone through when an individual who is addicted to alcohol suddenly quits drinking.
The fact that Miss Benning tried to underline was this: an individual who engages in alcohol abuse can experience almost any and every one of the alcohol dependency signs that the students had ranked, but the one symptom or sign that few, if any, individuals who engage in alcohol abuse ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
To explain this as plainly as possible, Miss Benning emphasized the fact that alcohol abusers, unlike alcohol addicted individuals, are not alcohol dependent and as a result, when they quit drinking, they almost never experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Students Feel They Have Found An Incongruity With the Findings From The Council of Alcohol Dependency Experts
The students also had a problem with the second ranked answer given by the substance abuse specialists, to be precise, “Have you ever had a drink the first thing in the morning to get rid of a hangover or to steady your nerves?”
Miss Benning told the students in her classroom that this sign does not necessarily indicate that the problem is alcohol addiction, but that it does underline the need that alcohol dependent people have to drink in order to keep away from alcohol withdrawals.
After Miss Benning explained the importance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the person who is addicted to alcohol, the pupils started to appreciate the major difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency.
To add a sense of closure to the topic, Miss Benning asked her students to take out a piece of paper and answer the following question: “if every person who is an alcoholic knew about every one of the alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol dependency signs we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would ask for alcohol rehabilitation?”
After approximately four or five minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ responses. While many pupils thought that about 70 to 80 percent of alcohol addicted people would obtain alcoholism rehab if they knew about the facts related to alcoholism signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, most of the students reasoned that this number would not be less than 50 percent.
The Students Were Astonished to Find Out That Only 25% of Alcohol Dependent Individuals in the United States Obtain Alcohol Addiction Treatment
To the surprise of most of the pupils, Miss Benning stated that according to different scientific studies, only 25% of the people who are addicted to alcohol in the U.S. ask for alcohol rehabilitation. This astonished most of the students because they reasoned that first-hand knowledge of the gruesome statistics and facts correlated with alcoholism would motivate most of the individuals who are alcohol dependent to get alcohol addiction treatment.
Miss Benning then stated that alcohol dependent individuals not only need alcohol everyday in order to function but they also need alcohol everyday so they can avert possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Clearly, the alcoholic’s need to drink on a daily basis is more powerful than facts or logic. Indeed, because the desire for alcohol is “reality” to the alcohol addicted person, this is a thorny issue that is hard to reverse.
The Combination of Mental Health Problems and Alcoholism Commonly Leads to Friendship, Relationship, Marital, and Divorce Problems
Finally, Miss Benning explained to the students in her class that it is relevant to comprehend that alcohol dependency and various mental health issues such as depression are highly interlinked. In addition, the occurrence of mental health issues and alcohol dependency often result in friendship, divorce, marital, and relationship problems.
The Pupils are Eager to Learn About Alcohol Addiction Symptoms and Signs in Today’s Society
A few minutes later the bell rang, meaning that the end of class had arrived. Based on the excitement displayed by the students when they were leaving the classroom, Miss Benning knew that she had encouraged and stimulated the pupils in her classroom to stop and think about a noteworthy health and social problem that exists in our country.
The Relationship Between Alcoholism And Serious Health Problems And The Need To Enhance One’s Loving Relationships And Friendships Through Alcohol Counseling
For a number of years alcoholism exploration has revealed the fact that there is strong association between alcoholism and serious health conditions and mental health issues such as depression.
As an illustration, in 2005, scientific exploration and alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics demonstrated the fact that that alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency cost the United States an estimated $220 billion per year. It may be noted that this substantial alcohol-related expense was substantially more than the cost associated with cancer ($196 billion) or with obesity ($133 billion). While it is important to underline these facts, it is also noteworthy to point out that an interrelationship exists between all three of these health problems.
That is to say, chronic alcohol abuse and alcoholism are also highly interrelated with obesity and with cancer.
Indeed, substance abuse exploration has demonstrated the fact that alcoholism can augment the risk for different kinds of cancer, particularly cancer of the voice box (larynx), esophagus, liver, rectum, colon, kidneys, and throat. Abusive and recurring drinking can also lead to immune system problems and harm to the fetus during pregnancy.
Heavy and Abusive Drinking Destabilizes the Person’s Organs and Systems
What is more, if alcohol addiction continues over a period of years, the individual’s body organs will more likely than not be affected in a harmful manner. For instance, long-term, abusive drinking is particularly harmful to the liver due to the fact that the liver does most of the work of processing the alcohol that has been consumed. Extreme amounts of alcohol kills liver cells and obliterates the ability of liver cells to reproduce. This condition leads to a progressive inflammatory disease of the liver that can in due course lead to cirrhosis of the liver, a dangerous and possibly lethal disease. Abusive, long-term drinking not only can lead to acute liver damage, but it can also result in damage to the heart and to the brain. Physical damage this severe may be unalterable and may, in turn, lead to severe disease or premature death.
The Importance of Alcohol Counseling
It is critical, consequently, to know how to identify the different alcoholism symptoms and the “alcohol signs” so that the alcohol dependent person can be given the opportunity to seek the professional alcohol treatment he or she requires.
Alcohol Dependency and Sophisticated Brain Exploration
Fortunately, medical research is relentlessly finding innovative and significant information. Recent alcoholism research offers a high-quality example. More to the point, for approximately the last ten years, complicated brain-imaging scanning instruments have verified that continuous and long-term hazardous drinking modifies the configuration of the brain to a significant extent, as a consequence resulting in brain disease that can last months, years, or perchance as long as the individual exists.
More to the point, medical research has shown that individuals who have been drinking in a hazardous manner for an extensive length of time increase their risk for developing long lasting and severe alterations in the brain.
This type of damage may be indirectly associated with the drinker’s poor overall health or directly related to the alcohol’s effects on the brain or to severe liver disease.
Malnutrition, Abusive Drinking, and Mental Disorders
As a final illustration of assorted medical problems that are substantially associated with alcohol addiction, consider that in accordance with scientific exploration, the abusive and repeated abuse of alcohol can result in erosive gastritis, a condition that limits the absorption of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
This form of organ breakdown is correlated with malnutrition and to a variety of acute mental and neurological disorders including sleep disturbances, memory loss, and psychosis such as Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome. This latter health problem is a lasting debilitating medical condition that is epitomized by incessant memory and learning problems.
Careless Drinking Also Leads to in Friendship and Relationship Issues
In addition to major health issues, hazardous and abusive drinking also results in relationship and friendship issues. As an illustration, people who involve themselves in excessive drinking often suffer from marital problems, affairs, divorce, and sexuality problems. In these situations instances it is important for the individual to get alcohol counseling so he or she can enhance his or her loving relationships and friendships.
Conclusion: The Significance of Education
It is plain to see that repetitive, excessive drinking is directly or indirectly related to a variety of dangerous medical conditions that can and do result in dangerous ailments and premature death. Such information needs to be emphasized and presented to everyone in our society, especially to all students, so that a large number of people will be able to refrain from irresponsible drinking while others who have a drinking problem will get the professional treatment they require.
Let us look at this logically. Yes, alcohol rehabilitation is significant, but alcohol rehab is something that is frequently done AFTER the fact. Education, then again, is something that is done BEFORE the problem arises. Stated a different way, whereas alcohol rehabilitation is “reactive,” education is “proactive.” It is stated that both approaches are required when discussing alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction.
A Married Couple Becomes Agitated About Their Excessive And Irresponsible Drinking And Questions Whether They Display Any Signs Of Alcoholism
Sarah and Jerry have been married for four years. They wanted to experience some fun and excitement before they made up their minds to have a family and so they willfully created a very vigorous social life.
The basic difficulty, it needs to be pointed out, is that almost everything they do socially is related to drinking. For example, all of the parties with friends, family get-togethers, happy hours, sporting events, and dinner engagements they frequent somehow include drinking.
Jerry and Sarah Start to Become Aware of Some Instantly Noticeable Alcohol Related Problems That are Associated With Their Hazardous Drinking
If they were moderate or responsible drinkers, this wouldn’t be such a big problem. Given the fact that they drink quite heavily, nonetheless, they are beginning to take note of some clear-cut alcohol-related problems in their lives.
For instance, a short time ago Jerry was placed in custody for a third DUI and has been ignoring responsibilities at work due to alcohol-related health problems. In addition, Jerry’s last two or three performance evaluations at his place of employment have been less than admirable and he has begun to fail to remember what he says or does while he drinks. Finally, Jerry has been going through sleep-related problems and his family has begun to worry about his drinking situation.
Similar to Jerry’s situation, Sarah has been feeling dejected about life and to deal with these feelings, she has been drinking more often than any time in the past nine months. Moreover, Sarah has been getting quite a few headaches and experiencing awful hangovers from drinking. Finally, Sarah has been feeling appreciably less active when she awakens, she has been getting to work late every Monday, and she has been getting some well-deserved criticism from her friends, family members, coworkers, and relatives about her abusive drinking.
Watching the TV and Inadvertently Finding A Documentary About the Signs of Alcoholism
One Monday evening while watching the television, Sarah and Jerry without any planning at all found an exciting documentary about the signs of alcoholism.
This television program was a real surprise to Jerry and Sarah because more than a few of the alcoholism signs that were highlighted looked as if they were indisputably related to more than a few of the alcohol-related drinking problems Sarah and Jerry had been going through.
An Open Dialogue About Drinking Situations Reveals Alcohol Related Health, Financial, Relationship, Employment, and Legal Problems
After watching the television special, Jerry and Sarah decided to have a forthright talk about their drinking condition. They both agreed that most, if not all, of their social activities included drinking, that they were drinking abusively, and that as a married couple, they were beginning to observe alcohol related financial, legal, employment, health, and relationship problems for the first time since they were married.
With thoughts of the TV program still etched in her mind, Sarah asked Jerry if some of the alcohol dependency signs they have been displaying could be an indication that they are alcohol dependent or possibly becoming dependent on alcohol. Jerry didn’t know the answer to Sarah’s question and so he recommended that they make an appointment with one of the doctors at the nearby alcohol abuse rehabilitation center to find out more about the gravity of their drinking situation.
Coming to Grips With Your Drinking Problems Might Reduce Your Nervousness and Give You Some Quietude
Ironically, even though their drinking situation hadn’t yet changed, it was plain to see that Sarah and Jerry were at the very least facing their drinking difficulties, they were enthusiastic about finding out more about their drinking behavior, and they were interested in finding out how they could substantially lessen or do away with the alcohol-related problems that had started to worsen.
When Sarah and Jerry went to bed that evening, they determined that the next afternoon, Jerry would call and make an appointment for both of them at the drug and alcohol treatment clinic located just East of the State Capital. After they promised one another that they would do whatever it takes to surmount the drinking problems that had become apparent in their lives, they actually had the best night’s sleep they could recollect in the last six weeks.
Just before she fell asleep, Sarah turned to Jerry and observed how easy it is to lessen one’s nervousness and actually experience a sense of calm by handling one’s problems head-on and making a decision to do something productive about them.
A Married Couple Becomes Agitated About Their Excessive And Irresponsible Drinking, Questions Whether They Display Any Signs Of Alcoholism, And Avoids A Likely Divorce Or From Post Divorce Difficulties By Becoming Better Marital Partners And Friends
Miss Benning was a health teacher at the most popular co-educational high school in the county. Even though she had been teaching for only two or three years, she had already acquired a reputation as a person with teaching methods that stimulated and inspired students to think and to learn.
As an illustration, one Wednesday morning at 9:00 she addressed the pupils in her classroom and stated the following: “For the next four or five days we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a more broad-based viewpoint and we are also going to learn about a number of the most typical signs of alcoholism from a less general and more explicit viewpoint.”
“Not all of these alcoholism signs will absolutely establish that someone with a drinking problem is a person who is addicted to alcohol, but the more signs that a drinker displays, the more likely it is that he or she is an alcohol dependent individual.”
Miss Benning then informed the the students that each person would be accountable for researching three alcoholism signs and then presenting his or her findings to the other class members via a ten minute oral presentation.
The Students are Wound Up About Giving A Detailed Presentation to Their Fellow Pupils About The Signs of Alcohol Dependency
After learning about the various signs of alcoholism for several days, the time had arrived for the oral presentations. It was at once apparent that the students were thrilled about the topic because the material that they presented was excellent. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the interest displayed by the students in her classroom regarding this subject matter was an understatement.
The day after all of the students completed their presentations, Miss Benning passed out a sheet of paper with a list of all the alcohol addiction signs that were presented and discussed in class and in the presentations. Miss Benning then asked the students in her class to go over the list and rank the top five alcohol addiction signs that were most indicative of alcoholism. After around fifteen minutes, Miss Benning collected the sheets of paper and informed the pupils in her classroom that after she tallies the results, she will discuss her findings the next school day.
There was a real buzz by the students while they were leaving Miss Benning’s classroom. One could swear that her students couldn’t wait for the next day to come so that they could find out the outcome of their in-class research.
The Pupils Contrast Their Numbers With the Findings From A Board of Chemical Dependency Authorities
When the next school day came, Miss Benning handed out a piece of paper that listed the top four alcohol addiction signs as per the pupils’ rankings. To the left of these results, she included another column that was labeled “experts’ answer.” She then informed the pupils in her class that the numbers in the additional column she added represented the conclusions that were given by a group of alcoholism experts.
Miss Benning asked the students in her class to go over the information on the sheet of paper she handed out and then to raise their hand if they had any issues, questions, or concerns. Within 40 or 50 seconds, almost everyone in the class raised her or his hand. It was evident that the students had some questions, issues, or concerns about their results versus the answers given by the experts. As an illustration, virtually every person in the classroom disagreed with the highest ranked answer given by the specialists, to be precise, “Do you feel awfully nauseous when you abstain from drinking?”
The Central Difference Between Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse is the Physical Dependency That is Experienced With Alcohol Addiction and Not With Alcohol Abuse
Miss Benning then told the students in her class why this answer was the most precise sign of alcohol dependency. She stressed the fact that the key difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism is the physical addiction that is experienced with alcoholism and not with alcohol abuse.
Fundamentally this means that when an individual who is alcohol dependent suddenly stops drinking, he or she will suffer through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Miss Benning then told her students that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the brain and by the body to the deprivation of alcohol to which they had become acclimated. Stated another way, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are messages from the brain and from the body telling an alcohol dependent individual that something is exceedingly wrong and needs to be fixed. These messages consist of several uncomfortable, painful, and dangerous withdrawal symptoms that can potentially result in a fatality if the proper therapy is not promptly undertaken.
Miss Benning then listed the multitude of alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be gone through when an individual who is addicted to alcohol suddenly quits drinking.
The fact that Miss Benning tried to underline was this: an individual who engages in alcohol abuse can experience almost any and every one of the alcohol dependency signs that the students had ranked, but the one symptom or sign that few, if any, individuals who engage in alcohol abuse ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
To explain this as plainly as possible, Miss Benning emphasized the fact that alcohol abusers, unlike alcohol addicted individuals, are not alcohol dependent and as a result, when they quit drinking, they almost never experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Students Feel They Have Found An Incongruity With the Findings From The Council of Alcohol Dependency Experts
The students also had a problem with the second ranked answer given by the substance abuse specialists, to be precise, “Have you ever had a drink the first thing in the morning to get rid of a hangover or to steady your nerves?”
Miss Benning told the students in her classroom that this sign does not necessarily indicate that the problem is alcohol addiction, but that it does underline the need that alcohol dependent people have to drink in order to keep away from alcohol withdrawals.
After Miss Benning explained the importance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the person who is addicted to alcohol, the pupils started to appreciate the major difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency.
To add a sense of closure to the topic, Miss Benning asked her students to take out a piece of paper and answer the following question: “if every person who is an alcoholic knew about every one of the alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol dependency signs we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would ask for alcohol rehabilitation?”
After approximately four or five minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ responses. While many pupils thought that about 70 to 80 percent of alcohol addicted people would obtain alcoholism rehab if they knew about the facts related to alcoholism signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms, most of the students reasoned that this number would not be less than 50 percent.
The Students Were Astonished to Find Out That Only 25% of Alcohol Dependent Individuals in the United States Obtain Alcohol Addiction Treatment
To the surprise of most of the pupils, Miss Benning stated that according to different scientific studies, only 25% of the people who are addicted to alcohol in the U.S. ask for alcohol rehabilitation. This astonished most of the students because they reasoned that first-hand knowledge of the gruesome statistics and facts correlated with alcoholism would motivate most of the individuals who are alcohol dependent to get alcohol addiction treatment.
Miss Benning then stated that alcohol dependent individuals not only need alcohol everyday in order to function but they also need alcohol everyday so they can avert possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Clearly, the alcoholic’s need to drink on a daily basis is more powerful than facts or logic. Indeed, because the desire for alcohol is “reality” to the alcohol addicted person, this is a thorny issue that is hard to reverse.
The Combination of Mental Health Problems and Alcoholism Commonly Leads to Friendship, Relationship, Marital, and Divorce Problems
Finally, Miss Benning explained to the students in her class that it is relevant to comprehend that alcohol dependency and various mental health issues such as depression are highly interlinked. In addition, the occurrence of mental health issues and alcohol dependency often result in friendship, divorce, marital, and relationship problems.
The Pupils are Eager to Learn About Alcohol Addiction Symptoms and Signs in Today’s Society
A few minutes later the bell rang, meaning that the end of class had arrived. Based on the excitement displayed by the students when they were leaving the classroom, Miss Benning knew that she had encouraged and stimulated the pupils in her classroom to stop and think about a noteworthy health and social problem that exists in our country.
A Married Couple Becomes Agitated About Their Excessive And Irresponsible Drinking, Questions Whether They Display Any Signs Of Alcoholism, And Avoids A Likely Divorce By Becoming Better Marital Partners And Friends
Sarah and Jerry have been married for four years. They wanted to experience some fun and excitement before they made up their minds to have a family and so they willfully created a very vigorous social life.
The basic difficulty, it needs to be pointed out, is that almost everything they do socially is related to drinking. For example, all of the parties with friends, family get-togethers, happy hours, sporting events, and dinner engagements they frequent somehow include drinking.
Jerry and Sarah Start to Become Aware of Some Instantly Noticeable Alcohol Related Problems That are Associated With Their Hazardous Drinking
If they were moderate or responsible drinkers, this wouldn’t be such a big problem. Given the fact that they drink quite heavily, nonetheless, they are beginning to take note of some clear-cut alcohol-related problems in their lives.
For instance, a short time ago Jerry was placed in custody for a third DUI and has been ignoring responsibilities at work due to alcohol-related health problems. In addition, Jerry’s last two or three performance evaluations at his place of employment have been less than admirable and he has begun to fail to remember what he says or does while he drinks. Finally, Jerry has been going through sleep-related problems and his family has begun to worry about his drinking situation.
Similar to Jerry’s situation, Sarah has been feeling dejected about life and to deal with these feelings, she has been drinking more often than any time in the past nine months. Moreover, Sarah has been getting quite a few headaches and experiencing awful hangovers from drinking. Finally, Sarah has been feeling appreciably less active when she awakens, she has been getting to work late every Monday, and she has been getting some well-deserved criticism from her friends, family members, coworkers, and relatives about her abusive drinking.
Watching the TV and Inadvertently Finding A Documentary About the Signs of Alcoholism
One Monday evening while watching the television, Sarah and Jerry without any planning at all found an exciting documentary about the signs of alcoholism.
This television program was a real surprise to Jerry and Sarah because more than a few of the alcoholism signs that were highlighted looked as if they were indisputably related to more than a few of the alcohol-related drinking problems Sarah and Jerry had been going through.
An Open Dialogue About Drinking Situations Reveals Alcohol Related Health, Financial, Relationship, Employment, and Legal Problems
After watching the television special, Jerry and Sarah decided to have a forthright talk about their drinking condition. They both agreed that most, if not all, of their social activities included drinking, that they were drinking abusively, and that as a married couple, they were beginning to observe alcohol related financial, legal, employment, health, and relationship problems for the first time since they were married.
With thoughts of the TV program still etched in her mind, Sarah asked Jerry if some of the alcohol dependency signs they have been displaying could be an indication that they are alcohol dependent or possibly becoming dependent on alcohol. Jerry didn’t know the answer to Sarah’s question and so he recommended that they make an appointment with one of the doctors at the nearby alcohol abuse rehabilitation center to find out more about the gravity of their drinking situation.
Coming to Grips With Your Drinking Problems Might Reduce Your Nervousness and Give You Some Quietude
Ironically, even though their drinking situation hadn’t yet changed, it was plain to see that Sarah and Jerry were at the very least facing their drinking difficulties, they were enthusiastic about finding out more about their drinking behavior, and they were interested in finding out how they could substantially lessen or do away with the alcohol-related problems that had started to worsen. Additionally, by dealing with their drinking problems, Sarah and Jerry discovered how to remove themselves from a probable divorce by becoming better friends and marital partners.
When Sarah and Jerry went to bed that night, they determined that the next day, Jerry would call and make an appointment for both of them at the alcohol treatment clinic located in the middle of town. After they promised one another that they would do whatever it takes to surmount the drinking problems that had manifested themselves in their lives, they in point of fact had the most peaceful night’s sleep they could bring to mind in the last month.
Just before she fell asleep, Sarah turned to Jerry and stated how simple it is to decrease one’s fear and in point of fact experience some tranquility by handling one’s problems head-on and choosing to do something productive about them.
The Alcohol Related Problems And Alcohol Related Deaths That Are Associated With Excessive And Heavy Drinking And The Enhanced And Fortified Loving And Marital Relationships That Are The Consequences Of Alcohol Therapy
On an annual basis, how many alcoholics fail to get the professional alcohol treatment they require? How many people die each year from a condition that is 100% preventable, such as alcohol poisoning? How many individuals are the victims of alcohol related crime or violence each and every year? How many individuals get injured or lose their lives in alcohol related traffic accidents every year? How many people face serious consequences in their lives because they received a “drunk driving” conviction? How many junior high, high school, and college students lose their lives every year due to an alcohol overdose? How many children are born each year with fetal alcohol syndrome? How many people’s lives are cut short due to hazardous and irresponsible drinking? How many individuals lose their lives every year because of drinking problems?
Why Would Anyone Want to Drink in an Irresponsible Manner?
So what’s the point in asking these questions? Basically to highlight the devastating and destructive nature of careless and hazardous drinking. Indeed, and based on the above questions, I wonder why anyone would choose to drink in an irresponsible and hazardous manner.
Stated more precisely, with the host of legal proceedings, employment difficulties, health problems, financial issues, and relationship dilemmas that are interrelated with chronic alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency, why would any person with a common sense mentality want to drink in an irresponsible manner? If truth be told when some of the above topics are examined more closely, unhealthy and excessive drinking becomes more illogical and makes even less sense.
Wouldn’t you think that alcoholics would be able to see some of the alcohol symptoms that they manifest? In a similar manner doesn’t it seem reasonable to think that many more families would involve themselves in an alcohol intervention for the individual in the household who is an alcohol abuser or an alcoholic? Not only this but wouldn’t you think that people who drink irresponsibly would try to learn more about their drinking behavior by researching various alcohol related statistics?
After reviewing the alcohol abuse and alcoholism research literature, the point is so critical that it needs to be stated again: With all of the damaging and debilitating effects that are directly or indirectly linked to repetitive and continuous alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse, why would any individual want to engage in abusive and hazardous drinking?
What Can be Done About the Widespread Nature of Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse in the U.S.?
So what can be done about the widespread nature of alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse in the U.S.?
- Our students need more meaningful and more relevant educational and preventative methods and approaches so that more students at all grade levels, including those at college, are “reached.
- With a similar line of thought, our students need to learn how to become problem solvers in life rather than gravitating to the ”quick fix” and the “instant gratification” of an alcohol or drug abuse “buzz” or “high”.
- People who are alcohol addicts or alcohol abusers need to look in the mirror and ask why they are not getting the professional alcohol rehab they require.
- Society needs to get the message to more individuals about the unhealthy and dangerous outcomes of unhealthy and abusive drinking.
There’s Room For Optimism if Those Who Engage in Excessive Drinking Can Become Motivated to Get the Alcohol Rehab They Need
There’s a lot of room for hope and optimism if individuals can start drinking in moderation and those who engage in excessive and abusive drinkingcan become encouraged to get the alcohol rehabilitation they need. Indeed, why put your loved ones through turmoil, suffering and pain because of your repeated and continuous drinking when you have the power to control your life by drinking responsibly or even stopping drinking if you can’t control your drinking behavior? From a different way of looking at things, why not enhance and fortify your loving and marital relationships that are the upshots of alcohol treatment?
A Woman Exhibits Signs Of Depression And Alcohol Abuse, Gets Motivated And Inspired About Making An Appointment To See Her Healthcare Professional About Her Hazardous And Excessive Drinking, And Starts To Strengthen Her Communication And Commitment In Her Relationships And Friendships
Teresa was a thirty-eight-year-old office manager who realized that she had a drinking problem. As an illustration, within the past five months she has experienced the need to have several drinks before going to work, seven weeks ago she tested positive for a saliva alcohol test at work, two months ago she got stopped by the state highway patrol for a DUI, and last but not least, for almost six months she has begun to forget what she does and says when she drinks with her buddies.
Like huge numbers of other people, Teresa’s alcohol involvement started out slowly and continued at this tempo for quite a long period of time due to the fact every so often she engaged in intermittent social drinking. In fact, for nearly two years, every time she went out with her friends to drink, she made sure to drink in moderation. Something about her drinking, nonetheless, seemed to thoroughly change when she divorced her husband.
In Order To Recover From the Breakup of Her Husband In a More Pain Free Manner, Teresa Decided to Start Going Out More Repeatedly With Some of Her Pals Who Love to ”Get Down” and Drink
Teresa got very dejected about the divorce from her husband, and as a way to stop dwelling on her dismal feelings she arrived at a decision that she would start hanging around more repeatedly with some of her pals who love to party.
Quite forthrightly, Teresa figured that having fun almost every day by getting a “buzz” by drinking with her friends would help her overcome the loss of her husband more painlessly.
Teresa’s Drinking Increases Significantly the More Frequently She Goes to Happy Hours, Dinner Dates, Family Get-Togethers, Sporting Events, and Private Parties With Her Friends
It didn’t take very long, nevertheless, before her drinking escalated significantly the more habitually she went to and drank at private parties, dinner dates, family get-togethers, sporting events, and happy hours with her pals. Moreover, the fact that her drinking friends were all quite a few years younger than she was and therefore able to drink and party harder and more frequently was one of the reasons that she didn’t direct more of her attention to her increased drinking. In brief, she was having fun drinking just like everyone else in her group of buddies without much reflection about the negative consequences of her hazardous and excessive drinking.
Yet someplace in her awareness she knew that she most likely required alcohol rehabilitation but steered clear of the thought as much as humanly possible.
Teresa Gets a Physical Examination, Admits Her Hazardous and Excessive Drinking to Her Doctor, and Owns Up to the Truth About Her General State of Despair
One day during her yearly physical, her doctor asked her if she drank alcohol. Not wanting to lie to her doctor, Teresa owned up to the fact that she commonly drinks more than she should. In reality, she stated that she frequently drinks in an abusive manner. Then Teresa told her physician about her constant negativity. More specifically, she articulated that ruined relationships commonly generated a dismal progression of events typified by increased drinking which further resulted in more negative feelings that, in turn, resulted in even more drinking. And this is specifically what happened when her husband and she got divorced six months ago.
When her physician heard this, he informed Teresa that according to various alcoholism facts and statistics on alcoholism he was investigating, alcoholism and depression often take place in the same person. He then informed Teresa that some of the alcohol statistics, facts, and research investigations he has been looking into also emphasize the fact that people who drink in a hazardous and abusive manner and who also experience depression need to get treatment for both medical conditions.
Teresa’s Physician Schedules an Appointment for a Psychological Assessment and For an Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Dependency Appraisal
Teresa’s healthcare practitioner then told her the following: “I am not trying to make a snap judgment, but with your medical situation we may be facing two separate concerns. As a result, I think we need to make an appointment for you to get an alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse appraisal from my partner, Dr. Vedda, who is an alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction specialist. Whether your drinking circumstance is more linked to alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency is unclear at this time, but I believe that further evaluation is justifiable. Then I feel we probably should schedule an appointment for you to get a psychological exam from another one of my partners, Dr. Manning, who is a clinical psychologist. I want to get some more information about your melancholy and see how much your drinking and depression are related.” Teresa expressed her approval of her healthcare practitioner’s treatment approach and thanked him for his help.
In all honesty, Teresa now felt a sense of personal self esteem and happiness because she finally got inspired to do something positive about her drinking problems and her depression. Not only this, but Teresa also knew that after alcohol rehab she would be better able to bolster her communication and commitment in her friendships and relationships. Now all she had to do was to try to cut back on her drinking and get ready for her appointments.
Excessive Drinking Is A Silent Killer That Can Lead To Relationship And Friendship Conflicts
The medical community defines various medical conditions and diseases as “silent killers.” Diseases like mesothelioma, obstructive sleep apnea, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and many types of cancer like colon cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, and rectal cancer are well known silent killers.
These medical diseases are called silent killers because early on in the disease there are frequently no symptoms to signify that a problem exists. Then as the medical disorder evolves, conversely, and as the symptoms start to appear, a medical disaster can take place.
Unhealthy Drinking Is a Silent Killer
I declare that excessive and hazardous drinking is also a silent killer. In fact, some people can drink for a number of years without suffering from any unhealthy and significant alcohol related problems in their lives. When alcohol abuse is repeated for a number of years, it can be highlighted, damaging alcohol effects become more evident and more complicated. Conceivably the best example about which I am stating takes place in the transition from alcohol abuse to alcohol addiction.
Plainly, a number of alcohol induced predicaments can be masked and fairly well hidden while an individual involves herself or himself in hazardous and irresponsible drinking. When the individual in fact becomes a chronic alcohol abuser or an alcohol addicted person, however, the adverse alcohol outcomes become quite identifiable and more critical. Regrettably, this info about alcoholism and alcohol abuse doesn’t appear to be discussed as much as it should be.
Areas in Life That are Negatively Affected by Repeated and Continuous Drinking Over Time
What are a few of the problem areas that are adversely affected over time by repeated alcohol abuse? When people first start to involve themselves in irresponsible and excessive drinking, they are normally unaware of what their abusive drinking is doing to their jobs, to their health, to their finances, to their mental health, and to their relationships.
As the abusive and heavy drinking continues, conversely, it regularly results in relationship, communication, marital, friendship, and commitment issues and often leads to divorce and affairs. In a similar way, many, if not most alcohol abusers eventually go through alcohol induced health issues such as sleep disturbances, alcohol poisoning, a loss of energy, and hangovers. Other alcohol related medical issues include the following: liver disease, vitamin deficiency, sexual problems, stomach ulcers, and nerve damage.
What is more, many, if not most alcohol abusers eventually experience alcohol induced financial problems. Strangely enough, while numerous heavy drinkers complain about their financial situation, they habitually make their financial circumstances more problematic by spending more of their money on alcohol.
Time Management, Stress Management, and Anger Management Difficulties
Similarly, heavy and excessive drinking regularly results in stress management, anger management, and time management problems. Additionally, many, if not most heavy drinkers, because of their excessive and hazardous drinking, in due course exhibit work problems such as showing up late for work, making mistakes on the job, poor performance evaluations, absenteeism, and alcohol related accidents.
Mental Health Issues Like Depression
In addition, heavy drinking ultimatley leads to various mental health issues such as denial, obsession, extreme mood swings, anxiety, and depression. And finally, it should come as no surprise that people who involve themselves in alcohol abuse can get a DUI virtually any night or day of the week due to their drinking behavior and driving.
The Moral of the Story
The bottom line is this: people who involve themselves in irresponsible and excessive drinking need to learn how to drink in moderation or get the alcohol detox and the alcohol therapy they need. This is important for problem drinkers so that they can either drink responsibly or begin to live an alcohol-free life and abstain from the large number of alcohol induced difficulties outlined above. Evidently, receiving exceptional alcohol abuse help will be important along these lines.
It is also relevant for people who involve themselves in excessive drinking to either figure out how to drink responsibly and in moderation or stop drinking so that they can steer clear a life of alcoholism. In conclusion, people who abuse alcohol need to abstain from abusive drinking so that they can stay away from the alcohol induced silent killers that are correlated with abusive and irresponsible drinking. Again, receiving professional alcohol abuse rehab will certainly go a long way toward achieving this goal.
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