Ambassador for Life

It is interesting to bring up something that family members who have been harmfully affected by the alcoholism of another family member apparently do not grasp. It seems that by shielding the alcohol addicted individual with untruths and deceitfulness to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have in actual fact created a condition that makes it easier for the alcoholic to persist and press forward with his or her harmful, devastating existence.

Undeniably, rather than helping the alcohol dependent individual and themselves, these family members have in truth become enablers who have inadvertently helped worsen the alcoholic’s drinking problem even further.

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

The Probability of a Relapse is Real

According to the research literature and statistics on alcohol addiction, another key alcohol addiction issue concerns alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcohol addicted individual has effectively gone through alcohol addiction therapy and then resorts to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first glance, this predicament flies in the face of sound thinking and appears to be so unrealistic that it forces an individual to speculate why anyone who has gone through the dejection of alcohol addiction can return to drinking a short while after successful alcohol treatment and in turn after reaching sobriety. There are, of course, many reasonable reasons for this.

It should be highlighted, conversely that alcohol dependency research that has focused on the long-term effects of alcohol dependency has shown that long after the alcohol dependent individual has discontinued his or her drinking, key transformations in the way in which the alcohol dependent individual’s brain operates are still present. As a consequence, all a recovering alcoholic has to do to involve himself or herself in actions that correspond with the transformations that have taken place in the brain is to begin drinking once again.

The Need for An Important Lifestyle Transformation

There are other reasons why many recovering alcohol addicted persons return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after achieving sobriety. In accordance to the alcohol addiction research literature, to make an effective recovery, the alcohol dependent individual needs new ways of reacting and thinking in order to deal more competently with taxing alcohol-related situations that will take place.

Conditions such as returning to the same alcohol addictive atmosphere or to the same geographic location; interacting once again with friends from the time when the alcohol addicted individual was drinking irresponsibly; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these situations can bring forth memories that can trigger psychological anxiety or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol dependent person to engage in irresponsible drinking once again. Sadly, all of these situations may not only contradict long-term sobriety for the alcohol addicted person but they can also result in relapse and as a result negate one’s alcohol recovery.

The Good News: Quality Help is Readily Available

In an attempt to “protect” the family alcoholic, family members can in point of fact cause unintended destruction by enabling the negative drinking behavior of the alcohol dependent person.

The alcoholism research literature confirms the fact that most individuals who effectively complete alcohol therapy go through at least one relapse. Alcohol addicted individuals and their family members need to know this so that they do not get depressed or stressed out when a relapse takes place.

Fortunately, involvement in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up therapy and training have resulted in more productive, ongoing alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency rehab results, have helped diminish alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol addicted persons achieve ongoing alcohol recovery.

It is interesting to articulate something that family members who have been adversely affected by the alcohol dependency of another family member obviously do not understand. It appears that by protecting the alcohol dependent individual with untruths and deceit to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have actually created a circumstance that makes it easier for the alcohol dependent person to carry on and advance with his or her negative, devastating daily life.

Indeed, rather than helping the alcohol addicted person and themselves, these family members have in fact become enablers who have unintentionally helped deteriorate the alcohol dependent individual’s drinking problem even more.

Perhaps the real downside of this is that the alcohol dependent individual will continue drinking in a hazardous and abusive manner and experience different “alcohol side effects.” Some of these side effects include deteriorating relationships, employment difficulties, ill health, diminished mental functioning, serious financial problems, and legal issues (such as getting arrested for one or more DWIs).

Relapses Can and Do Transpire

According to the research findings and statistics on alcohol dependency, another key alcoholism issue has to do with alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcoholic has successfully gone through alcohol dependency treatment and then resorts to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first thought, this predicament seems contradictory to logical thinking and seems so doubtful that it forces one to speculate why anyone who has experienced the wretchedness of alcohol dependency can return to drinking a short while after effective alcohol counseling and in turn after attaining sobriety. There are, to be sure, many credible reasons for this.

It should be noted, however that alcohol dependency research that has centered on the enduring outcomes of alcoholism has revealed that long after the alcohol dependent individual has terminated his or her drinking, major changes in the way in which the alcohol dependent individual’s brain functions are still present. As a result, all a recovering alcohol addicted individual has to do to involve himself or herself in behaviors that correspond with the transformations that have come about in the brain is to engage in drinking again.

The Necessity for A Fundamental Lifestyle Modification

There are other reasons why numerous recovering alcoholics return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after reaching sobriety. According to the alcohol addiction research literature, to make a successful recovery, the alcohol dependent person needs new ways of reacting and thinking in order to deal more successfully with difficult alcohol-related situations that will take place.

Conditions such as returning to the same alcohol addictive environment or to the same geographic location; interacting once again with friends from the time when the alcohol dependent person was drinking irresponsibly; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these conditions can elicit memories that can trigger psychological stress or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol addicted person to engage in irresponsible drinking once again. Unfortunately, all of these circumstances may not only negate long-term alcohol recovery for the alcohol dependent individual but they can also result in relapse and consequently go against one’s sobriety.

The Good News: There’s a Lot of Hope for Lasting Sobriety

In an attempt to “protect” the family alcohol addicted person, family members can essentially cause unplanned damage by enabling the unsafe drinking behavior of the alcohol addicted individual.

The addiction research literature highlights the fact that most individuals who effectively complete alcohol rehabilitation experience at least one relapse. Alcohol dependent individuals and their family members need to know this so that they do not get dejected or stressed out when a relapse occurs.

Luckily, involvement in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up therapy and training have resulted in more successful, ongoing alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency rehab outcomes, have helped decrease alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol dependent persons reach enduring sobriety.

How do you identify the fact that you have a drinking problem? When is it evident that you are engaging in abusive drinking?

If you have unsuccessfully tried to discontinue your drinking or if you have given your word to yourself that your drinking days are finished and then you realized that you were drinking in an abusive manner just a few days later, the odds are especially good that you have drinking problems. The point of emphasis is that if you have attempted to stop drinking and cannot complete the task, then your drinking is controlling you, instead of the other way around.

Similarly, if it takes larger amounts of alcohol to get the same “high,” you probably need to realize that you have a problem with your drinking.

You may be telling yourself that the reason for your drinking is so that you can decrease your nervous tension or get rid of the agony that you feel. Similarly, you may be trying to steer clear of a negative situation and may be looking for something more beneficial, more favorable, or less mournful.

As you continue to drink, however, you will grasp the fact that drinking does not bring about the same high and you will also realize that drinking doesn’t help eradicate whatever led to your distress in the first place.

As you continue to drink in an excessive way, regrettably, you may become an alcoholic and, as a result, you may add another fundamental difficulty to cope with rather than discovering more productive and wholesome ways of coping with your alcohol-related issues.

When an Alcohol Assessment is Required

If you have concluded that you have a drinking problem, perchance the most expedient thing you can do for yourself is to call your medical doctor or healthcare professional and schedule an appointment for a complete physical and for an evaluation of your drinking circumstances.

If you in fact think that you have a crucial problem with your drinking, it may be a good idea to get prepared to find out that you need to get alcohol counseling.

At this point in time, what are your options? You can positively refuse to see your family doctor and persist with your pattern of irresponsible drinking.

It actually doesn’t take a mastermind, conversely, to have a handle on the fact that continuous, excessive drinking, if left untreated, will get worse over time and more likely than not bring about an early death. Consequently, your healthiest option is to confront your drinking problem and obtain the alcohol rehabilitation you require.

The Deceit of the Functioning Alcohol Dependent Individual

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

Many of these “functional” alcohol dependent individuals may have never been arrested for drunk driving and may have been fortunate enough to avoid all alcohol-related legal predicaments. Despite this fortunate circumstance, however, these alcoholics need to drink in order to operate on a day to day basis while keeping their facade as they interact 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 alcohol addiction, conversely, and they will be quick to state the validity of the drinker’s situation and the particulars about the alcohol addicted person’s drinking condition and about his or her alcohol induced problems.

Why Do Alcohol Addicted People Fail to Perceive Their Drinking Problems?

As alcoholism research and statistics on alcohol abuse have underscored, no matter how obvious the alcohol-related problems seem to those who interact with the alcohol addicted individual, alcoholic individuals regularly deny that drinking is the basis of their alcohol generated predicaments. Not only this, but alcohol addicted people characteristically blame their alcohol induced predicaments on other individuals or upon other circumstances that surround them instead of seeing their part in the difficulty.

The origin of the problem is that alcoholism is a disease of the brain. Once the problem drinker has become dependent on alcohol, he or she frequently resorts to denial, manipulation, and lying as a way of coping with the fact that his or her drinking is out of control. And to make things more difficult, the experience of alcohol withdrawal symptoms commonly circumvents the alcohol dependent individual’s rare attempts to abruptly refrain from drinking. As depressing as the alcohol dependent person’s existence is, to the contrary, the good news is that quality help is generally available – if the alcohol addicted person reaches out and seeks alcohol treatment.

Summary

Acknowledging the fact that drinking is eliciting issues in your day to day functioning is conceivably the most trouble-free way to determine if you have a problem with your drinking. Stated another way, if your drinking is eliciting difficulties 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 addressed.

If you have a problem with your drinking, moreover, this means that you are involving yourself in hazardous drinking.

While some individuals may be able to come to grips with their “alcohol signs,” pinpoint their difficulties, and significantly reduce the quantity and frequency of their drinking, others, then again, need to tackle their drinking difficulties by getting professional alcoholism therapy. What is more, due to their inclination to deny the facts and warp the truth, alcohol addicted individuals unquestionably require quality alcoholism treatment for their abusive drinking.

When I was a sophomore in high school, I took a drug abuse class. At that time period, I did not understand that alcohol abuse actually was a sub category of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse and especially about alcohol side effects, I read a lot about Alcoholic Anonymous, their meetings, how their programs have twelve steps, and how successful the Alcoholics Anonymous recovery program has been for individuals throughout the world. I also learned a lot about alcohol rehabilitation and the various alcohol rehab clinics that are usually available to people who engage in heavy drinking.

Negative Results That are Associated With Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse

Some of the negative consequences related to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class definitely frightened me. The ruined lives and frequent serious issues experienced by most alcohol dependent individuals made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. Stated briefly, I did not want to face the disaster and destruction that alcohol addicted people almost always encounter.

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

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

These issues were so important that I discussed some of them in class throughout the school year. What was entirely amazing to me was the number of students who basically didn’t care about the injurious effects of hazardous drinking that I discussed. It was almost as if they couldn’t be troubled with reality and how these effects can destroy their lives. For the first time in my life I started to understand a saying that my grandfather used to articulate throughout my youth: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.

It’s Beneficial, Enlivening, and Important to Stay Away From the Debilitating and Unhealthy End Results of Alcohol and Drug Abuse

And even at my young age, I also started to realize how beneficial, important, and energizing it is in life to keep yourself from the unhealthy and damaging end results of drug and alcohol abuse.

When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I registered for a substance abuse class. At that time period, I did not grasp the fact that alcohol abuse in truth was a sub classification of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse and particularly about alcohol side effects, I read a lot about Alcoholic Anonymous, their meetings, how their programs have twelve steps, and how successful the Alcoholics Anonymous recovery program has been for people throughout the world. I also learned quite a bit about alcohol rehab and the different alcohol rehab facilities that are commonly available to alcohol abusers.

Harmful Outcomes That are Correlated With Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse

Some of the detrimental consequences correlated with alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class definitely alarmed me. The ruined lives and numerous difficulties experienced by most alcohol dependent people made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. Stated differently, I did not want to face the wreckage and destruction that alcohol addicted people almost always encounter.

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

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

These issues were so important that I talked about some of them in class during the school year. What was totally incredible to me was the number of students who openly didn’t care about the detrimental effects of excessive drinking that I talked about. It was almost as if they couldn’t care less about reality and how these outcomes can ruin their lives. For the first time in my life I started to appreciate something that my grandfather used to tell me all through my adolesence: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.

It’s Important, Beneficial, and Enlivening to Remove Yourself From the Unhealthy and Debilitating Outcomes of Drug and Alcohol Abuse

And even at my young age, I also started to understand how liberating, beneficial, and important it is in life to remove yourself from the destructive and unhealthy effects of alcohol and drug abuse.

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

If you have hopelessly tried to stop drinking or if you promised yourself that your drinking days are finished and then you were made aware that you were drinking in an excessive way just a few days later, the probability is very 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, instead of the other way around.

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

You may be telling yourself that the rationale for your drinking is so that you can lessen your nervous tension or get rid of the distress that you feel. Similarly, you may be trying to steer clear of a harmful situation and may be looking for something more useful, more helpful, or less mournful.

As you maintain your drinking, then again, you will realize that drinking does not result in the same high and you will also grasp the fact that drinking doesn’t help remove whatever brought about your misery in the first place.

As you continue to drink in a hazardous manner, sadly, you may become addicted to alcohol and, as a result, you may add another pivotal difficulty to cope with rather than finding out about more efficient and beneficial ways of coping with your alcohol produced difficulties.

An Alcohol Assessment is Probably Required

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

If you truthfully feel 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 treatment.

At this point, what are your alternatives? You can without a doubt say no and refuse to see your health care professional and continue your pattern of out-of-control drinking.

It truly doesn’t take a rocket scientist, nevertheless, to realize that chronic, out-of-control drinking, if left untreated, will worsen over time and most likely bring about an early death. Accordingly, your most positive option is to address your drinking situation and get the alcohol counseling you need.

The Facade of the Functioning Alcohol Dependent Individual

It is almost counter intuitive to note the fact that multitudes of people who are addicted to alcohol lead busy and active lives and have jobs, vehicles, pets, families, houses, and any number of material possessions similar to non-alcoholics.

Many of these “functional” alcohol dependent people may have never been apprehended for a DWI and may have been lucky enough to avoid all alcohol generated legal issues. In spite of this fortunate circumstance, then again, these alcohol addicted individuals need to drink in order to function on a regular basis while keeping 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 alcohol addiction, then again, and they will be quick to articulate the legitimacy of the drinker’s situation and the particulars about the alcoholic’s drinking condition and about his or her alcohol produced predicaments.

Why Do Alcohol Dependent People Fail to Perceive Their Drinking Problems?

As alcoholism research and statistics on alcohol abuse have underlined, no matter how clear the alcohol induced predicaments seem to those who interact with the alcohol dependent person, alcohol addicted people often deny that drinking is the cause of their alcohol produced problems. Not only this, but alcohol addicted people frequently blame their alcohol-related difficulties on other individuals or upon other situations that surround them rather than seeing their part in the problem.

The root of the problem is that alcohol addiction is a disease of the brain. Once the individual has become alcohol dependent, he or she often resorts to denial, manipulation, and deceit as a way of dealing with the fact that his or her drinking is out of control. And to make matters more difficult, the experience of alcohol withdrawal symptoms usually circumvents the alcohol dependent individual’s rare attempts to abruptly stop drinking. As gloomy as the alcohol dependent person’s life is, nonetheless, the positive news is that competent assistance is generally available – if the alcohol addicted individual reaches out and tries to get alcohol rehab.

Summary

Coming to grips with the fact that drinking is bringing about issues in your day by day functioning is perchance the easiest way to find out if you have a problem with your drinking. Stated another way, if your drinking is producing issues with your health, at work, in your relationships, with your finances, at school, or with the law, then you have a drinking problem that needs to be dealt with.

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

While some people may be able to detect their “alcohol signs,” pinpoint their problems, and significantly diminish the quantity and frequency of their drinking, others, then again, need to manage their drinking difficulties by getting professional alcoholism treatment. What’s more, due to their inclination to deny the facts and alter the truth, alcohol addicted people definitely need competent alcohol therapy for their abusive drinking.

It is interesting to point out something that family members who have been harmfully affected by the alcohol dependency of another family member evidently do not understand. It appears that by protecting the alcohol addicted individual with falsehoods and deceitfulness to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have in reality created a situation that makes it easier for the alcohol addicted individual to persist and move forward with his or her unsafe, detrimental way of living.

Indeed, instead of helping the alcohol addicted individual and themselves, these family members have in reality become enablers who have inadvertently helped negatively affect the alcoholic’s drinking problem even more.

Perhaps the real downside of this is that the alcoholic will continue drinking in a hazardous and abusive manner and experience a range of “alcohol side effects.” Some of these side effects include employment difficulties, legal issues (such as getting arrested for one or more DWIs), ill health, deteriorating relationships, serious financial problems, and diminished mental functioning.

The Probability of a Relapse is Real

According to the research findings and statistics on alcohol addiction, another key alcohol addiction issue involves alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcoholic has effectively gone through alcohol dependency treatment and then returns to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first glance, this predicament flies in the face of common sense and sounds so unrealistic that it forces an individual to question why anyone who has experienced the dreadfulness of alcohol addiction can return to drinking a short while after successful alcohol rehabilitation and in turn after achieving sobriety. There are, of course, many likely reasons for this.

It should be mentioned, conversely that alcohol addiction research that has centered on the long standing effects of alcohol dependency has demonstrated-proven that long after the alcohol dependent individual has stopped his or her drinking, key modifications in the way in which the alcohol addicted individual’s brain functions are still present. As a result, all a recovering alcohol addicted person has to do to involve himself or herself in actions that correspond with the changes that have taken place in the brain is to start drinking again.

The Need for A Radical Lifestyle Change

There are even more reasons why quite a few recovering alcohol dependent individuals return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after reaching sobriety. According to the alcohol addiction research literature, to make a successful recovery, the alcohol dependent individual needs new ways of responding and thinking in order to deal more effectively with difficult alcohol-related circumstances that will take place.

Conditions such as returning to the same alcohol addictive environment or to the same geographic location; interacting once again with friends from the time when the alcoholic was drinking excessively; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these situations can bring forth memories that can trigger psychological tension or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol addicted person to engage in abusive drinking once again. Regrettably, all of these circumstances may not only contradict enduring sobriety for the alcohol addicted individual but they can also lead to relapse and therefore short-circuit one’s alcohol recovery.

The Good News: There’s a Lot of Hope for Lasting Sobriety

In an attempt to “protect” the family alcoholic, family members can essentially cause unintentional destruction by enabling the destructive drinking behavior of the alcohol addicted person.

The drug abuse research literature validates the fact that most individuals who successfully complete alcohol rehabilitation go through at least one relapse. Alcohol addicted individuals and their family members need to know this so that they do not get defeated or overwhelmed when a relapse occurs.

Luckily, involvement in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up treatment and training have resulted in more productive, enduring alcohol abuse and alcoholism treatment results, have helped diminish alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol dependent individuals attain enduring sobriety.

When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I registered for a substance abuse class. At that time period, I did not grasp the fact that alcohol abuse in reality was a sub division of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse and especially about alcohol side effects, I read a lot about Alcoholic Anonymous, their meetings, how their programs have twelve steps, and how successful the Alcoholics Anonymous recovery program has been for individuals all through the world. I also learned a lot about alcohol treatment and the various alcohol rehab facilities that are typically available to individuals who engage in abusive drinking.

Harmful Consequences That are Linked to Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse

Some of the dangerous effects linked to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class unquestionably alarmed me. The ruined lives and many serious issues experienced by most alcohol addicted people made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. That is, I did not want to face the wreckage and devastation that alcohol dependent individuals almost always go through.

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

What young person wants to experience alcohol withdrawals when he or she tries to quit drinking? Why would an individual engage in drinking to such an extent that it would cause difficulties in every area of his or her life? Drinking later in life after an individual has a career, a family, and develops personal responsibilities makes sense. But why would a teenager want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that centers on hazardous drinking?

These issues were so significant that I discussed some of them in class during the school year. What was totally amazing to me was the number of students who essentially didn’t care about the negative consequences of irresponsible drinking that I discussed. It was almost as if they couldn’t care less about reality and how these effects can ruin their lives. For the first time in my life I started to appreciate something that my grandfather used to say to me throughout my adolesence: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.

It’s Important, Beneficial, and Enlivening to Keep Yourself From the Unhealthy and Destructive Outcomes of Alcohol and Drug Abuse

And even at my young age, I also started to understand how important, energizing, and beneficial it is in life to stay away from the unhealthy and damaging outcomes of drug and alcohol abuse.

Jennifer is a thirty-four-year-old junior sales consultant who has been ingesting alcohol in a hazardous manner since she and her live-in boyfriend broke up. Indeed, for the past nine months she has been drinking nearly a bottle of wine every night, and on the weekends she also has been drinking more than a few wine coolers all through the day. In a word, Jennifer has been drinking so hazardously and excessively that it’s a wonder that she hasn’t suffered from alcohol poisoning.

After feeling dispirited because she was beginning to forget about the importance of her health, Jennifer at last told herself that enough is enough, that it’s time to stop the self pity routine, that it’s time to quit the hazardous and irresponsible drinking, and time to get on with her life. So the following Saturday morning at 8:00 AM, she determined that she would quit drinking cold turkey.

When She Stopped Drinking She Felt Awful, She Started to Perspire Extensively, She Vomited Several Times, Her Head Was Throbbing, She Was Extremely Moody and Nervous, and She Had Absolutely No Appetite

When Jennifer quit drinking, she reasoned that she would probably be tempted to have a few drinks, but she never inferred that she would feel so ill. More correctly, roughly three hours after she quit drinking, she had utterly no appetite, she vomited several times, her head was throbbing, she started to perspire extensively, and she was extremely stressed out and moody.

When she called her best pal and informed her that she had quit drinking and that after a few hours she suddenly began having flu-like symptoms, Cheryl, her best friend, told Jennifer to call her medical doctor and tell him what was transpiring.

She Admits to Her Physician That She Has Been Drinking Abusively, That She Just Tried to Stop Drinking, and That She is Going Through Terrible Flu-Like Symptoms

So Jennifer called her physician, told him that she has been drinking abusively for quite a few months and that when she made an effort to completely quit drinking earlier in the day, within a couple of hours she felt as if she had the most ghastly flu-like symptoms that she had ever experienced.

Her medical practitioner told her that she may be suffering from symptoms of alcohol withdrawal and that she should have a neighbor or friend drive her to the emergency room ASAP.

As soon as Jennifer got off the phone, she got a friend to drive her to the hospital. Interestingly, all the way to the hospital, as sick as Jennifer felt, the only thing she could think about was whether or not she might be an alcoholic.

Apparently her healthcare practitioner had called ahead and told the emergency room medical team to expect Jennifer because when she got to the hospital, she was met by two ER workers who immediately asked her to lie down on the portable bed they had with them. After getting wheeled to the emergency room and undergoing a couple of important tests, it was established that Jennifer was in truth suffering from alcohol withdrawal symptoms and was in need of alcohol detox.

A healthcare practitioner administered some meds to reduce the discomfort of her flu-like symptoms and also administered some drugs to help get rid of the alcohol that was still in her system.

An Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse Doctor Discusses That She is Dependent on Alcohol and Then Clearly Explains What Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms and Alcoholism Stages Are

After a couple of hours, Jennifer was transferred from the ER and transported to the recovery room. After she was in recovery for about two-and-a-half hours, Doctor Truxton, a drug and alcohol abuse specialist, came to see her. He took his time and explained that Jennifer had experienced alcohol withdrawal symptoms when she quit drinking because she had become an alcoholic.

He then explained that with continuous and heavy drinking, the individual’s brain progressively adapts to the alcohol in order to function in a “normal” way. When the drinker then abruptly stops ingesting alcohol, it can be noted, the brain responds by creating alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Not only this, but her medical practitioner also explained in a clear fashion the various alcoholism stages that an alcoholic regularly experiences as the disease gets progressively worse.

It is Determined that Jennifer is in the First Stage of Alcoholism and She Obtains a Good Projection For a Full Recovery if She Gets the Alcohol Rehabilitation She Needs

Fortunately for Jennifer, it was verified that she was in the first stage of alcoholism and, as a result, she got a favorable prognosis for a full recovery if she will get the alcohol dependency therapy she requires.

Jennifer told the healthcare practitioner that she will do whatever it takes to get sober and to get back her health. She also stated that she has an outstanding hospitalization insurance plan that will almost certainly pay for most of the costs required for rehab. It was obvious that Jennifer was extremely thankful about her positive prognosis and felt at ease knowing that she will be able to get the alcoholism rehabilitation she requires so that she can start on the path to recovery.