Archive for the ‘Alcohol Addiction’ Category

Most people who take a drink on a regular basis — a couple of glasses of wine at the end of the day or a few beers with pizza — rarely give it much thought. The American culture is saturated with advertising for alcohol and information that suggests that even a couple of glasses of alcohol a day is not necessarily a bad thing for your health. But what happens when those glasses of wine become four glasses, or six? What happens if you find yourself drinking alone, where you’re drinking purely for the effect and not for social reasons? When does alcohol use turn into alcohol abuse?

To figure out whether or not you have a problem, you might begin with a definition of alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse may be thought of as a pattern of drinking which includes one or more of these situations over the period of one year: 1) Drinking in situations considered physically dangerous, such as operating a heavy machine or while driving a car; 2) failing to fulfill major responsibilities at work, school, or home; 3) recurring legal problems related to alcohol, such as being arrested for drunk driving or for assaulting someone while drunk; and 4), continuing to drink regardless of how the effects of alcohol causes or worsens problems in an ongoing relationship.

You may wish to note that there is a difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism. Not everyone who abuses alcohol or has a drinking problem is an alcoholic — there are, in fact, various degrees of alcohol problems. Yours might be a minor problem or a major one, depending upon how badly it affects the rest of your life and the people around you. Regardless, if you do have one or more of the above signs, it suggests that you need to re-examine your relationship with alcohol.

Alcohol dependence, or alcoholism, may be defined by four specific symptoms: a strong need or urge to drink, not being able to stop drinking once you’ve begun, withdrawal symptoms once you do stop drinking (including nausea, sweating, anxiety, shakiness), and the need to drink greater amounts in order to get drunk or high. This disease is often considered chronic, and the craving for alcohol may be as strong as the need for water or food, which means an alcoholic may well sacrifice health and family to obtain what he or she needs. If you’ve been there, you know all this; you also know that after going through detox and recovery, that there is an additional thought that will come to mind — the idea that you can drink again, but this time, in moderation.

However, can you ever drink alcohol after recovery? Certainly, people do drink after recovery, but even with just a single drink, this often leads to another drink, and another, until, once again, you’re in need of detox and rehab, another revolution of a terrible cycle. It’s a sequence that can destroy jobs, marriages, relationships and threaten your life and the lives of others.

The safest course of action for alcoholics is to not drink again. It may sound simple, but anyone who has been there knows, this is easier said than done. Intellectually, it makes sense to stop drinking, but the conditions of the disease make this a complicated proposition. This is one of the reasons why there’s so much help available for people who have this problem, enabling you to seek out support groups and search for treatment programs in your local community.

The thought that tells you it’s okay to drink after recovery is one that will lead to negative consequences over time. Not drinking is a conscious choice practiced every day, at times every hour and minute. Remember, though, that there are people who care about what happens to you, often people who have been there before — even if you haven’t met them yet.

Symptoms that might be an indication that alcoholism is present are often the same symptoms that might accompany someone who is a heavy drinker. There is a difference, although it’s not at all uncommon for heavy drinkers to become alcoholics in time. It’s important to understand what the symptoms are, and perhaps even more important to understand the nature of the disease.

In full-blown alcoholism, the characteristics of the disease include a physical as well as mental reliance on the effects of alcohol to feel normal. Brain and body chemistry are different from their normal states, and the addiction is such that these states might show signs of returning to normal, although there will always remain the potential to move back into an alcoholic state with even a small amount. What makes the disease so confounding to both the drinker and their friends and families is that the mind can often convince the alcoholic that there is really nothing wrong.

Some of the most pervasive symptoms, then, have to do with how the mind of the alcoholic actually works. There is usually a persistent obsession with drinking, thinking about how and when the next drink will be available. Coupled with this is a denial that there is a problem. Drinking is common in contemporary society, the drinker will think, and there’s nothing wrong with being a participant in that society. At the same time, the thoughts of drinking will continue, and eventually most of a life will be consumed with thoughts of the activity of drinking, of the relief it might offer, as well as trying to sort out the various problems one has had due to one’s drinking.

Other behavioral symptoms might be easier to assess, but they’re usually up for all kinds of denial on the part of the potential alcoholic. They can be as obvious as taking 4-5 or more drinks every day, having conversations with friends and loved ones about their concern for one’s drinking, experiencing physical withdrawal after a night out, or having to deal with legal or personal troubles caused as a result of bouts of drinking.

Perhaps the most telling symptom, however, comes when one tries to curb their behavior. An inability to stop at one or two drinks, repeated attempts to stop or slow down, along with moments of drinking to the point of complete intoxication or even blackout, are all very telling indications. If there is a question or a concern, this in itself might be a sign, and it’s never too early to get help, but there is a too late.

The death toll for people who were killed from drunk drivers is daunting. It is estimated that someone dies every 40 minutes by a drunk driver. Think about that the next you take a drink or two and then get behind the wheel. Getting the word out, making tough laws and all the ‘stop drinking and driving campaigns’ have reduced the amount of fatalities, but not significantly. In 1983 there were over 26,000 deaths caused by drunk drivers. In 2008, the latest records compiled, over 13,000 per were killed by drunk drivers. Yes, it is a reduction, but those over 13,000 were someone’s son, daughter, wife, mother, husband, father, sister or brother. 13,000 is still too much, plus that figure doesn’t include survivors of a drunk driving accident, victims who are now having to deal with being permanently incapacitated, recover from third-degree burns, pay medical bills that are creating financial burdens and a quality of life that will never be back to normal again.

The reduction in fatalities through the years does show that all the efforts to make the public aware of the hazards drunk driving, or getting behind the wheel after a couple of drinks, is not an acceptable behavior, and has made an impact. All the ad campaigns, like ‘Friends don’t let Friends Drive Drunk’, or the new ‘Buzzed driving is Drunk Driving’ and the tougher laws, like the one in Arizona, which has the toughest in the United States, have had an effect with keeping drunk drivers off the road. But, having one person every 40 seconds killed by a drunk driver is still unacceptable.

Since public ad campaigns and stiffer laws have only reduced the amount of fatalities due to drunk drivers, it seems obvious that it’s now time to take drastic actions and it’s up to every individual to take a stance and do something about it. For example: bartenders really need to stop serving an individual after two drinks. Most bars, pubs and restaurants make there money by serving alcohol; stronger laws aimed at bartenders, bars and restaurants need to be created or in most incidences just enforced. Same goes with establishments selling alcohol, underage drinking is on the rise and so are the under age drunk drivers. Even stricter laws need to be enacted that will make it impossible for a first time drunk driver to ever get behind the wheel to drive. Individuals who don’t drink and drive, need to make it clear to their friends to also not drink and drive. These are extreme measures, but having one more person die unnecessarily, is one person to many.

Alcohol abuse affects security clearance through an adjudication process by many private companies dealing with sensitive information, also with government officials. Listed below are a few sample cases where alcohol abuse affected an applicants chances to get or keep a job at the Department of Defense. Listed first, are three cases where security clearance was denied, in the last two cases the clearance was granted.

Case: Applicant works for a defense contractor. He was arrested in 1998 and in 2007 for driving while intoxicated. He pled guilty to both charges. He did not complete the sentencing requirements ordered by the state court in the second case. Applicant did not disclose the following on his security clearance application: his job terminated in 2006 by his former employer; the three non-judicial punishments he received in the U.S. Army resulting in his administrative discharge for a pattern of misconduct in 2004: and his two arrests. Applicant did not mitigate the alcohol consumption and personal conduct security concerns. Clearance is denied.

Case: Applicant began drinking alcohol in high school. In 2002 and in 2008, he was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. He is currently serving probation. Even though abstinence from alcohol is a condition of his probation, he continues to use alcohol and denies that he has an alcohol problem. Applicant failed to mitigate security concerns arising from his alcohol consumption and criminal conduct. Clearance is denied.

Case: Applicant is 46 years old and employed as a Graphic Designer by a defense contractor. His long history of alcohol abuse and poor personal conduct, which includes three arrests and convictions for DUI; and, his use of marijuana while holding a security clearance, clearly demonstrates poor judgment, unreliability and untrustworthiness. There is insufficient evidence in mitigation. Clearance is denied.

Case: Applicant misused his former employer’s company van and was involved in an accident while drunk in 2007. He complied with all subsequent court and alcohol treatment requirements, and demonstrated rehabilitation and mitigation of resulting security concerns. Eligibility for access to classified information is granted.

Case: Applicant is 35 years old and employed as a Program Manager and Consultant for a defense contractor. His history of excessive alcohol abuse to the point of intoxication continued off and on from 2000 to 2005, and resulted in 3 alcohol related arrests and related misconduct. Since then, the Applicant has significantly reduced his drinking and has had no further encounters with law enforcement. There is sufficient evidence of rehabilitation. Clearance is granted.

The above examples of cases involving alcohol abuse demonstrates how easily one can loose their clearance, which affects pay, or how, with due-diligence, maintain their security clearance by keeping up with required treatments and a clean record.

Alcohol abuse effects, besides dealing with wide range of legal troubles, can be deadly. People who abuse alcohol could develop effects that are irreversible and will suffer from medical ills that will compound their legal woes on top of their loss of friends and family. Effects that will ruin their nervous system, gastrointestinal system, cardiovascular issues, metabolic, endocrine, skin and blood system.

For the nervous system, an alcohol abuser can suffer seizures or delirium tremens, otherwise known as the DTs, brain dementia, nerve damage and cerebellar degeneration, which is the area of the brain dealing with muscle coordination and balance; for gastrointestinaleffects, abusers of alcohol can expect to experience inflammation and irritation of the lining of the esophagus and stomach, an increased incidence of cancers of the mouth, larynx, pharynx and esophagus, liver damage like cirrhosis or alcoholic hepatitis, inflammation of the pancreas, which eventually will lead to pancreatic failure, chronic diarrhea and chronic pain.

Cardiovascular effects will be arrhythmia, cardiomyopathy, elevated fats in the bloodstream; metabolic effects from abusing alcohol will be low blood sugar and lower than normal levels of potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphate in the blood; with the endocrine system, abusers can expect a decrease in testosterone and testicular atrophy, which causes an increase in estrogen and thus the development of breast tissue in men; and finally the skin of an alcohol abuser will notice the effects of what called ‘Rosacea’ and spider angiomas, which is a collection of small blood vessels under the skin indicating liver failure from alcohol.

Some of these symptoms can be short term, while others will be long term. They can clear up in the first years of sobriety or sometimes alcohol abuse effects will never clear up. With all that could go terribly wrong concerning ones body and alcohol abuse, the most devastating effect is the possibility of losing loved ones or even killing someone while driving under the influence. Yet, most alcohol abuse effects have little or no power to make them stop drinking, even when laying in a hospital bed dying from one of the above diseases, they still want to drink more.

Alcohol and drug abuse will permeate every organ and cell of the body, the physical effects of chronic drug and alcohol abuse are complex and wide-reaching. Big doses of drugs, alcohol, or both invade the body’s fluids and interfere with every cells metabolism. Alcohol damages the liver, the gastrointestinal tract, the central nervous system and the heart. Depending on which drug is abuses, the brain and the central nervous system are greatly effected.

In recovery from drugs and alcohol abuse, before the body can begin to heal, the use of alcohol and drugs needs to be completely stopped. In order to heal the damage done by years of drug or alcohol abuse, an after-care program is a necessity and should not only involve ways to keep sober, but to keep the body functioning at its optimum levels. The recovering addict must focus on nutrition and eating right at all times. There have been recent studies showing that the correct intake of calories, nutrients and vitamins, not only helps with making the body recover and heal, but also helps with staving off craving for the abused substance; with the right diet, cravings will go away.

Drinking water, keeping the body hydrated, helps maintain a body’s temperature, helps with proper waste elimination and keeps the body emotionally balanced. The healing nature of water is a well-known fact in the medical field. During the drug and alcohol abuse, the body was kept barely hydrated, which creates a hostile environment in the body, making it virtually impossible for the body’s own healing and restorative functions to do their jobs. Once the body is properly hydrated, it can again resume with what it does best, keeping all the organs running smoothly. If damage is already done, for instance, damage to the liver, besides taking medications to stop further damage, water helps the healthy cells of the liver to continue to function properly.

An exercise routine is highly recommended in order to regain a healthy body. Start with simple exercises, like walking around the neighborhood, use stairways instead of elevators, or ride a bike to the store. Once the body’s muscles have come back on-line, it is necessary to begin a regular workout routine, 3-times a week at the minimum. A physically fit body will heal and recover faster than a sedentary body.

With the body beginning to heal, don’t push it into extremes, such as running in a marathon; the body will need time to heal, probably as much time as the abuse of drugs and alcohol lasted. But, it will heal, so be patient.

It might be a common conception that experimenting with alcohol is a normal part of growing up for everyone in this culture. With the amount of ads that come out almost daily celebrating both youth culture and alcohol consumption in the same message, and the presence of alcohol in all kinds of films and television shows, it does seem to be a part of life, and drinking at a young age is part of the picture. In that light, college binge drinking might seem to be a normal activity for normal people who are becoming accustomed to learning how to live in the world today.

Perhaps the big question here is: who decides what is normal, and how did it come to be this way? All of the studies of binge drinking among 18-24 year olds show some extremely unhealthy and often very dangerous patterns. Recent medical reports on alcoholism also suggest that those who experience intoxication at a younger age are far more likely to drink heavily throughout their lives. At the age of 18, the brain is still being formed, and alcohol can have even more serious lifelong consequences than usual.

In terms of immediate physical consequences, the statistics are not very reassuring. An estimated 1,700 students die each year from alcohol-related accidents, and most of these are the result of drunk driving. Approximately 600,000 are injured every year from accidents that are alcohol-related, and almost 700,000 are assaulted by someone who is under the influence. This includes sexual assault, and although its impossible to estimate how many students engage in unprotected sex while intoxicated, one in twenty report some form of sexual violence from a drunk partner. 30,000 students are taken to the hospital every year because of an alcohol overdose.

The studies don’t indicate that things are getting any better, although universities with strict alcohol policies do seem to have an effect on the students’ drinking behavior. But more importantly, in states where the drinking laws are more relaxed, and where it is more common for the adults to drink heavily, the universities have much higher numbers in terms of problems with alcohol consumption among its student population. With these facts, it is difficult to see how youth culture and alcohol can be presented in any positive light.

The history of addiction treatment is as long and varied as the history of human beings using substances to induce intoxication. In earlier times, the citizens who were drunk and disorderly, or made crazy by other chemicals, were often treated as outcasts, and punished with prison, physical abuse, or time in the mental ward. The asylum near the Guinness plant in Dublin is often the subject of jokes, as the detoxing drunks were treated to the smell of their favorite stout all day and night. It’s only in the contemporary era, however, that there appears to be a concentrated effort to understand and treat addiction as a disease. This is why this generation has become the inheritors, in a sense, of the disease model, and it informs much of the current understanding of what addiction is.

The idea of alcoholism and drug addiction as a disease, and not simply a maladjustment of the mind, was introduced in George Washington’s army by the Surgeon General George Rush. About a decade earlier, there was an effort on the part of Native American groups to begin mutual aid societies to help its members to refrain from drinking. These two events are intimately connected to how we think of addiction and treatment today.

Mutual aid societies eventually developed all over the nation, as the Washingtonians evolved into the Oxford Group, which eventually influenced the founders of A.A.

For most histories, the disease model wasn’t introduced until the 20th century, when Dr. Silkworth presented his findings in a letter that would be reprinted in every edition of the famous Big Book of A.A., called “Alcoholics Anonymous.” This was in 1939, and this famous organization was already beginning to make some headway into communities in Ohio and New York. This would help move treatment from a concept that formerly focused on the physical withdrawal from the toxins into a more holistic approach that took the whole person into account.

Later findings in the 1960s, along with the admission on the part of the American Medical Association that endorsed the idea that addiction was a chronic illness, would further help the cause to promote ideas of addiction treatment that are common today. There are debates as to whether a 12-step program based on spiritual principles is as effective as a treatment program where physical sobriety is emphasized with behavior modification, but it’s still a result of the same breakthrough, that the addict is someone who is suffering from a disorder, and should be treated as a sick person, not a bad person.

Sometimes the ones you love have hard times and it is time to step in as a caring person and help out. There are many things that can be done to help out a person in your life who is struggling with drugs and or alcohol.

The first step would be to educate yourself on the topic. There are plenty of books to read about the topic, however, it may be best to find some support groups filled with real people in real life. Try going to an alcohol anonymous meeting. There are many kinds of anonymous meetings designed for all kinds of groups like alcoholics, drug addicts, teen troubles and support groups for the ones who are supporting others through the rehabilitation process, like Al-Anon.

Next, take the learning to another level. Get the facts on the disease because an addicts way of thinking is not like normal reasoning. It will be important at times to understand where the addict is coming from so you don’t go insane yourself.

Keep an open and loving space filled with patience available for your troubled loved one. There are ways to love them but not enable them. Getting angry won’t work in this situation. These people do not respond to threats or intimidation and in some cases it can create more problems.

At some point, you will need to figure out where they are in on the scale of getting help. It is always easy if they are willing, but if they are in denial than you may have to find the best way to approach them. If they are in denial then you will have to make sure not to bail them out of what ever trouble they are in. At the same time, you can’t continue to support their illusions of having a fine life.

Then there will be a time when you will need to be clear on what your own boundaries are. You will have to decide how far you are willing to go with this process and when will it be to much for you to handle. Don’t take abuse just because you care. It is OK for you to set your boundaries. Which leads to another point. When you do finally communicate what your boundaries are you have to realize that they will be tested. So you need to say what you mean and stick to it if tested. This is a very important step in the process.

They will have to suffer consequences of their actions and you will have to let it happen. It may be hard to see your loved one in pain but sometimes it is necessary. When they hit the breaking point, be ready with all the information and intervention that is available.

Even though teenage binge drinking has been on the decline over the past couple of years, it is still problem. Binge drinking is when a teenager drinks way too much alcohol in a short period of time. In worse case scenarios, the teen gets alcohol poisoning. The body can only eliminate alcohol so fast from its system. When too much alcohol is introduced into the system the body can’t cope and shuts down.

There are some real consequences to binge drinking. This activity can lead to death. There are thousands of teen deaths each year because of binge drinking. Over 30 percent of teen driving accidents and deaths are due to drinking. In fact, suicides, homicides and car accidents are the three major reasons that a teenager dies. There is also a link between violent teens and drinking. The next phase of an ongoing drinking teen is an addicted adult. Thirty-five percent of alcoholic adults became that way by the time they were 19 years old.

There is a list of problems that come up with binge drinking.

1. Getting Nausea
2. Vomiting
3. Fainting
4. Hard time breathing
5. Possible Seizures
6. Possible Coma
7. Alcohol poisoning
8. Possible death

If it becomes a habit, then more problems come along.

1. Stomach ulcers
2. Liver failure
3. Heart disease
4. Brain damage

If the alcohol is mixed with any other drug, illegal or prescription, then the risk of major health problems is greater.

Binge drinking is an illegal activity so if a teen becomes toxic with alcohol poisoning, their friends hesitate to get help for fear of getting into trouble. It is important to educate teens about the dangers of drinking alcohol. They think it is OK because their parents drink. They don’t think they have a problem because they don’t drink everyday. Most teens think they are invincible and that the statistics couldn’t be about them. There are new campaigns in the public that are coming from teenagers who have had bad experiences and are sharing their torrid story with their peers. Teens need to feel like they can blow off some angst without the use of drugs or alcohol. They also need to learn what to say to other teenagers who are looking to get high. They need to be encouraged to be around other teens who have a more positive peer interaction going on. For a teenager, it is really important to make good friend choices.

Having a couple of drinks now and then is not a bad thing. The world is stressful and it feels good to just hang out with a few friends and relax with a drink. It is when one or two drinks a couple of days a week is not enough that one might be showing signs of a problem. Over a period of time one could stretch into four or five drinks on a daily basis and now the warning signs are clearer. If everyone was truthful with their doctor about what they really drink, the doctor could more easily identify a drinking problem because the blood work came back with elevated sugar to help confirm the diagnosis.

Sadly, alcohol is a really severe disorder. It is an ongoing battle between the increasing need for more alcohol and a physical and mental level with the really bad withdrawals one goes through to stop drinking. It is hard to even get someone to admit they have a problem with drinking. Heavy drinking causes real problems to the human body and if someone does not slow down or stop they could damage their liver, brain, heart and other organs. They will more than likely get some sort of disease like diabetes or liver disease. Often times it takes family and friends to speak up to get someone to hear they have a problem.

There are ten common warning signs of alcoholism:

1. Drinking alone.

2. Drinking secretly.

3. Drinking daily or frequently in order to function.

4. Making excuses and or finding excuses to drink.

5. Being incapable of getting by without a drink.

6. Getting angry when confronted about drinking.

7. Becomes violent during a drinking binge.

8. Poor eating habits.

9. Lack of personal hygiene or care of physical appearance.

10. Morning Tremors.

With statistics that show that 30 percent of people on the road today will be involved in an accident that involves a drunk driver, it’s a good idea to get the facts right. The truth is, a drunk driver is putting everyone on the road at risk, it’s never something that only affect them. True, the negative consequences of a DUI feel very personal, but taking everyone else’s safety into one’s hands by getting behind the wheel is also personal. This isn’t based on any kind of sliding scale of morality, but is based on facts that speak for themselves.

It’s estimated that over 40 percent of the fatalities on the road are related to a drunk driver, and there are thousands every year. Drunk driving incidents tend to happen more on the weekends, and the weekend accidents are statistically more severe than the ones during the week. The average blood alcohol content of a drunk driver in a fatal accident is around .16 percent. For an average sized man, this is about 8 drinks. The most common drink of choice for drunk drivers is beer. It’s not difficult to see that casual ideas about drinking are very certainly linked to drunk driving.

Holiday times are also more frequent than any other time of year, with Thanksgiving as the most dangerous holiday, and New Year’s Eve as the second. This suggests that some of the educational programs on drinking and driving have been successful in encouraging drinkers to have a designated driver, or using a form of public transportation, during New Year’s. However, Thanksgiving seems to be the holiday when people feel more at ease about watching their alcohol intake, and also suggests that having a family in the car with you doesn’t make you immune.

In any situation, it’s very important to be aware of one’s intake at all times, and to take the responsibility for one’s state of mind at the wheel very seriously. With public transportation, or a designated driver, the risks are much less, and everybody is safer.

It’s being reported by People.com that Jonathan Rhys Meyers is returning to rehab in London.  The star of Showtime’s “The Tudors” originally underwent rehab in 2007. He is seeking help for his ongoing battle with alcohol.

Rhys Meyers is an Irish-born actor who has appeared in films such as “Bend It Like Beckham” and “Velvet Goldmine.” The 33yo plays King Henry VIII in the popular cable series.