Posts Tagged ‘alcohol abuse’
A Young Man Decides to See His Family Physician About His Alcohol Problems and His Depression
Denny is a fifteen-year-old youth who has at long last finally decided to go and see his healthcare practitioner about his careless and excessive drinking. At first, Denny thought he would be able to simply go on the world wide web, look for some basic alcohol info and make up his mind whether or not he was alcohol dependent.
Not surprisingly, he discovered more than a few websites that outlined some of the general alcoholism symptoms. That’s the encouraging news. The less positive news, unfortunately, was that Denny presented numerous of these alcoholism symptoms.
Symptoms of Alcohol Dependency: Some Examples
As an illustration, Denny has been drinking substantially more than normal and he has started to have more heated spats with the young girl he is dating. What is more, for the first time in his young life he has been encountering sleeping difficulties. Besides this, Denny frequently has felt depressed and on an escalating basis he has been displaying poor concentration while at school. In much the same way, he has felt highly stressed and more uptight on a regular basis and for the past eight or nine months he has demonstrated murky thinking while at school. Since Denny has been displaying all of these symptoms, he was excusably uneasy about his excessive drinking.
So Denny finally determined that he needed to place a phone call to his healthcare practitioner and schedule an appointment. In reality, this was difficult for Denny because his physician was also his parents’ healthcare professional. The source of his worry was this: at the risk of embarrassing his family, he had to go and expose his careless drinking behavior to his doctor.
When Denny arrived at the physician’s office, he openly notified the family healthcare practitioner about the trepidation he feels about his abusive drinking behavior. When the doctor asked what was triggering this concern, Denny declared that he had gone on the world wide web and read about alcoholism and especially about alcohol addiction symptoms. He then outlined all of the alcohol addiction symptoms that he evidently thought he manifests.
An Inclusive Physical Examination and Outpatient Alcohol Treatment
The doctor told Denny that it was smart of him to concentrate on his problem drinking, he gave Denny a complete physical examination, and suggested that he talk to his Mother and Father about enrolling in an out-patient alcohol rehab facility that was managed by Doctor Shapiro, one of his doctor associates who is a substance abuse and alcohol abuse specialist.
Furthermore, when Denny expressed the fact that he has been feeling a sense of despair more regularly, the family doctor told Denny that alcoholism and depression often come about in the same individual. Hence, the healthcare professional also recommended that Denny talk to his parents about obtaining therapy in order to deal with his sense of gloom. In fact, Denny can go to the local mental health clinic and make an appointment with Doctor Bornhorst, a renowned clinical psychologist who specializes in treating teenagers.
The Advantage of Dealing With Your Drinking Difficulties and Getting Motivated About Making Healthy and Positive Changes in Your Life
The family healthcare practitioner made it a point to notify Denny that he might not necessarily be alcohol dependent, but that he was undoubtedly drinking in an abusive manner. Stated another way, Denny was engaging in teen alcohol abuse. The healthcare practitioner then told Denny that the reason he recommended alcohol rehabilitation in the first place was because he wanted him to face his drinking difficulties, make sure that he stopped them from going from bad to worse, and start to live in a more healthy manner, even if it meant that he had to totally refrain from drinking.
Everything considered, by effectively treating his problem drinking, Denny would be able to get his drinking issues under control and stop the negative cycle of events that could doubtless lead to addiction to alcohol.
Denny certainly did not look forward to facing his Mom and Dad about his hazardous drinking and his depression. And he undoubtedly did not want to face the thought of getting registered into an alcohol rehabilitation facility. And last but not least, he was not thrilled about going to a psychologist about his excessive sadness. Notwithstanding these fears, nevertheless, Denny in point of fact felt some psychological relief for the first time in several months because at last he quit making excuses for himself and finally made up his mind that he needed to do something positive about his hazardous and abusive drinking.
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A Fretful High School Student Exhibits Quite a Few Alcohol-Related Problems, Gets Kicked Out of School, and Has to See the School Therapist
Dante was a eighteen year old high school senior who was manifesting several alcohol-related issues at school. Therefore, the principal told him that he had to see Miss Johnson, the school counselor, before he would be permitted to return to class.
Later that day when Dante went home after school, he had to go over his school expulsion with his Mom and Dad. His Mother and Father were “relatively conventional” and told Dante that getting thrown out of school was not a satisfactory educational option. They informed Dante that failing to graduate from high school would most probably be like a lead weight around his ankles that might inhibit his educational attainment for the rest of his adult life. What is more, Dante’s parents were quite troubled that he was drinking in the first place and drinking with his friends in the second.
His parents told Dante that even though he may be a teen, he has to comprehend without much delay that drinking is the road to ill health, financial problems, pain, and failure.
It was clear that his Mother and Father were on the same page as Dante’s principal and told Dante that he had better make plans to see Miss Johnson, the school therapist. After his dialogue with his Mother and Father, Dante at last agreed to see Miss Johnson the next day. So Dante phoned the school and scheduled an appointment to see Miss Johnson the next afternoon after school.
The Therapist Asks Dante if He Knows Why His Recent Alcohol-Related Behavior Caused Quite a Bit of Anxiety By the School Administrators
When Dante went to see Miss Johnson, she instantly examined all of the alcohol-related difficulties Dante had gotten into and asked him if he understood why his recent alcohol-related actions made the school administrators uneasy.
Quite honestly, Dante was unsure why the principal told him he had to see a school therapist. As he stated to Miss Johnson, why should he see a professional counselor about his drinking circumstances? Since nearly all of his pals drink the same amount that he does, for all intents and purposes, drinking is no big issue. Stated more explicitly, if just about everyone is drinking, why is this such a major issue?
Miss Johnson asked Dante when he started to drink. He said that some of his older friends introduced him to drinking hard liquor when he was twelve or thirteen years old and getting ready to enter the seventh grade.
Miss Johnson explained to Dante that while his pals may in fact drink as much as he does and that they may be a bad influence on him, the facts are that he is the one who is getting removed from school due to alcohol-related absenteeism, fighting, and delinquency, not his classmates. What is more, Miss Johnson also emphasized the fact that Dante, and not his peers, is the one who is failing and who is missing almost two days of school per week due to his alcohol related problems. Lastly, Miss Johnson stressed the fact that due to his drinking circumstances, Dante is getting into a destructive cycle of excessive drinking that can eventually destroy his life.
In a word, Dante’s involvement with teenage alcohol abuse was beginning to foil his ability to act like an accountable young man. As conveyed by Miss Johnson, “Just because most of your pals drink hard liquor, wine, wine coolers, or beer does not mean that it is the appropriate behavior for you.”
Dante Learns That Ultimately He Must Be Responsible For Himself In Order to Keep Away From Unhealthy, Damaging, Destructive, and Dangerous Consequences In the Future
Miss Johnson explained to Dante that other people can indeed influence an individual in an unhealthy manner, but that the person herself or himself has to at the end of the day claim responsibility for himself or herself in order to steer clear of destructive, unhealthy, damaging, and dangerous outcomes in the future.
Luckily, Miss Johnson was very well equipped for her scheduled meeting with Dante. She showed him research studies and reports she had underlined that outlined diverse drinking facts and statistics that targeted most people in general. Then she showed Dante a lot of information that applied especially to teens.
As an illustration, Miss Johnson underscored the difference between alcoholism and alcohol abuse and informed Dante that people who continue to drink excessively regularly become addicted to alcohol.
Miss Johnson also explained the concept of binge drinking which she defined as follows: consuming four or more drinks in one sitting for females and drinking five or more drinks in one sitting for males.
The Counselor States Numerous Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse Facts and Statistics
Then Miss Johnson articulated various alcohol facts and the following eight alcohol abuse statistics:
1. As demonstrated by the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, there are 105,000 annual alcohol-related deaths in the U.S. because of inebriated drivers and related diseases, medical conditions, or injuries.
2. Roughly twenty-five percent of all U.S. people who are admitted to general hospitals have drinking problems or are undiagnosed people who are addicted to alcohol who are being treated for the results of their irresponsible drinking.
3. Alcoholism and alcohol abuse are the third leading cause of preventable fatalities in the United States.
4. More than 7% of the population that is 18 years old and older — roughly 13.8 million Americans — has problems with drinking, including 8.1 million individuals who suffer from alcoholism.
5. 500,000 Americans who are dependent on alcohol are between the ages of 9 and 12.
6. As demonstrated by one U.S. research study of 18 to 24 year-old current drinkers who did not complete high school, nearly 60% began to drink before they were 16 years old.
7. Currently, about 14 million Americans, 1 in every 13 adults, are addicted to alcohol or are alcohol abusers.
8. As demonstrated by the research literature, non-alcoholic members of alcoholic’s families use ten times as much sick leave as families who do not display alcohol problems.
Dante Receives A Relevant Primer on the Facts About the Short Term and the Long Term Outcomes of Teenage Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
After Miss Johnson stated the aforementioned alcoholism and alcohol abuse facts and statistics, it was clear that what Miss Johnson disclosed to Dante was a real source of discovery for him. Why? Because for the first time in his young life, someone not only took the time to articulate the long term and the short term outcomes of alcoholism and alcohol abuse, but she also made the effort to support what she was saying with alcoholism and alcohol abuse statistics and facts that related to people in general, and chiefly to teenagers.
Definitely, it was almost as if a light went on and Dante immediately grasped why he should not be engaging in abusive and hazardous drinking with or without his classmates anymore. Dante thanked Miss Johnson for her concern and for the information she reviewed.
Miss Johnson then asked Dante how he felt about getting a physical examination and an alcohol evaluation for the alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency rehabilitation he would probably need.
Dante thought about this for a minute and then agreed to get an extensive physical examination and to go through a thorough appraisal of his drinking condition so that he could start an alcohol rehab program right away.
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A Young Man Decides to See His Family Physician About His Depression and His Alcohol Difficulties
Denny is a sixteen-year-old youth who has finally determined that he needs to go and see his healthcare professional about his unhealthy and abusive drinking. At first, Denny thought he would be able to basically go online, look for some essential alcohol info and come to a decision whether or not he was an alcoholic.
Not unexpectedly, he located scores of websites that itemized some of the usual alcoholism symptoms. That’s the encouraging news. The less positive news, unfortunately, was that Denny displayed numerous of these alcoholism symptoms.
Alcohol Dependency Symptoms: Some Examples
For instance, Denny has been drinking quite a bit more than customary and he has begun to have more intense arguments with his girlfriend. In addition, for the first time in his young life he has been experiencing sleeping difficulties. Likewise, Denny frequently has felt depressed and on an escalating basis he has been displaying poor concentration while at school. In addition, he has felt highly stressed and more tense on a regular basis and for the past few months he has shown signs of cloudy thinking in class. Since Denny has been manifesting all of these symptoms, he was rightly nervous about his excessive and abusive drinking.
So Denny decided to contact his family doctor and make an appointment. As a matter of fact, this was challenging for Denny because his family doctor was also his parents’ doctor. The basis for his disquiet was this: at the risk of embarrassing his family, he had to go and disclose his hazardous and careless drinking behavior to his healthcare professional.
When Denny arrived at the family physician’s office, he overtly told the healthcare professional about the trepidation he has about his excessive drinking behavior. When the family doctor asked what was bringing about this anxiety, Denny stated that he had gone on the Internet and read about alcoholism and especially about alcoholism symptoms. He then articulated all of the alcohol addiction symptoms that he plainly thought he has.
An Exhaustive Physical Exam and Outpatient Alcohol Rehabilitation
The family healthcare practitioner informed Denny that it was wise of him to deal with his drinking difficulties, he gave Denny a complete physical examination, and suggested that he talk to his parents about enrolling in an out-patient alcohol rehab center that was managed by Doctor Gordon, one of his doctor co-workers who is a substance abuse and chemical dependency specialist.
Moreover, when Denny expressed the fact that he has been feeling a sense of gloom to an increasing degree, the healthcare professional informed Denny that depression and alcoholism routinely come about in the same individual. Hence, the family doctor also recommended that Denny talk to his Mother and Father about seeking therapy to concentrate on his depression. In fact, Denny can go to the local mental health clinic and make an appointment with Doctor Warner, a distinguished psychologist who specializes in treating youth.
The Significance of Dealing With Your Drinking Problems and Getting Encouraged About Making Positive and Healthy Changes in Your Life
The family healthcare practitioner made it a point to inform Denny that he might not necessarily be dependent on alcohol, but that he was clearly drinking in a hazardous manner. Stated another way, Denny was engaging in teen alcohol abuse. The doctor then notified Denny that the reason he recommended alcohol treatment in the first place was because he wanted him to confront his drinking issues, make sure that he prevented them from going from bad to worse, and start to live in a more healthy manner, even if it meant that he had to fully stop drinking.
In brief, by successfully treating his drinking difficulties, Denny would be able to get his problem drinking under control and stop the negative cycle of events that could most likely lead to addiction to alcohol.
Denny undeniably did not look forward to facing his parents about his depression and his hazardous drinking. And he undoubtedly did not want to face the thought of getting registered into an alcohol rehab program. And as a final point, he was not thrilled about going to a clinical psychologist about his sense of gloom. Irrespective of these anxieties, then again, Denny in reality experienced some emotional relief for the first time in many months because in the end he gave up making excuses for himself and finally made up his mind that he needed to do something positive about his abusive drinking.
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The Key Components in A Fruitful Alcohol Abuse Intervention
What are the necessary issues in a productive alcohol intervention? Why do some alcohol abuse interventions succeed as expected while more than a few fail?
The Requirement for An Established History of Intervention Success
Scientific examination demonstrates that an effective alcohol addiction intervention needs to be managed by an intervention specialist who has a distinguished record of intervention accomplishment.
In essence this means that instead of choosing an “average” alcohol abuse healthcare practitioner or psychologist for an alcoholism intervention, the individual who is selected to carry out the intervention needs to be educated in drug abuse intervention procedures and needs to display a history of successful alcohol interventions.
A Few Fundamental Examples of The Best Time For an Alcohol Abuse Intervention
Scientific study and alcoholism facts about interventions has also displayed that the most favorable time for an alcoholism intervention is following a meaningful event in the life of the alcohol addicted individual or hazardous drinker. The following represents a few illustrations of these types of important happenings:
- The alcohol-dependent person or alcohol abuser has been caught stealing something of value.
- The abusive drinker or alcohol-dependent person has been caught lying about something of consequence.
- The alcoholic or abusive drinker has been imprisoned for driving under the influence.
In situations like these, the alcoholic or alcohol abuser is more apt to be repentant or to feel guilty, thusly making him or her more interested in getting the professional alcohol therapy that is needed.
At this juncture, moreover, it is also essential to mention that the abusive drinker or alcohol dependent individual needs to be alcohol-free during the alcohol abuse intervention. In a nutshell, if the abusive drinker or alcohol addicted individual is drunk during an alcohol intervention, failure is almost certain.
In much the same way, scientific analysis has also revealed the fact that the abusive drinker or alcohol addicted individual has to at least try to listen to what is said in an alcohol dependency intervention. Stated more accurately, during an alcohol abuse intervention, the hazardous drinker or alcohol addicted person needs to listen to what his or her drinking behavior has done to those who care for him or her the most.
The Need for Alcohol Rehab For the Abusive Drinker
And finally, scientific study shows that the key reason for an alcohol dependency intervention in the first place is to encourage the alcohol abuser or alcohol dependent individual to get the professional alcoholism rehab that is required. In other words, even if the individual who monitors the intervention has a magnificent record of fruitful interventions and even if the alcohol abuser or alcohol-dependent person genuinely listens to every single word that is spoken throughout an intervention, if the alcohol abuser or alcohol-dependent person is not encouraged to request professional alcohol rehab after the alcohol abuse intervention, then the intervention will be a debacle.
It is clear to see that all of these factors are needed for an effective alcohol abuse intervention. If, conversely, the alcohol abuser or alcoholic is not inspired to seek alcohol abuse therapy after listening to his or her family members articulate the grief, irritation, and frustration they feel about the hazardous drinker’s or alcohol addicted person’s hazardous drinking behavior and the care they feel for the problem drinker, then everything else that is part of an alcohol addiction intervention will essentially be inconsequential.
Even Productive Alcohol Abuse Interventions Can Flop In the Long Term
It also needs to be accentuated that in the face of the fact that the alcohol intervention can be viewed as productive in that it helped put the abusive drinker or alcohol addicted individual in a more “open” attitude and openly helped the alcohol dependent individual or abusive drinker make a decision that he or she required alcohol counseling or quality help for alcoholism or alcohol abuse, the mere reality that the intervention took place might lead to bitterness, anger, and uncertainty in the future.
To sum up, even when alcohol interventions are seen as productive in the short term, in the long term, alternatively, they may backfire and, therefore, might make the family and/or the alcohol addicted individual’s circumstance even worse than it was before the alcohol intervention occurred.
No matter how unwarranted or odd this seems, try to keep in mind that it is simply one of the key alcohol facts that has to be tackled when engaging in an alcohol intervention.
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A Woman Exhibits Signs of Alcohol Addiction and Depression and Makes an Appointment to See Her Doctor About Her Abusive Drinking
Teresa was a thirty-one-year-old financial planner who realized that she had a problem with her drinking. As an illustration, within the past five months she has experienced the need to have two or three drinks before going to work, four months ago she failed to pass a random blood alcohol test where she is employed, six weeks ago she got arrested for “driving under the influence”, and last but not least, for the past four months she has begun to fail to remember what she says and does when she drinks.
Similar to huge numbers of other individuals, Teresa’s experiences with alcohol began gradually and remained at this level for quite some time due to the fact every now and again she engaged in intermittent social drinking. In point of fact, for approximately two years, every time she went out to drink, she made sure to drink moderately. Something about her drinking situation, nevertheless, seemed to completely change when she got divorced.
So She Can Get Beyond the Breakup of Her Husband With Less Grief, Teresa Came to a Decision That She Will Begin Hanging Out More Regularly With Some of Her Friends Who Love to Drink and Have Fun
Teresa got dreadfully “down” about the loss of her husband, and as a way to refrain from dwelling on her discouraging feelings she decided to begin associating more often with some of her pals who love to ”get down” and drink.
Quite sincerely, Teresa reasoned that having fun almost every day by drinking with her friends would help her get over the loss of her husband with less grief.
Teresa’s Drinking Escalates Considerably the More Routinely She Goes to Private Parties, Sporting Events, Family Get-Togethers, Dinner Dates, and Happy Hours With Her Pals
It didn’t take very long, nonetheless, before her drinking escalated to a significant extent the more routinely she went to and drank at private parties, happy hours, family get-togethers, dinner dates, and sporting events with her pals. Moreover, the fact that her drinking friends were all quite a few years younger than she was and therefore able to party and drink more carelessly was one of the reasons why she didn’t concentrate more on her increased drinking. To be brief, she was having a ton of fun drinking just like everybody else in her group of pals without much reflection about the effects of her abusive and hazardous drinking.
Yet somewhere in the recesses of her mind she realized that she probably required alcohol rehabilitation but avoided the thought as much as she could.
Teresa Gets a Physical Examination, Acknowledges Her Hazardous Drinking to Her Healthcare Professional, and Discloses the Truth About Her General State of Gloom
One day during her yearly physical examination, her healthcare practitioner asked her if she drank alcohol. Not wanting to lie to her doctor, Teresa ”came clean” and stated that she commonly drinks more than she should. If truth be told, she articulated that she frequently drinks in a hazardous and abusive manner. Then Teresa informed her physician about her melancholy. More plainly, she mentioned that broken relationships often started a negative progression of events characterized by increased drinking which further led to more disheartening feelings that, in turn, resulted in more drinking. And this is exactly what happened when her husband and she got divorced ten months ago.
When her healthcare practitioner heard this, he informed Teresa that according to various alcoholism facts and statistics on alcoholism he was examining, alcoholism and depression frequently happen in the same person. He then informed Teresa that some of the alcohol statistics, facts, and research investigations he has been looking into also point out that individuals who drink in an irresponsible and excessive manner and who also experience depression need to get treatment for both medical circumstances.
Teresa’s Healthcare Professional Schedules an Appointment for a Psychological Assessment and For an Alcohol Addiction and Alcohol Abuse Appraisal
Teresa’s healthcare professional then articulated the following: “I am not trying to make an overly quick judgment, but with your medical circumstances we may be working with two separate concerns. As a result, I think we need to schedule an appointment for you to get an alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse appraisal from my partner, Dr. Franks, who is an alcohol abuse and substance abuse specialist. Whether your drinking problem is more associated with alcoholism or alcohol abuse is unknown, but I feel that further assessment is required. Then I think we need to schedule an appointment for you to get a psychological assessment from another one of my partners, Dr. Britton, who is a counseling psychologist. I want to get a better read on your sadness and see how much your depression and drinking are interrelated.” Teresa showed her satisfaction with her healthcare practitioner’s treatment strategy and thanked him for his time and assistance. Now all she had to do was to try to decrease her drinking and get ready for her appointments.
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A Monday Night Out With Buddies From School at a Local Pub Leads To Abusive and Excessive Drinking and Symptoms of an Alcohol Overdose
When Janice was in high school, she had acquired a reputation as an individual who hit the books real hard and who rarely, if ever, let her hair down by drinking with her friends. She seemed nearly obsessed about “shining” academically so that she would be able to secure a career that she not only enjoyed but one that also gave her some monetary security.
After much reflection, eventually she decided that she wanted to be an attorney. In order to bring this about, nevertheless, she would first have to get four years of undergraduate education.
After Completing High School Janice Gets Accepted Into A Greatly Admired Undergrad University as a Springboard For a Career as an Attorney
After Janice graduated from high school, she applied to and was accepted into a prominent program in sociology. Her analysis of her options regarding this decision was based on the fact that this academic discipline would be a good foundation for law school and wouldn’t be identical to the majority of law school applicants who select political science as their undergraduate major.
After graduating with high honors at the undergrad level, she applied to and was accepted at a leading law school at one of the Ivy League universities.
She enjoyed her legal studies but every so often she was inundated with all the work that had to be done at law school. Not unlike her high school and undergraduate days, nevertheless, she made pals quite easily but scarcely participated in social events until the quarter had been concluded.
After Being Pleased That She Had Done Very Well on Her Exams, Janice Wanted to Let Her Hair Down and Have Some Fun
Janice was the kind of person who worked attentively to finish what she started and then would take a breather when she could. As is the case, nonetheless, the vast majority of the things she did between school sessions or during her summer vacations did not involve drinking. Obviously, Janice was anything but a party-girl. Now that her final examinations for her second year in law school were done and being delighted with the fact that she had done extremely well on her tests, because of this, she wanted to let her hair down and do something besides going to college for a change.
Drinking at a Local Pub Leads to An Alcohol Overdose, Calling 911, The Emergency Services Number, and a Trip to A Drug and Alcohol Rehab Hospital
So Janice and several of her friends from college went to a local tavern where they had a few mixed drinks. As the hours went by, Janice persisted in drinking without having any concerns about research projects or examinations the following day. If truth be told, Janice mentioned to her friends how delighted she was to whoop it up and drink with her law school buddies.
As the evening went by, Janice and her buddies continued to drink. As a matter of fact, she was having such a wonderful time that she didn’t want the night to come to an end. It was almost like she was making up for lost time and attempting to cram a year’s worth of fun and enjoyment into a single evening. Such a “game plan,” in most situations, does not work. Indeed, when Janice went to the powder room and threw up, her buddies started to feel apprehensive about her health.
Around twenty minutes later when Janice started to speak in a confused manner, slur her words, and then become unconscious, however, her friends immediately knew that they needed to call the emergency number and ask for emergency assistance because they suspected that Janice was manifesting alcohol poisoning symptoms.
Once Janice was in the hospital, the head doctor substantiated what her buddies had hypothesized, namely, that Janice ingested significantly more alcohol than her body could handle and, consequently, she experienced an alcohol overdose.
After the emergency room treatment team pumped her stomach until no gastric contents were evident, Janice was wheeled to the recovery room. After staying almost five hours in recovery, Janice was then transferred to one of the regular hospital rooms. Fortunately, the most serious part of her hospitalization was over and all of her vital signs were normal once again.
In response to Janice’s state of affairs, her classmates attentively phoned her Mom and Dad. As a consequence, early the next day, her Mother and Father and her best buddies went to the hospital to visit Janice.
Janice Narrowly Escapes Death, is Grateful to be Alive, and Promises to Never Again Drink in a Hazardous Manner
Janice was attentive to the fact that she came close to losing her life and, as a consequence, was grateful to be alive. Her parents realized how hard she worked at school and how little she permitted herself to socialize with her classmates. Nevertheless, they also knew that Janice needed to steer clear of hazardous drinking.
As a consequence, they recommended that in the future, whenever a drinking circumstance arises, that she always drink in moderation and responsibly. Janice was of the same opinion and promised her friends and her parents that she would never again drink in an excessive and hazardous manner. As stated by Janice, “I never had a clue that I would become one of the alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics in the local city newspaper. I now know that excessive drinking is not for me. I guarantee that this will never happen again.”
Fortunately, Janice was not only “school smart” but she also displayed a lot of common sense. Stated differently, she instantaneously grasped the fact that she had made a mistake and decided that she would never make the same mistake again. In fact, she now understood that she had involved herself in “binge drinking” and that even one instance of this type of hazardous drinking can end in a fatality.
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What I Learned About Substance Abuse in High School
When I was in the tenth grade in high school, I took a substance abuse class. At that age, I did not realize that alcohol abuse in reality 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 individuals throughout the world. I also learned quite a bit about alcohol treatment and the diverse alcohol rehab clinics that are normally available to individuals who engage in abusive drinking.
Harmful Effects That are Correlated With Alcohol Addiction and Alcohol Abuse
Some of the dangerous consequences linked to alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class without a doubt startled me. The ruined lives and countless serious issues experienced by most alcohol dependent 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 damage and ruination that alcohol dependent people almost always experience.
Let this sink in for a moment. What fifteen-year-old teenager 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 drinking alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What adolescent 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 youth 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 problems in every area of his or her life? Drinking later in life after a person has a career, a family, and develops personal responsibilities makes sense. But why would a young person want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that centers on hazardous drinking?
These issues were so meaningful that I talked about some of them in class during the school year. What was completely unbelievable to me was the number of students who simply didn’t care about the detrimental consequences of irresponsible drinking that I discussed. It was almost as if they couldn’t be troubled with the truth and how these outcomes can destroy their lives. For the first time in my life I started to comprehend something that my grandfather used to articulate throughout my youth: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.
It’s Important, Energizing, and Beneficial to Keep Yourself From the Unhealthy and Debilitating Outcomes of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
And even at my young age, I also began to comprehend how invigorating, important, and beneficial it is in life to remove yourself from the unhealthy and damaging results of drug and alcohol abuse.
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An Agitated High School Student Displays A Number of Alcohol-Related Difficulties, Gets Thrown Out of School, and Has to See the School Counselor
Dante was a eighteen year old high school senior who was manifesting numerous alcohol-related problems at school. As a result, the principal told him that he had to see Miss Johnson, the school therapist, before he would be allowed to come back to school.
Later that day when Dante went home after school, he had to go over his school discharge with his Mother and Father. His Mother and Father were “fairly conservative” and informed Dante that getting suspended from school was not a practical educational game plan. They informed Dante that failing to graduate from high school would likely be like a lead weight around his feet that might inhibit his educational attainment for the remainder of his adult life. Moreover, Dante’s parents were very saddened that he was drinking in the first place and drinking with his pals in the second.
His Mom and Dad told Dante that although he may be an adolescent, he has to understand fairly rapidly that drinking is the route to ill health, financial problems, pain, and failure.
It was obvious that his parents were in total accord with Dante’s principal and explained to Dante that he had better make plans to see Miss Johnson, the school counselor. After his discussion with his Mom and Dad, Dante at long last agreed to see Miss Johnson the next day. So Dante phoned the school and scheduled an appointment to see Miss Johnson the next day during his first period class.
The Counselor Asks Dante if He Knows Why His Recent Alcohol-Related Activities Made the School Administrators Uneasy
When Dante went to see Miss Johnson, she instantly examined all of the alcohol-related problems Dante had experienced and asked him if he knew why his recent alcohol-related behavior caused quite a bit of concern by the school administrators.
Quite honestly, Dante questioned why the principal suggested that he see a school psychologist. As he expressed to Miss Johnson, why should he see a professional therapist about his drinking activities? Because nearly all of his buddies drink about as much as he does, drinking really shouldn’t be such a big deal. Stated differently, if just about everybody is drinking, why is this such a major concern?
Miss Johnson asked Dante when he started to drink alcoholic beverages. He said that some of his older friends introduced him to drinking beer when he was twelve or thirteen years old and getting ready to enter junior high school.
Miss Johnson told Dante that while his peers may in fact drink more than he does and that they may be a negative influence on him, the facts are that he is the one who is getting kicked out of school due to alcohol-related absenteeism, fighting, and delinquency, not his friends. What is more, Miss Johnson also highlighted the fact that Dante, and not his peers, is the one who is failing and who is missing one day of school every week due to his alcohol related problems. Finally, Miss Johnson emphasized the fact that due to his drinking behavior, Dante is getting into a damaging cycle of excessive drinking that can in time wreck his aspirations, hopes, and dreams.
In short, Dante’s involvement with youth alcohol abuse was beginning to impede his ability to act like an accountable young man. As stated by Miss Johnson, “Just because most of your buddies drink hard liquor, wine, beer, or wine coolers does not mean that it is the correct behavior for you.”
Dante Learns That Sooner or Later He Must Be Responsible For Himself In Order to Prevent Destructive, Dangerous, Unhealthy, and Damaging Outcomes In the Future
Miss Johnson informed Dante that other individuals can without a doubt influence an individual in an unhealthy way, but that the individual herself or himself has to sooner or later be accountable for himself or herself in order to avoid unhealthy, dangerous, destructive, and damaging circumstances in the foreseeable future.
Fortunately, Miss Johnson was extremely well equipped for her appointment with Dante. She showed him research studies and reports she had underlined that summarized diverse drinking statistics and facts that applied to most people in general. Then she showed Dante quite a lot of figures and reports that applied mainly to underage drinkers.
For example, Miss Johnson stressed the difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism and explained to Dante that drinkers who continue to drink in a hazardous manner commonly become alcoholic.
Miss Johnson also explained the concept of binge drinking which she defined as follows: drinking four or more drinks in one sitting for females and ingesting five or more drinks in one sitting for males.
The Psychologist Articulates Several Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Statistics and Facts
Then Miss Johnson stated various alcohol facts and the following eight alcohol abuse statistics:
1. According to the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, there are 105,000 annual alcohol-related fatalities in the U.S. due to drunk drivers and related medical conditions, diseases or injuries.
2. Almost one-fourth of all U.S. individuals who register in general hospitals have alcohol-related problems or are undiagnosed people who are addicted to alcohol who are being treated for the results of their irresponsible drinking.
3. Alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse are the third leading cause of preventable fatalities in the U.S..
4. More than 7 percent of the population that is 18 years old and older — around 13.8 million Americans — has problems with drinking, including 8.1 million drinkers who suffer from alcoholism.
5. 500,000 Americans who are addicted to alcohol are between the ages of 9 and 12.
6. As demonstrated by one U.S. study of 18 to 24 year-old current drinkers who did not graduate from high school, roughly sixty percent started to drink before the age of 16.
7. Currently, about 14 million Americans, 1 in every 13 adults, are alcohol abusers or are addicted to alcohol.
8. According to the research literature, non-alcoholic members of alcoholic’s families use ten times as much sick time as families who do not manifest alcohol dependency or alcohol abuse.
Dante Receives A Relevant Wake Up Call Regarding the Long Term and the Short Term Results of Underage Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
After Miss Johnson presented the aforementioned alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse statistics and facts, it was apparent that what Miss Johnson taught Dante was a real bombshell to him. Why? Because for the first time in his young life, someone not only made the effort to put in plain words the short term and the long term outcomes of alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency, but she also made the effort to back up what she was saying with alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency statistics and facts that related to everybody in general, and particularly to today’s youth.
Indeed, it was almost as if a light went on and Dante instantly grasped why he should not be engaging in excessive and abusive drinking with or without his friends any longer. Dante thanked Miss Johnson for her concern and for the material she presented.
Miss Johnson then asked Dante how he felt about getting a physical exam and an alcohol evaluation for the alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency treatment he would probably need.
Dante thought about this for few minutes and then agreed to get a thorough physical examination and to go through a comprehensive assessment of his drinking behavior so that he could start an alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency treatment program without pause.
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A High School Student Almost Dies From Alcohol Poisoning
Jeffrey was a ninth grader who frequently seemed to be living on the edge. Jeffrey had a daring personality and generally wanted to do what his older brothers were doing to have fun. The fundamental drawback with this was that all three of his brothers were at least 21 years old and were therefore able from a legal vantage point to operate a vehicle and to drink alcohol.
Jeffrey, on the other hand, had a rough time understanding that as a fifteen-year-old teen he should not be drinking alcoholic beverages. In fact, however, Jeffrey often drank with his pals after school, especially on the weekends.
One weekend, Jeffrey decided to drive around with some of his older guy friends. One of his guy friends was old enough to purchase alcohol. After buying some wine, beer, and wine coolers, Jeffrey and all of his pals went to a public park and drank for approximately two or three hours.
A Young Man Passes Out
After drinking something like ten bottles of beer, Jeffrey started to feel nauseous and then vomited. When he passed out on the basketball court, one of his pals called 911 for immediate help. It was fortunate that the call for emergency assistance was made because when his friends went to the hospital to see Jeffrey, they were notified that Jeffrey had been manifesting alcohol poisoning symptoms. Simply put, Jeffrey had experienced a case of alcohol poisoning.
When Your Buddies Drink Abusively
Jeffrey had learned that drinking abusively can result in an alcohol overdose but he never thought that this would affect him. After all, some of his pals time and again bragged that they could drink two or three six packs of beer in a few hours without suffering from any major difficulties.
Based on this, Jeffrey was in reality startled to realize that he had overdosed on alcohol because he “only” had approximately ten drinks. When he stated this to the attending doctor at the hospital, conversely, the healthcare practitioner informed Jeffrey that drinking ten cans of beer over a two or three hour time frame could actually be quite a bit more alcohol than can be metabolized by the body. The physicain further conveyed how excessive alcohol can cause the brain to shut down a person’s respiratory system and that when this happens, a person can cease to exist.
The First Warning of Hazardous Drinking
This was the first signal to Jeffrey that he was drinking in a risky way and that there are effects for such behavior. The doctor told Jeffrey that he was a fortunate young man because he almost died from an alcohol overdose the night before.
The doctor also talked to Jeffrey’s parents and suggested that they get alcohol treatment for Jeffrey. His parents were pleased that Jeffrey was safe and told the healthcare practitioner that they would look into getting Jeffrey alcohol counseling.
While chatting with his parents, Jeffrey told them that there must be a solid reason why he did not perish and that he felt a sense of thankfulness that he was still alive. He also told his parents that the peculiar part about the entire drinking occurrence was that he had learned about alcohol poisoning last week in health class at school.
When Paying Attention in Class Can Make a Difference
At the time, what his health teacher, Mr. Franklin, was articulating didn’t seem to make too much sense to Jeffrey. Now that he almost died, in spite of this, he felt that he should have listened more intently in Mr. Franklin’s health class and applied what he had learned to his daily living.
Jeffrey told his parents that he couldn’t wait to go to school and apologize to Mr. Franklin for not paying closer attention to a topic that was as relevant as learning about alcohol abuse and how to steer clear of an alcohol overdose.
His parents smiled at Jeffrey and said that they were thrilled with the way he was accepting responsibility for his injurious drinking activities. All he had to do now was to let this near fatal experience change his life in a productive way so that he would never again suffer through an alcohol overdose.
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A Twenty-Nine Year Old Bouncer at An Elite Nightspot Discovers Why Alcohol Overdose Symptoms and Signs are So Indispensable and How They Can Save An Individual’s Life
Recently, Frank applied for a job as a bouncer at one of the local clubs. He had studied karate, ninjitsu, gatka, judo, and aikido for eight years; he was a body builder; he took daily minerals, vitamins, and supplements; he was into health foods and healthy eating; and he seemed like a natural for such a job. Actually, due to the fact that he was concerned about his health, he started drinking in moderation approximately two years ago and then totally quit drinking alcohol about eleven months ago.
When Frank received the announcement that he had been selected for the job, he was extremely satisfied. Since this was a special nightspot, nonetheless, he had to go through a six week instructional class.
Drinkers At Bars Who Drink In an Excessive Manner and Alcohol Poisoning Symptoms and Signs
On the first day of class, the teacher started talking about people who drink too much and what the barmaids, bouncers, and bartenders should do when this condition arises. When the teacher started speaking about alcohol poisoning, Frank was delighted to learn that all of the new workers had to learn about alcohol poisoning and what they should do when they saw a drinker who was exhibiting alcohol poisoning symptoms or manifesting the signs of alcohol poisoning.
More exactly, all the new bartenders, bouncers, and barmaids were instructed that nausea and vomiting were almost always the first signs of alcohol poisoning and that unconsciousness was almost certainly the most highly noticeable alcohol poisoning symptom or sign. The teacher also made it a point to underscore the fact that alcohol poisoning signs were messages from the brain and from the body that the drinker has ingested more alcohol than his or her body can process.
There were, however, more than a few other symptoms and signs of alcohol poisoning that all the new workers were taught to recognize. For example, the class members discovered that individuals who experience alcohol poisoning are difficult to awaken, exhibit confusion, often have seizures, and they exhibit poor reflex responses.
Not only this but, the class members discovered that many drinkers who have alcohol poisoning also manifest slow, shallow or irregular breathing; slurred speech; little response from painful stimuli, for instance from pinching; and blue tinged or pale skin.
What is more, people who experience alcohol poisoning often display erratic behavior, exhibit an inability to make eye contact or sustain a conversation, usually feel very ill and exhibit excessive vomiting, and they often pass out.
A Lecturer Explains Why Alcohol Poisoning is Not Inevitably Experienced Only by People Who Are Addicted to Alcohol
The lecturer then stated that an alcohol overdose is not inevitably experienced only by people who are addicted to alcohol.
More specifically, the trainer informed the class that most circumstances involving alcohol poisoning were most likely experienced by alcohol abusers and that a special form of alcohol abuse called “binge drinking” was almost certainly the essential precipitating factor in most situations involving alcohol poisoning. The lecturer then defined binge drinking as follows: drinking five or more alcoholic beverages at one sitting for males and consuming four or more alcoholic drinks at one sitting for females.
To emphasize the influence that binge drinking has on alcohol poisoning, the trainer informed the class that a person who gets smashed just a few times every year, is by definition engaging in alcohol abuse, is most likely not an alcohol addicted individual, but is more likely than not engaging in binge drinking. As declared by the trainer, engaging in binge drinking even once, unfortunately, can lead to alcohol poisoning that in some instances can be deadly.
The Teacher Explains Why Letting A Drinker With an Alcohol Overdose Sleep is Not An Appropriate Course of Action
One of the students in the class raised her hand and asked the instructor if it is a good idea to let a person with alcohol poisoning “sleep it off.” The instructor claimed that letting a person with alcohol poisoning go to sleep is exactly what should not be done because doing so places the drinker at risk since he or she is no longer being observed. Moreover, letting the drinker sleep when he or she experiences alcohol poisoning is a faulty response because the drinker may never awaken.
The lecturer then explained to the members in the class that the most fitting response for alcohol poisoning is the following: if it is suspected that an individual has alcohol poisoning, call 911 and ask for emergency medical assistance, even if the drinker is underage. By pursuing this course of action, the person will get the prompt alcohol poisoning medical attention he or she needs.
Summary
After learning about alcohol poisoning and especially about the symptoms and signs of alcohol poisoning, it can be emphasized, Frank felt that he had learned some vital information that might save an individual’s life in the future. Unmistakably, Frank learned that knowledge of the common alcohol poisoning signs and symptoms and knowing how to appropriately and quickly respond to such symptoms and signs (by promptly calling 911 and asking for urgent medical assistance) can help an individual avoid a lethal alcohol overdose.
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