alcohol problems

There are various ways that alcohol can affect our health and our social skills; After one or two drinks you often feel more relaxed and more chatty as the alcohol reaches the brain and affects your cognitive abilities.
Alcohol misuse causes your heart rate to quicken and you may experience a warm glow. This is caused by alcohol making the smaller blood vessels in the skin expand, allowing blood to flow nearer to the surface and lowers blood pressure.

Alcohol Effects -how can alcohol affect your health?

The results of drinking large amounts of alcohol can be dire. Alcohol misuse health problems include anxiety, impaired judgment leading to accidents and injuries, loss of consciousness, slowed breathing and heartbeat, suffocation through choking on your own vomit and potentially fatal alcohol poisoning. There are also many mental effects, making you feel guilt or anger for no apparant reason and even making you paranoid. You slurr your words, often don’t recognise your surroundings and drinking too much alcohol can result in memory loss.

Drinking heavily also increases your calorie intake, resulting in it being partly responsible for adult obesity. In a medium-sized (175ml) glass of wine there are 125 calories and in a bottle there are over 500 calories. So thats about one quarter of your guidline daily calorie allowance!

Hangovers – Headaches could be the least of your worries

Alcohol can cause you to have a hangover the next morning, which often has unpleasant affects. You may get stomach ache, sometimes diarrhea, sickness and nausea, Drinking alcohol also has a dehydrating effect. Alcohol misuse can also make you feel upset, guilty

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If you drink over the guidline daily units regularly you are putting your health at risk. Large amounts of alcohol consumed increases blood pressure.

Alcohol is regularly correlated with mental health problems. It has been found that people enduring depression and anxiety were twice as likely to be problem drinkers.

Extreme levels of drinking can sometimes lead to ‘psychosis’, a harsh mental illness where they develop delusions of persecution. Consuming large amounts of alcohol can lead to seclusion and unhappiness.

Heather is a forty-three-year-old woman who is the director of the human resources department at a large steel fabricating company. To cut the costs linked to increasing absenteeism, poor employee work performance, employee alcohol abuse and alcoholism, work related injuries, and excessive sick days, Heather and the other company administrators established some programs that made the work environment substantially more safe, more productive, and healthy.

For example, fifteen years ago Heather and the other company leaders put into operation an Employee’s Assistance Program so that all the workers had access to top shelf therapy for their personal problems that could negatively influence their personal well-being, health, and their work performance.

Top Management Constructs a Modern Exercise and Workout Room Complete With Weights, Exercise Equipment, Exercise Charts, Scales, Mirrors, and a Personal Trainer During Business Hours

As another example, just about eight years ago Heather and the other members of upper management erected an avant-garde workout and exercise room complete with mirrors, weights, a personal trainer during business hours, scales, many different types of exercise equipment, and exercise charts.

In addition, about three-and-a-half years ago Heather and the other company administrators invested in a distillation system that filters all the drinking water that is obtainable anywhere in the building complex. In the same way, two years ago, Heather and the other company leaders started a “walking club” that is basically intended for workers who want to work on their cardiovascular system.

Upper Management Initiates a Weight-Watchers Class and Signs Up a Weight-Loss Nurse to Supervise the Program

As another example, nearly a year-and-a-half ago, Heather and the other company leaders instituted a “Weight-Watchers” class that presently meets every Tuesday and Thursday at noon until 1:00 PM. Moreover, the VIPs signed up a weight-loss healthcare professional to oversee the program.

In a similar manner, two years ago Heather and the other members of top management implemented a “Stop Smoking Club” for workers who want to quit or cut back on their smoking.

In the last seven months, in conjunction with the Employee’s Assistance Program, Heather and the other VIPs launched an “Anger Management” class for workers who want to learn how to better control their anger.

Upper Management Launches a Drug and Alcohol Testing Program

In the last four months, Heather and the other members of upper management initiated a alcohol and drug testing program that is tied into their drug and alcohol abuse prevention program. In truth, Heather is the key individual in the company responsible for getting the message out to all the workers about the drug and alcohol testing program as well as the drug and alcohol abuse prevention program.

One of the fundamental elements of the drug and alcohol abuse prevention program is a class entitled “Alcoholism and Depression” that meets every Friday after work. The essential idea with this class is informing employees that excessive drinking and depression regularly happen in the same individual. It is hoped that knowing this information will be able to help an individual address both medical issues and get the alcohol rehabilitation and mental health counseling he or she requires.

Upper Management Puts Into Operation an Alcohol Statistics and Facts Class

Another fairly recent enhancement to the drug and alcohol abuse prevention program is a class entitled “Alcohol Statistics and Facts.” The rationale behind this alcohol statistics facts class is the reality that quite a few people are unsuccessful in their attempt to grasp the total impact of the results of alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse without first reading about some of the alcoholism and alcohol abuse statistics and facts that are available. As a result, one of the objectives of this class is to provide a variety of alcoholism and alcohol abuse facts and statistics in order to help workers gain a better understanding of the plethora of issues that are correlated with abusive and excessive drinking and how they can prevent these issues from taking place.

Most recently, Heather and the other company administrators, via comments from employees, developed a class that centers directly on severe drinking entitled “What is Alcoholism”? This class meets every Friday morning an hour before work and focuses primarily on the differences between alcoholism and alcohol abuse, on the stages of alcoholism, and on the types of therapy that are available for people who have alcohol drinking problems such as people who drink in a hazardous manner.

Although every single one of these preventative maintenance and health programs was anything but easy on the pocketbook, the company leaders believe that they are several thousands of dollars ahead by providing all of their workers with a healthy, safe, and more productive work environment.

What are the important issues in a successful alcohol intervention? Why do some alcohol dependency interventions succeed as predicted while more than a few flop?

The Need for a Proven History of Intervention Accomplishment

Scientific research makes obvious the fact that an effective addiction intervention needs to be administered by an intervention professional who has a distinguished history of intervention achievement.

Basically this means that instead of choosing a “typical” addiction counselor or psychologist for an alcohol addiction intervention, the individual who is hand picked to direct the intervention needs to be educated in substance abuse intervention methods and needs to display a history of fruitful alcoholism interventions.

A Few Elementary Examples of The Most Optimal Time For an Alcohol Addiction Intervention

Scientific study and alcoholism facts about interventions has also made evident the fact that the best possible time for an alcoholism intervention is following a noteworthy occasion in the life of the alcohol addicted individual or alcohol abuser. The following represents a few illustrations of these kinds of important incidents:

• The alcohol addicted individual or abusive drinker has been caught stealing something of value.
• The abusive drinker or alcoholic has been caught lying about something of import.
• The alcohol-dependent person or abusive drinker has been imprisoned for a DWI or DUI.

In situations like these, the alcohol-dependent person or alcohol abuser is more apt to be remorseful or to feel guilty, thusly making him or her more amenable to getting the quality alcohol rehabilitation that is necessary.

At this juncture, moreover, it is also imperative to state that the abusive drinker or alcohol addicted person needs to be sober during the alcohol abuse intervention. In brief, if the abusive drinker or alcohol dependent individual is inebriated during an alcohol abuse intervention, the lack of success is in effect assured.

What is more, scientific investigation has also shown the fact that the abusive drinker or alcohol addicted person has to at least try to listen to what is said in an alcohol abuse intervention. Stated more specifically, during an alcohol abuse intervention, the alcohol abuser or alcohol addicted individual needs to listen to what his or her drinking difficulties have done to those who care for him or her the most.

The Necessity of Alcohol Therapy For the Alcohol Abuser

And lastly, scientific investigation makes evident the fact that the main reason for an alcohol intervention in the first place is to entice the hazardous drinker or alcoholic to get the quality alcohol abuse rehabilitation he or she requires. In other words, even if the individual who administers the intervention has a magnificent reputation of fruitful interventions and even if the hazardous drinker or alcohol addicted person sincerely listens to every word that is declared throughout an intervention, if the abusive drinker or alcohol dependent individual is not inspired to request professional alcoholism counseling after the alcohol intervention, then the intervention will be a debacle.

It is clear to see that all of these factors are needed for a successful alcohol intervention. If, on the other hand, the abusive drinker or alcohol addicted individual is not moved to obtain alcoholism rehab after listening to his or her family members communicate the grief, irritation, and frustration they feel about the abusive drinker’s or alcohol dependent individual’s irresponsible drinking behavior and the concern they feel for the problem drinker, then every other aspect of the alcohol abuse intervention will effectively be valueless.

Even Successful Alcohol Abuse Interventions Can Flop In the Long Term

It also needs to be accentuated that in spite of the fact that the alcohol intervention can be seen as successful in that it helped put the abusive drinker or alcoholic in a more receptive way of thinking and openly helped the alcohol addicted person or hazardous drinker decide upon the fact that he or she needed alcohol rehabilitation or professional help for alcoholism or alcohol abuse, the simple fact that the intervention occurred might result in resentment, wrath, and skepticism in the long term.

To sum up, even when alcohol dependency interventions are seen as successful in the short term, in the long term, on the other hand, they may fail and, hence, may make the family and/or the alcohol dependent individual’s situation even poorer than it was before the alcohol intervention occurred.

No matter how unfair or incongruous this seems, try to keep in mind that it is essentially one of the key alcohol facts that has to be faced when doing an alcohol intervention.

Recent alcohol abuse statistics reveal that alcohol abuse among teens is increasing in the United States. What are some of the reasons for this? Many alcohol abuse professionals emphasize the point that alcohol ads generated by the media are an important reason for the proliferation of teen alcohol abuse.

Other alcohol dependency consultants affirm that the increase in teen alcohol abuse is due to the acceptability and accessibility of liquor, wine, and beer in our society.

Still other alcoholism authorities affirm that more than a few of our teens involve themselves in hazardous drinking due to the increased pressure that they undergo.

From a slightly different perspective, because both parents in many families are employed, the lack of parental guidance definitely has to play a key role in the rise in teen alcohol abuse. And lastly, various substance abuse experts argue that the expansion of youth alcohol abuse is due, at least partially, to our lax society.

Coping Skills Education and Hazardous Drinking

One feature of teenage alcohol abuse that looks as if it somewhat missing in the alcoholism research literature, however, is the paucity of educational courses that teach teenagers how to enhance their coping skills so that their excessive drinking behavior is significantly lessened or done away with.

More explicitly, science has uncovered the fact that there is an indirect link between poor coping skills and hazardous drinking. For all intents and purposes, this means that the worse the coping skills, the higher the incidence of alcohol abuse. To the degree that this is a truthful affirmation, why isn’t coping skills education an essential part of the academic core curriculum in all of our high schools, junior high schools, and elementary schools?

A Society That Highlights Adolescent Coping Skills

Let us construct a scenario for for the purpose of elucidation. Let us imagine a society in which all people are trained how to develop high-quality coping skills all the way from kindergarten up to and including their final year in high school.

In such a society, when life gets complicated, students who are ”coping skills experts” will be able to respond in a more healthy and more successful way, contrary to others who are unsuccessful in their attempts to put their coping skills into action.

Stated more precisely, students who display outstanding coping skills will be more able to think proactively and display top quality decision making as opposed to adolescents who, because they are deficient in outstanding coping skills, are drawn to the “quick fix” of hazardous drinking.

What would happen in the above “ideal” society, additionally, if teens not only obtained first-rate coping skills education but also obtained a top shelf education that highlighted the long term and short term injurious outcomes associated with drug abuse and alcohol abuse? Emphasizing these drug and alcohol abuse facts, along with more highly developed coping skills training, it is advocated, would help teenagers avoid the obvious attraction with youth drinking and, as a result, would fundamentally decrease the hazardous drinking behavior displayed by the youth in our country.

Youth Hazardous Drinking: Conclusion

There are obviously various compelling reasons why so many of our teenagers drink in a risky manner. Such a thorny problem demands an extensive and relevant preventative and educational response by our parents, students, politicians, and educators so that our teens can learn how to cope with life’s problems in a more fruitful and accountable way instead of resorting to hazardous drinking behavior to solve their difficulties.

Dante was a sixteen year old high school sophomore who was manifesting more than a few alcohol-related difficulties at school. As a result, the principal told him that he had to see Miss Johnson, the school counselor, before he would be permitted to come back to school.

Later that afternoon when Dante went home after school, he had to explain his school expulsion to his Mother and Father. His Mother and Father were “old school” and explained to Dante that dropping out of school was not a doable educational plan of action. They told Dante that failing to graduate from high school would probably be like a lead weight around his legs that could probably impair his educational attainment for the rest of his adult life. In addition, Dante’s Mother and Father were very disturbed that he was drinking in the first place and drinking with his friends in the second.

His Mother and Father explained to Dante that although he may be a teen, he needs to comprehend fairly promptly that drinking is the road to ill health, failure, pain, and financial problems.

It was evident that his Mother and Father were completely in agreement with Dante’s principal and informed Dante that he had better make plans to see Miss Johnson, the school counselor. After his talk with his parents, Dante at long last agreed to see Miss Johnson the next day. So Dante called the school and made an appointment to see Miss Johnson the next afternoon after school.

The Psychologist Asks Dante if He Understands Why His Recent Alcohol-Related Activities Caused Quite a Bit of Concern By the School Administrators

When Dante got to his scheduled appointment with Miss Johnson, she immediately reviewed all of the alcohol-related issues Dante had gotten into and asked him if he knew why his recent alcohol-related behavior caused quite a bit of anxiety by the school administrators.

Quite candidly, Dante was not sure why the principal suggested that he see a school therapist. As he stated to Miss Johnson, why should he see a professional psychologist about his drinking situation? Because virtually all of his friends drink about as much as he does, drinking really shouldn’t be such a big thing. Stated more precisely, if nearly everybody is drinking, why is this such a big deal?

Miss Johnson asked Dante when he started to drink alcoholic beverages. He said that some of his older classmates introduced him to drinking wine when he was twelve or thirteen years old and getting ready to enter the seventh grade.

Miss Johnson informed Dante that while his pals may indeed drink as much as he does and that they may be an unhealthy influence on him, the facts are that he is the one who is getting removed from school due to alcohol-related delinquency, absenteeism, and fighting, not his friends. In addition, Miss Johnson also stressed the fact that Dante, and not his friends, is the one who is failing and who is missing one day of school every week due to his alcohol related problems. Lastly, Miss Johnson underscored the fact that due to his drinking situation, Dante is getting into a dangerous cycle of excessive drinking that can at the end of the day wreck his dreams, hopes, and aspirations.

In a word, Dante’s involvement with teenage alcohol abuse was starting to thwart his ability to function as an accountable young man. As stated by Miss Johnson, “Just because most of your pals drink beer, hard liquor, wine coolers, or wine does not mean that it is the healthiest thing for you.”

Dante Learns That Ultimately He Must Be Accountable For Himself In Order to Avoid Destructive, Unhealthy, Damaging, and Dangerous Situations Down the Road

Miss Johnson explained to Dante that one’s buddies can undoubtedly influence a person in an unhealthy way, but that the individual himself or herself has to eventually be accountable for himself or herself in order to keep away from damaging, destructive, dangerous, and unhealthy outcomes down the road.

Luckily, Miss Johnson was very well equipped for her scheduled meeting with Dante. She showed him research studies and reports she had underlined that listed different drinking statistics and facts that applied to most people in general. Then she showed Dante a lot of figures and reports that applied mainly to underage drinkers.

For example, Miss Johnson stressed the difference between alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse and told Dante that individuals who continue to drink in a hazardous manner habitually become dependent on alcohol.

Miss Johnson also articulated the concept of binge drinking which she defined as follows: drinking five or more drinks in one sitting for males and consuming four or more drinks in one sitting for females.

The Psychologist Verbalizes Several Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse Facts and Statistics

Then Miss Johnson listed various alcohol facts and the following eight alcohol abuse statistics:

1. According to one study, just about 11% of 8th-graders, 22% of 10th-graders, and 27% of 12th-graders stated that they involved themselves in abusive drinking.

2. Between 48% and 64% of the people who die in fires have blood alcohol levels demonstrating inebriation.

3. Children who are drinking alcohol by 7th grade are more likely to manifest substance abuse, delinquent behavior, and academic problems in both junior high school and high school.

4. In the U.S., 33% of all suicides, and 25% of all emergency room admissions are alcohol-related.

5. In the United States among drivers between the ages of 15 and 20, fatal accidents involving a single vehicle at night are three times more likely to be related to alcohol than to other fatal accidents.

6. In the U.S., more than 40 percent of the individuals who begin drinking before the age of 13 will develop alcohol abuse or alcohol addiction at some point in their lives.

7. In the U.S, by the time they are seniors in high school, 80% of teenagers have tried alcohol and 62% have been intoxicated.

8. Treatment for alcoholism has been demonstrated to decrease criminal activity up to 80% among long-term offenders, has increased their rate of employment, decreased their homelessness, and reduced their health care costs.

Dante Gets A Much Needed Primer on the Facts Regarding the Short Term and the Long Term Outcomes of Youth Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse

After Miss Johnson stated the aforementioned alcohol abuse and alcoholism facts and statistics, it was evident 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 made the effort to give an explanation of the long term and the short term consequences of alcohol abuse and alcoholism, but she also took the time to verify what she was saying with alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse statistics and facts that related to people in general, and mainly to young people.

In actual fact, it was almost as if a light went on and Dante without pause comprehended why he should not be engaging in hazardous and excessive drinking with or without his buddies anymore. Dante thanked Miss Johnson for her concern and for the material she reviewed.

Miss Johnson then asked Dante how he felt about getting a physical examination and an alcohol appraisal for the alcohol abuse or alcohol addiction rehabilitation he would probably need.

Dante thought about this for a minute and then agreed to get a comprehensive physical examination and to go through a comprehensive appraisal of his drinking circumstances so that he could start an alcohol rehab program promptly.