Understanding Alcoholism
Advice on How To Stop Drinking
By: David PetersDrinking alcohol is dangerous for kids and teens and sometimes for adults, too. Alcohol is a drug, and it is the drug most abused by teens. Many kids have their first drink at an early age, as young as 10 or 11 or even younger. They may have seen their parents drink or cool ads for beer and wine. It's easy for a kid to get the wrong message about alcohol. In TV commercials, drinking looks like a lot of fun. You might see people drinking and watching sports together or having a big party. But alcohol is actually a depressant. That means it's a drug that slows down or depresses the brain. Like many drugs, alcohol changes a person's ability to think, speak, and see things as they really are. A person might lose his or her balance and have trouble walking properly. The person might feel relaxed and happy and later start crying or get in an argument. Kids need to know that it is not okay to start drinking until they are of legal age and even then it is not recommended.
Car accidents these days have soared through the roof. These are generally because of drunk drivers. When a driver goes to the bar to hang with friends and have a couple of glasses of beer, they will feel confident enough they can drive themselves home. Sadly this is not the case, if anything people should have a designated driver they can count on. A lot of the time the drunk driver isn't always the one who pays for driving drunk. Completely sober families and people can become a victim of drunk driving. American taxpayers pay an average of about 21 to 24 billion dollars a year on alcohol related car accidents. The figures are alarming and increasing steadily, about 250,000 people have died in the last ten years, and in 2004 25,000 people died. There is so much destruction and death caused by alcohol, it would be easiest if you just didn't drink and found other creative ways to have fun, or at least have a designated driver every time you go out.
Alcohol gets to be that reckless part of you, that alter ego that appears like a black sheep of the family, only to rain on your parade. It's the kind of friend that moves in uninvited, steals your food, makes out with your girlfriend and doesn't pay a dime in rent. The perennial bad tenant, that wrecks your property, lets weeds grow in your garden and then only departs when forcibly evicted. But above all it's a substance that wrecks your health and causes so much unnecessary suffering, a drug you willingly pour down your neck for the sake of sociability and to block out the daily pounding of life. It's not until you can see it for what it is, an interloper in an otherwise beautiful existence that you realize that this substance takes on a life of its own, once you allow it to enter your body.
The reality is that if you have found yourself concerned about your drinking, you probably at least have a drinking problem and you may be an alcoholic. The very fact that you are questioning your drinking habits in and of itself generally is a solid alcoholism test, a sufficient basis for you to seek some sort of appropriate assistance in regard to your drinking (or in regard to your potential alcoholism) before the situation becomes even worse. Beyond what might best be called the "concerned alcoholism test," there are in fact solid alcoholism test options that can assist you in making a more thorough inventory to determine if you might indeed have an alcohol problem or to find out if you are an alcoholic. An alcoholism test can provide a basic guide as to whether you have an alcohol problem or whether you might be an alcoholic. The standard alcoholism test has a series of twelve to twenty such questions like this. The fact is that most experts agree that when a person answers "yes" to even one question in such an alcoholism test, that person likely does have a drinking problem and very well may be afflicted with the disease of alcoholism. You need to know there is a problem before you try to get rid of it.
A lot of alcoholics don't realize that their dependency on alcohol is actually a chemical obsession similar to drug use. Action can easily be taken to help resist the addiction. The process can be lengthy if the obsession is dramatic and it is difficult to treat. The alcoholic must make the choice to go to a rehab center. The first thing the professionals at the rehab centers will first do an alcohol detox which is a period of heavily monitored medical treatment meant specially for alcoholics. Though most cases aren't very severe many people will go through difficult rehab full of withdrawal symptoms ranging from cold sweats to severe seizures. There is no way around being detoxified the alcoholic has to go through with it in order to help him/her become sober. The final step to treatment is the rehab. The person will go through classes and therapy sessions in order to maintain sobriety. All of these steps are necessary to beating a difficult case of addiction.
For everybody sobriety after you managed to break your deadly habit, if you break it then it is difficult to stop drinking again. Heatlh issues that develop from alcoholism. Maintaining and ensuring your sobriety is essential to not starting up the habit again. Most people believe that just minimizing and degrading the constant use of alcohol is just as good as giving up alcohol. For other people, such as the Alcoholics Anonymous they know that keeping away from alcohol is one of the most important parts of breaking the habit. You don't have to go about breaking a wretched habit alone.
If you are alcohol dependent you have a strong desire for alcohol. Sometimes the desire is overwhelming. Even if you want to stop drinking, it is difficult because of the withdrawal symptoms. The withdrawal symptoms include: feeling sick, trembling, sweating, craving for alcohol, and just feeling awful. Convulsions occur in a small number of cases. As a result, you drink alcohol regularly and 'depend' on it to prevent these symptoms. If you do not have any more alcohol the withdrawal symptoms usually last 5-7 days, but a craving for alcohol may persist longer. The severity of dependence can vary. It can develop gradually and become more severe. You may be developing alcohol dependence if you: often have a strong desire to drink alcohol. spend a lot of you time in activities where alcohol is available. For example, if you spend a lot of time at the social club or pub or neglect other interests or pleasures because of alcohol drinking. If you are alcohol dependent you are usually 'tolerant' to the effect of alcohol. This means that you need more alcohol to notice any effects and to become drunk. This can make things worse as it tends to make you drink even more.
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Article Source: http://www.wellnessarticlelibrary.com
Things You Can Do When You Are Trying To Stop Drinking
By: Ed PhilipsIf you are trying to stop drinking then there are five specific things you can do to help discontinue your bad habit. The first of these is to set up your goals.
Make a list of your personal reasons for lowering your drinking intake. List the improvements that can be made in your health, appearance and image if you decrease your amount of binge drinking. Use your thoughts as a guide to setting the appropriate goals for you.
Make sure you know why you are stopping drinking whether it is to stay away from drinking events, participating in controlled drinking or to completely quit all drinking. You reasons won't be successful unless you make sure they are entirely your own and nobody else.
In order to stop drinking you need to have adequate support. Since drinking is mostly associated with social events and mainly during the holidays it is important that your friends and family realize the new rules you have regarding your personal drinking habits.
This way your family and friends can help by reducing the amount of temptations you may face at parties or get-togethers. Make sure you choose a close buddy who understands your reasons to stop drinking and supports your commitment so they can help you and make it easier on you to stop drinking.
A third step to do is to take a break from drinking. At least one day a week you should try drinking no alcohol at all. After you can successfully handle this one day a week then start setting aside two days.
Gradually increase the number of days. This way you can break your large goal into smaller goals that are easier to achieve. Before you know it you will be able to stick to your larger goal of discontinuing drinking altogether.
The fourth thing to do is avoid temptations. Determine when you are most likely to drink and then make up a plan to avoid them. When at home or at parties you should find a substitute drink instead of alcohol to stick with your plan. You can also replace your drinking habits with hobbies that are constructive to you personally such as exercising, reading, painting or other things.
The final thing to is never give up. Stop drinking is not an easy thing to do and nobody is going to tell you its easy. Throughout your endeavor always keep in mind what your goals are and the reasons you have to stop drinking.
If you have a relapse and drink too much one night out, then don't stop trying to reach your goal. Make sure you start your plan the next day and increase your determination to reach your ultimate goal of stopping all drinking.
If you want to control your drinking habits then you will succeed, you just have to put your whole determination into it and you will achieve what you want even if it is to stop drinking completely.
So design a plan today and you will see benefits for the rest of your life.
ED Philips is a writer for stopdrinkingadvice.org which is an excellent place to find stop drinking links, For more information visit: Stop Drinking Tips
Article Source: http://www.wellnessarticlelibrary.com
