Posts Tagged ‘alcoholism’

A Young Man Requires Treatment For His Extreme Depression and Intimate Relationship Problems and For His Alcoholism and Drug Dependency

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

About eleven months ago I had dinner with a forty-nine-year-old man named Alexander who suffers from extreme depression, has relationship issues, and who is addicted to drugs and alcohol. As mentioned by Alexander, it is his alcoholism and drug addiction and his severe depression that had the most to do with his perpetual relationship and friendship difficulties, especially those that concern love.

I recall hearing that a history of mental health concerns, drug abuse, and careless and hazardous drinking commonly happen in the same family. Moreover, I remember hearing that in such situations, an individual needs to get counseling for both medical conditions and that dependency and mental health problems tend to occur in the same individual.

As stated by Alexander, he is so overcome by his intimate relationship problems and by both of his medical problems that he in effect has no aspiration to accomplish much of anything. What is especially unfortunate about this is that earlier in his life, Alexander completed four semesters of grad school in environmental and urban studies.

Alexander’s situation makes me question if he is an illustration of an individual who can look in the mirror and see his drug abuse and alcohol drinking problems and do something constructive about these issues or if he is a person who has to hit rock-bottom before he gets drug and alcohol addiction treatment that results in long lasting recovery.

The Need For a Treatment Regimen He Can Believe In and a Therapist He Can Trust

If it would be beneficial I would expect that I could suggest several websites and blogs that could possibly help him learn more about drug abuse symptoms, the stages of alcoholism, substance abuse information, and relationship difficulties. In my honest opinion, nonetheless, Alexander needs to find a rehabilitation program he can believe in and follow through over the long term and find a healthcare professional he can trust.

I could be in error but it seems to me that Alexander probably needs to look within himself regarding his drug addiction signs and alcoholic symptoms and understand the fact that he cannot use drugs or drink at all if he wants to get sober, stay sober, and start on the route to long-lasting sobriety.

It may be asked how treatment would help his alcohol and drug dependency. For starters, there are several recently produced doctor-prescribed drugs that can help Alexander avoid an alcohol or a drug relapse, help him through the drug and alcohol detox process, and help him through his withdrawal symptoms.

Second, Alexander would learn to acknowledge the fact that there is completely nothing affirmative about drug abuse and unhealthy and abusive drinking and that involving himself in one or both circumstances is the route to deteriorating health, shattered relationships, a premature death, financial difficulties, legal problems, and poor work and school performance.

Third, treatment for his relationship difficulties and his depression might help him cope with these psychological problems more effectively and help create less of a need for him to involve himself in addictive behavior.

The Significance of Support Groups Such as Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous

There are feasibly several friends, family members, and other people who would desire to help Alexander with his drug abuse and his abusive and unhealthy drinking. He possibly would experience greater tolerance from a support group such as Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous, on the other hand, rather than listening to individuals who do not drink or who have never used drugs.

When People Accomplish Things They Love and About Which They Are Passionate

There’s a philosophical attitude that proclaims that people who accomplish things they love and something about which they are dedicated arrive at a splendid place in life. Stated more exactly, when people do what they enjoy, they hardly ever experience an uneventful life or boredom. If they get involved in something that is gratifying, moreover, they become more complete and experience more pleasure and delight in life, in their friendships, and in their relationships.

When this is thought about even for a few minutes it becomes obvious that this uplifting state of mind is quite a bit different from a life that is grounded in alcohol and drug dependency because such a lifestyle removes the contentment and delight that life offers.

Due to the fact that Alexander doesn’t have the determination to achieve much of anything in his life, it is plain to see that he desperately needs some hope for a healthier life. And the unfortunate thing is that hope is almost everywhere around Alexander if he could only get to the place in life to get the counseling he requires for his acute depression and drug dependence and alcohol addiction and remain in his treatment routine.

More Positive Relationships, A Wonderful Life, Self Respect, and Beneficial Change Are a Reality

Alexander is simply too young to be dejected in life. He doesn’t realize this right now but if he can learn how to stay away from alcohol and drugs through alcohol and drug rehab and get the counseling he needs for his intense depression, he can redirect his life and start living with passion, direction, and with self-respect.

Better relationships, positive change, self respect, and a wonderful life are certainly possibilities for Alexander if only he could get motivated to seek the medical rehabilitation he requires, follow through with his treatment regimen, live his life in a healthy and dependency-free manner, and learn how to develop a more positive attitude about his life.


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When Excessive Drinking Results In Serious Health Problems And Sexuality Problems, Marital Problems, Divorce, And Affairs

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

For a number of years alcohol dependency research has demonstrated the fact that there is strong association between alcoholism and serious health conditions and mental health issues such as depression.

For example, in 2005, medical exploration and alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics demonstrated the fact that that alcohol abuse and alcoholism cost the United States an estimated $220 billion per year. It can be emphasized that this gigantic alcohol-related cash outlay was significantly more than the cost linked with cancer ($196 billion) or with obesity ($133 billion). While it is relevant to accentuate these facts, it is also important to point to the fact that an interrelationship exists between all three of these health problems.

To be exact, chronic alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency are also highly associated with obesity and with cancer.

Without a doubt, substance abuse research has demonstrated the fact that alcohol dependency can augment the risk for different types of cancer, particularly cancer of the voice box (larynx), esophagus, liver, rectum, colon, kidneys, and throat. Abusive and recurring drinking can also lead to immune system problems and impairment to the fetus during pregnancy.

Irresponsible and Heavy Drinking Weakens the Person’s Systems and Organs

Furthermore, if alcohol dependency continues over a period of years, the individual’s body organs will more likely than not be affected in an unhealthy manner. As an illustration, chronic, hazardous drinking is especially injurious to the liver due to the fact that the liver does most of the work of processing the alcohol that has been ingested. Extreme amounts of alcohol kills liver cells and destroys the ability of liver cells to redevelop. This medical condition results in a progressive inflammatory malfunction of the liver that can in the long run lead to cirrhosis of the liver, a grave and potentially deadly disease. Heavy, long-term drinking not only can result in acute liver damage, but it can also result in damage to the heart and to the brain. Physical damage this serious may be irreparable and may, in turn, result in severe ill health or premature death.

The Significance of Alcohol Rehabilitation

It is important, then, to know how to recognize the different alcoholism symptoms and the “alcohol signs” so that the alcohol dependent individual can be given the opportunity to get the professional alcohol rehabilitation he or she needs.

Alcoholism and Sophisticated Brain Exploration

Fortuitously, scientific investigation is relentlessly finding novel and important information. Recent alcoholism exploration offers a good example. More correctly, for approximately the last ten years, sophisticated brain-imaging scanning instruments have shown that continuous and long-term excessive drinking changes the constitution of the brain to a significant extent, thereby resulting in brain disease that can last months, years, or conceivably as long as the person lives.

More correctly, medical exploration has demonstrated that individuals who have been drinking abusively for a sizeable length of time increase their risk for developing long lasting and substantial modifications in the brain.

This type of damage may be directly related to severe liver disease, to the alcohol’s effects on the brain, or might be indirectly associated with the drinker’s poor overall health.

Mental Disorders, Malnutrition, and Excessive Drinking

As a final illustration of different medical conditions that are considerably related to alcohol addiction, take into account the fact that according to scientific research, the abusive and repeated abuse of alcohol can lead to erosive gastritis, a condition that lessens the absorption of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.

This type of organ malfunctioning is associated with malnutrition and to a variety of acute neurological and mental disorders including sleep disturbances, memory loss, and psychosis such as Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome. This latter health problem is a lasting debilitating health problem that is typified by recurring learning and memory difficulties.

Irresponsible and Hazardous Drinking Also Leads to in Friendship and Relationship Difficulties

In addition to acute health issues, abusive and excessive drinking also leads to friendship and relationship issues. As an illustration, people who engage in abusive drinking typically experience affairs, divorce, sexuality problems, and marital problems.

Summary: The Importance of Education

It is plain to see that repetitive, excessive drinking is directly or indirectly linked to many severe medical problems that can and do result in dangerous ailments and premature death. Such information needs to be underlined and presented to everyone in our society, especially to all students, so that a large number of people will be able to refrain from hazardous drinking while other individuals who have a drinking problem will get the professional therapy they require.

Let us look at this with a common sense perspective. Yes, alcohol rehabilitation is significant, but alcohol rehab is something that is usually done AFTER the fact. Education, to the contrary, is something that is done BEFORE the problem arises. Stated a different way, whereas alcohol rehab is “reactive,” education is “proactive.” It is stated that both approaches are required when discussing alcohol problems.


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