Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse Essential Info
______________________________________________________________________________
What are some of the alcohol abuse
signs that indicate whether or not a friend or family member is engaging in irresponsible, excessive,
and abusive behavior?
Once an individual goes into an alcohol abuse treatment center, what can he or she expect regarding his or
her drinking behavior?
Is alcohol addiction considered an aspect of chemical dependency?
Please continue reading to find some answers to these important questions and for additional information
alcohol treatment, sobriety, alcohol relapse, alcohol recovery, alcohol abuse and alcoholism.
Drinking Alcohol: Beneficial and Harmful Aspects
When studying alcohol through the
lens of history, it can be verified that people have known about alcohol and have been drinking various
alcoholic beverages for approximately 10,000 or more years.
During these many years of drinking alcohol, it was realized that alcohol had a number of beneficial and
desirable qualities.
While the positive aspects of alcohol were therefore relatively well-known, it can also be determined that
people for many centuries have also known about some of the damaging and unhealthy personal and societal
consequences and problems associated with abusive and excessive drinking.
This historical analysis of alcohol therefore cries out for an answer to the following question: if both the
beneficial as well as the negative and unhealthy aspects of alcohol have been known for centuries, why is it that
so many people worldwide experience the destructive, debilitating, and the all too often fatal effects that are
associated with alcohol abuse and alcoholism?
Alcohol Abuse Signs
Are you starting to wonder whether a family member or a friend is abusing alcohol? If you have answered this
question in the affirmative, you may be wondering about various alcohol abuse signs that you can look for.
In line with this logic, the following represents a list of some of the more common alcohol abuse
signs that hopefully can help answer your questions.
- uncharacteristic money problems
- receiving one or more DUIs
- alcohol-related physical injury
- more than usual absenteeism from school or from work
- staying out significantly later than usual
- relationship problems
- hanging out with new "friends" who are drinkers
- neglected appearance/poor hygiene
- an increase in drinking behavior
The Alcohol Abuse Treatment Center
If you engage in excessive and
abusive drinking it is important for you to find an alcohol abuse treatment center or facility where a health
care provider can evaluate whether or not you are alcohol dependent or if you manifest a pattern of alcohol
abuse without addiction.
If your assessment demonstrates that you are not alcohol dependent but rather exhibiting a pattern of alcohol
abuse, your health care provider can help you with the following issues:
- Establish a specific drinking goal.
- Identify the situations that trigger your unhealthy drinking behavior.
- Learn different "response sets" so that you can better deal with your drinking triggers while at the same
time sustaining your drinking goal.

| Alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics reveal that since 1980 (the year Mothers
Against Drunk Driving was founded), alcohol-related traffic fatalities have decreased by about 44
percent, from over 30,000 to under 17,000 and MADD has helped save over 300,000 lives. |
Keep in mind that after the health care
professionals at the alcohol abuse treatment center have helped the clients identify their unhealthy drinking
patterns, some of them will choose to totally abstain from drinking.
Other individuals, on the other hand, will choose to limit the frequency and/or the amount that they drink.
Whatever goal you establish, it is important for you to remain on task and avoid alcohol abuse signs and situations
such as binge drinking even if these drinking episodes happen only a few times per year.
In short, if you do not follow the alcohol abuse and alcoholism "program" that has been designed for you by the
professionals at the alcohol abuse treatment center, it will be highly unlikely that you will overcome your
irresponsible, abusive, and excessive drinking behavior.
Alcoholism Videos
We have included some alcoholism videos so that you can see and hear directly from various people about
their struggles with this disease.
If you, a family member, or one of your friends has a "drinking problem," seeing what others have gone through,
how the alcohol abuse and/or alcoholism signs were dealt with, and how they attained successful recovery is much
more "real" than any information you can read about.
Furthermore, watching these videos may help you understand what others with a drinking problem are experiencing
and how they coped with the problems that resulted from their alcohol abuse and alcoholism. So make sure you look
at these excellent videos!
| According to the alcohol abuse and alcoholism research literature, children who
start drinking at a young age are more likely to experiment later with illegal drugs. Yet, many
children report that although they learn early on about the dangers of drugs, many do not learn
about the dangers of drinking alcohol. Question. Why aren't our students learning about the various
alcohol abuse signs that they need to avoid |
Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse Essential Info: Conclusion
The beneficial and the negative and unhealthy aspects of alcohol have been known for hundreds, if not thousands
of years. Why, then, do millions of people worldwide experience the damaging, debilitating, and the all too
frequent fatal consequences that are associated with alcohol abuse and alcoholism?
If you are concerned about the drinking behavior of a family member or a friend and want to know if he or she is
becoming a "problem drinker," there are a number of characteristic alcohol abuse signs that you can observe.
If your observations lead you to believe that your friend or family member is engaging in excessive and abusive
drinking, you can express your concern about their drinking and suggest that they get professional treatment at a
local alcohol abuse and alcoholism treatment center or facility.

| According to alcohol abuse and alcoholism research, 92% of American adults are
familiar with the designated driver concept and 148 million have either been a designated driver or
been driven home by one. If this is the case, why, then, do so many individuals drink and
drive? |
| While enrolled in in-patient alcoholism rehab, patients attend classes, hear
lectures, learn about alcohol abuse and alcoholism signs, and participate in individual, group and
family counseling sessions. The activities aim to educate patients about alcoholism, help them
recognize that they have the disease, and help them adjust to a life without alcohol. Patients
often are introduced to self-help groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous. Family members often get
involved, too, and may be referred to Al-Anon, a self-help group for family members of
alcoholics. |
_____________________________________________
|