Tag Archives: alcohol abuse

Talking to Your Kids about Alcohol Abuse

When I was getting ready to go away to college, my parents sat me down and said something to the effect of “you’re probably going to drink when you’re at college, just do it responsibly.” They didn’t know that I’d already been faced with offers of alcohol and turned them down without hesitation. But then, I wouldn’t consider myself a typical teen with a typical curiosity about drinking. I had already seen up close what serious drinking could do to a person, and was not at all interested in alcohol. I never had more than a sip to taste until … Continue reading →

Treating Alcoholism

Let me say this up front: success in treating alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence is strongly linked to admitting that there is a problem and wanting to stop drinking. If you don’t want to stop drinking, all the treatments in the world aren’t going to do much good. Most alcoholics need to stop drinking completely. Initially, treatment will focus on stopping drinking and relieving symptoms of withdrawal. Some people can stop drinking on their own. Some can’t. Talk to your doctor — you may need anti-anxiety and/or anti-seizure medications to help you get through the withdrawal. Severe withdrawal symptoms like … Continue reading →

A Sane Christmas with your Insane Family

Well, perhaps your family isn’t clinically insane, but there are lots of families where dysfunction is as much a part of the family as the heirloom furniture. In our last article, we looked at how the younger sister of a two-daughter family decided her life was too short to go on being abused by her older sister. So Miriam made the decision to formally end her relationship with Rachel, and her Christmases and indeed her life, has been the better for it. Not all of us want or need to be as radical as Miriam in cutting out her sibling … Continue reading →

Alcoholism: When to Get Help

People can make a lot of excuses. My friend doesn’t really drink that much. I don’t have a problem. She can quit any time she wants. But sometimes you reach a point where you can’t make excuses any longer — you have to get help. Get help immediately — call 911 or another emergency service — if: Someone who has consumed alcohol is experiencing symptoms of alcohol poisoning like seizures, difficulty breathing, and loss of consciousness. Someone is having serious withdrawal symptoms like confusion and uncontrollable trembling. Severe withdrawal symptoms can lead to death in some cases. Someone has been … Continue reading →

Symptoms of Alcoholism

You don’t have to drink often to be at risk for alcohol abuse or dependence. You might not drink every day. You might go weeks between drinking, and call yourself a social drinker. Start by taking a look at the risk factors for alcoholism — are you at risk? I am. These are the signs that you are abusing alcohol: You have problems at work or school related to your alcohol use — tardiness, absenteeism, increased injuries, or decreased performance. You drink in dangerous situations — like before or while driving. You have blackouts — when you are sober after … Continue reading →

Risk Factors for Alcoholism

I worry that I am at risk for alcoholism. When I was a child, I remember my grandfather mixing his “tea” at noon. I’m pretty sure there was no actual tea in his glass, despite that being what he called it. I remember incidents of irrational behavior — like the time he shook my brother for dropping a piece of meat on the floor. It made me afraid of him. It made me afraid to drink. When my friends experimented in high school, I abstained. Even if I tried a sip, I told myself I didn’t like the taste. Once … Continue reading →

The Betty Ford Center: 25 Years Later

I don’t even think I knew what a rehab center was until the Betty Ford Center came into being. Former First Lady Betty Ford decided to open the drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Rancho Mirage, California along with Ambassador Leonard Firestone. It opened its doors in 1982, which makes this year the 25th anniversary of its opening. Why would someone so visible in the public eye open such a center? The First Lady decided to do it because she had fought an addiction and wanted a center that emphasized the needs of women as well as men. The center … Continue reading →

Men Who Drink Are At Risk For Sleep Disorders

A new study from the University of Wisconsin at Madison found that men who habitually consume alcohol are twenty-five percent more likely to have a sleep related breathing disorder than those who do not. The study looked at both men and women, but there was no significant relationship between alcohol consumption and sleep related breathing disorders. This may have been due to the fact that the 645 women in the study tended to generally drink less habitually than the 775 men in the study. Further studies are planned to look at the relationship between alcohol and sleep related breathing disorders … Continue reading →

Childhood behavioral problems and binge drinking

A comprehensive study involving more than 1600 participants has established a significant link between behavioral problems in childhood and subsequent adolescent binge drinking. Researchers at the University of Melbourne in Australia looked at the phenomenon of binge drinking, which was classified in the study as consuming at least five drinks in quick succession more than seven days a month by the time the individual was 17 years of age. Binge drinking is becoming particularly popular with incident rates soaring since the 1980s. About 60% of the participants were rated as moderate drinkers and 14% were listed as “heavy.” Among the … Continue reading →

Is Alcohol Abuse Hereditary?

My grandfather was an alcoholic. Every day at noon, he would mix up his “tea,” which wasn’t tea at all. All his errands had to be run before noon, so he could sit downstairs the rest of the day and drink. Dewar’s and water, or cheap wine and Coke, all afternoon and evening. He was a little scary when he had been drinking; I never knew if he would be in a cheerful and funny mood, or an angry, more dangerous mood. My father was known as quite a party guy before I was born. My younger brother claims to … Continue reading →