Brain Top Off!

Teresa was a thirty-five-year-old speech pathologist who realized that she had a drinking problem. For example, within the past five months she has experienced the need to have a few drinks before going to work, two months ago she tested positive for a blood alcohol test where she is employed, five months ago she got arrested for a DWI, and last but not least, for around six months she has started to fail to remember what she does and says when she drinks with her friends.

Like many other people, Teresa’s experiences with alcohol began little by little and remained at this tempo for quite a long period of time due to the fact at times she engaged in casual social drinking. In actual fact, for nearly six months, every time she went out with her friends to drink, she made sure to drink responsibly. Something about her pattern of drinking, nonetheless, seemed to drastically change when she got divorced from her husband.

So She Can Get Over the Divorce of Her Husband With Less Misery, Teresa Made Up Her Mind That She Will Begin Hanging Around More Repeatedly With Some of Her Pals Who Love to ”Get Down” and Drink

Teresa got extremely despondent about the loss of her husband, and as a way to abstain from dwelling on her discouraging emotions she came to a decision that she would start going out more frequently with some of her buddies who love to have fun drinking.

Quite candidly, Teresa thought that having fun almost every day by getting “mellow” and drinking with her friends would help her come to terms with the breakup of her husband with less misery.

Time, Anger, and Stress Management Problems

Teresa also reasoned that drinking with her buddies would help her steer clear of her time, anger, and stress management problems.

Teresa’s Drinking Escalates Greatly the More Frequently She Goes to Happy Hours, Family Get-Togethers, Dinner Dates, Sporting Events, and Private Parties With Her Friends

It didn’t take very long, nonetheless, before her drinking escalated significantly the more frequently she went to and drank at family get-togethers, dinner dates, sporting events, happy hours, and private parties with her pals. Not only this, but the fact that her drinking pals were all considerably younger than she was and therefore able to party harder and more frequently was one of the reasons why she didn’t concentrate more on her increased drinking. In a word, she was drinking and having a lot of fun just like everyone else in her group of friends without giving too much consideration about the effects of her excessive drinking.

Yet someplace in her awareness she realized that she most probably needed alcohol treatment but stayed away from the thought as much as possible.

Teresa Gets a Physical Examination, Discloses the Truth About Her Excessive and Irresponsible Drinking to Her Physician, and Acknowledges Her Depression

One morning during her annual physical examination, her doctor asked her if she drank alcohol. Not wanting to tell falsehoods to her healthcare professional, Teresa ”came clean” and stated that she routinely drinks more than she should. In truth, she said that she frequently drinks in an abusive and irresponsible manner. Then Teresa informed her healthcare professional about her sadness. More to the point, she articulated that wrecked relationships commonly initiated a discouraging cycle of events typified by increased drinking which further resulted in more discouraging feelings that, in turn, resulted in even more drinking. And this is explicitly what happened when her husband and she got divorced three years ago.

When her healthcare professional heard this, he informed Teresa that according to various alcoholism facts and statistics on alcoholism he was investigating, alcoholism and depression often arise in the same individual. He then told her that some of the alcohol statistics, research investigations, and facts he has been reading about also underscore the fact that individuals who drink in an abusive manner and who also experience depression need to obtain treatment for both medical situations.

Teresa’s Doctor Makes an Appointment for a Psychological Appraisal and For an Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Dependency Appraisal

Teresa’s doctor then said the following: “I am not trying to make an impulsive diagnosis, but with your medical situation we may be facing two separate issues. As a consequence, I think we probably need to make an appointment for you to get an alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse assessment from my partner, Dr. Bornhorst, who is an alcohol addiction specialist. Whether your drinking problem is more linked to alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency is unclear at this time, but I believe that further exploration is warranted. Then I think we need to schedule an appointment for you to get a psychological examination from another one of my partners, Dr. Farr, who is a psychologist. I want to get a deeper understanding about your pessimism and see how much your drinking and depression are intertwined.” Teresa showed her approval of her physician’s treatment strategy and thanked him for his time and concern.

Teresa Confronts the Sexuality Difficulties and the Conflict When She Was Married

In reality, Teresa now experienced a sense of personal self esteem and happiness because she finally became inspired to do something positive about her drinking problems and her depression. Not only this, but Teresa also knew that after alcohol rehab she would be better able to face the conflict and the sexuality difficulties when she was married. Now all she had to do was to try to reduce her drinking and get ready for her appointments.

How many people get injured or lose their lives in alcohol related traffic accidents every year? On an annual basis, how many alcoholics fail to get the professional alcohol treatment they require? How many people are the victims of alcohol related crime or violence each and every year? How many people face serious consequences in their lives because they received a DWI conviction? How many junior high, high school, and college students lose their lives every year due to an alcohol overdose? How many people’s lives are cut short due to unhealthy and hazardous drinking? How many individuals lose their lives every year because of drinking problems? How many children are born each year with fetal alcohol syndrome? How many people experience alcohol related depression? How many individuals lose their lives each year from a condition that is one hundred percent preventable, such as alcohol poisoning?

Why Would Anyone Want to Drink in a Hazardous and Irresponsible Manner?

So what’s the point in asking these questions? Basically to highlight the destructive and devastating nature of abusive and excessive drinking. Indeed, and based on the above questions, I wonder why anyone would choose to drink in an abusive and irresponsible manner.

Stated differently, with the host of employment difficulties, relationship dilemmas, legal proceedings, health problems, and financial issues that are interrelated with chronic alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency, why would any person with a common sense mentality want to drink in an excessive and hazardous manner? If truth be told when some of the above topics are looked at more closely, abusive and unhealthy drinking becomes more illogical and makes even less sense.

Wouldn’t you think that heavy drinkers would be able to see some of the alcohol symptoms that they display? In a similar manner doesn’t it seem reasonable to think that many more families would involve themselves in an alcohol intervention for the individual in the household who is an alcohol abuser or an alcoholic? What is more, wouldn’t you think that people who drink abusively would try to learn more about their drinking behavior by reading about various alcohol related statistics?

After reviewing the alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency research literature, the point is so significant that it needs to be repeated: With all of the damaging and unhealthy outcomes that are directly or indirectly linked to repetitive and continuous alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse, why would any person want to engage in excessive and unhealthy drinking?

What Can be Done About the Widespread Nature of Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Addiction in Our Country?

So what can be done about the widespread nature of alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction in the U.S.?

1. Our students need more meaningful and more relevant preventative and educational methods and approaches so that more students at all grade levels, including those at college, are “reached.
2. With a similar line of reasoning, our students need to learn how to become problem solvers in life rather than resorting to the ”quick fix” and the “instant gratification” of an alcohol or drug abuse “buzz” or “high”.
3. Individuals who are alcohol abusers or alcohol dependent need to look look at themselves frankly and ask why they are not getting the professional alcohol therapy they require.
4. Society needs to get the message to more people about the destructive and damaging consequences of hazardous drinking.

There’s Room For Hope if Those Who Engage in Excessive and Abusive Drinking Can Become Motivated to Get the Alcohol Rehabilitation They Need

There’s a lot of room for optimism and hope if individuals can start drinking responsibly and those who engage in hazardous drinkingcan become encouraged to get the alcohol rehabilitation they need. Indeed, why put your loved ones through pain, turmoil, and suffering because of your repeated and continuous drinking when you have the power to control your life by drinking responsibly or even quitting drinking if you can’t control your drinking behavior?