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The term "alcoholism" would be described as an addiction to alcohol. When a person has a strong case of alcoholism, it is very difficult for them not to drink. Some people who suffer from this are unable to feel content with themselves without consuming alcohol. Unlike cravings for food, alcohol cravings are much more potent and much more difficult to ignore for people with alcoholism. Often times, people craving alcohol feel that they need it to sustain themselves more than food or water. In worst case scenarios, people feel they can't go an hour without drinking alcohol. This results in a loss of control over body and mind in the alcoholic. The cumulative effects of excessive alcohol consumption, especially when associated with a poor diet, affect every part of the body. The two main sites of damage are the liver and the nervous system: the liver may become progressively damaged through a condition known as cirrhosis, which may lead to liver failure, liver cancer and death. The nervous system may be damaged at many levels. The intellect can be damaged with anxiety and depression, confusion and dementia. The rest of the nervous system can suffer from loss of balance, impotence, numbness of the feet and hands, tremor and blindness. Apart from these two major sites of damage, alcoholism is also implicated in diabetes, inflammation of the pancreas, internal bleeding, weakening of the heart, high blood pressure and stroke, and is harmful to developing pregnancies. Many car accidents are a result of alcoholism. In the United States, though measures have been taken to prevent it, the number of accidents involving alcohol has increased significantly over the last ten years. In the year 2004, 25,000 fatal accidents were the result of alcohol. Besides the terrible loss of life, there is also a cost to taxpayers in the US who have to pay because of others' mistakes. 21 to 24 billion dollars a year must be paid to the government for alcohol-related accidents. Insurance also poses a problem to the families of the deceased. Alcohol addiction causes so much suffering in marriage. Besides being physically and emotionally harmful to alcoholics themselves, addiction is also harmful to those whose lives touch them. Addiction makes people insensitive to the feelings of those who care most for them, and they will stop at nothing to feed their addiction. Alcoholics commonly engage in their most painful habits while under the influence. Acts of infidelity are common. The fact that he or she is drunk at the time is no consolation to a grief-stricken spouse. It can require a lot of strength for children to resist peer pressure and media influences. When it comes to alcohol and drugs, the most useful weapon that your children can have is facts and knowledge, instead of scare tactics and threats from their parents. Children's trust in parents can go way up on the scale when they actually researched the topic of drugs with their parents. Many successful parents decide that one of the best ways to avoid their children being drawn into drugs, is to educate them, and learn together, rather than simply condemning the topic out of hand. If you do not want to create that taboo effect in your household, while you do not wish to condone alcohol and drugs, you should make sure that your kids know that they can talk to you about these issues at anytime they wish. Although many parents may disagree, but other say that if their kids are going to try alcohol then they might as well try it in safety at home. One advantage of this liberal approach is that in children's minds, if it does not seem like things are "off limits" then they will not be attracted to doing it just because they are not supposed to. If you think your drinking is a problem, try following these steps: STEP ONE: Decide what your aim is. Do you want to give up alcohol altogether? Or do you want to cut down to within daily benchmarks? Or maybe you want to avoid binge-drinking and all the problems that go with it. The decision is yours but be clear about what you want to achieve. STEP TWO: Pick a day in the next week to start cutting down. Go for a day when you are likely to be relaxed and not under pressure. Plan ahead for a day when it is easier to avoid alcohol. STEP THREE: Work out how you can avoid situations when you know you end up drinking more. If you often drink at home, stock up on alternatives to alcohol, like alcohol-free beers, or lagers or wine or soft drinks. You might like to tell other people that you are cutting back, this should avoid them putting pressure on you to drink and they might even join in. STEP FOUR: Do not give up! Changing habits like drinking takes time and hard work and sometimes it is difficult to drink less. Keep focusing on the positive things you have achieved. If you do relapse, set a new date to start reducing again. STEP FIVE: If you continue to find it difficult to cut down you could see a trained alcohol counsellor to help you develop strategies or contact Drinkline for advice. Try phrases such as: No thanks ,I have had enough or I have got a lot on tomorrow. Reward yourself. Chart your progress. Cutting down requires willpower and self-control so you should be pleased with yourself for succeeding. Buy yourself something special with the money you save from not drinking. Be honest with yourself. Make sure you only reward yourself when you meet the targets you set yourself. Over the past 20 years, modern methods of evaluating medical therapies have been increasingly applied to alcohol treatment. Alcohol treatment centers use both counseling and medications to help a person stop drinking. With support and treatment, many people are able to stop drinking alcohol and rebuild their lives. Alcohol treatment programs work for many people.But just like any chronic disease, there are varying levels of success when it comes to alcohol treatment. Some people stop drinking and remain sober on their own. Others have long periods of sobriety with bouts of relapse. With alcohol treatment, one thing is clear, however, the longer a person abstains from alcohol, the more likely he or she will be able to stay sober. Alcohol rehabilitation centers are large in number in the United States, but few in diversity. Most rehab centers claim to be the best in the business, and yet are indistinguishable from the rest. This makes giving up alcohol more difficult, for most people require individualized treatment and rehab. A treatment plan should not be formed according to any restrictive model; it should be tweaked and morphed into a plan that actually brings results to the people who use it. People, whether or not they are alcoholics, are not the same, and therefore cannot use the same exact treatment service. Finding an alcohol rehabilitation center that is different and cutting-edge is, therefore, rather difficult. These latter centers often have individualized treatment plans, and dual-diagnosis as well. Most of them are located in Florida, where the methods are creative and exciting, giving quality care to alcoholics.
Article Source: http://www.bodyformind.com/db
Interested in knowing how to stop your drinking problem. Learn more on your drinking problem , Check out this great way to remain sober This article is available as a unique content article with free reprint rights.
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