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Sometimes too much drink is barely enough.~Mark Twain
Alcoholism
Every day, men and women emerge from the self imposed cages of alcoholism and drug addiction to reclaim their families, friends, jobs, lives... Every Day. You can too.
According to the Brown University Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, more than half of all adults have a family history of alcoholism or problem drinking, and more than nine million children live with a parent dependent on alcohol and/or illicit drugs.
Alcoholism affects a wide circle of people close to the alcoholic_relatives, friends, neighbors, employers, co-workers, classmates, teachers, doctors, community workers_and is closely linked to many of America's most difficult social problems, including crime, homelessness, teen pregnancy and domestic violence. Yet 82% of doctors admit that MDs avoid addressing alcoholism in their patients.
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Sober N' Clean
Ask Yourself
- At a party, am I still drinking when the rest of the people have had their fill?
- Do I stop at the liquor store on the way home from work even though I swore to myself this morning I wouldn't?
Medications?
A range of medications is used to treat alcoholism. Benzodiazepines (Valium, Librium) are sometimes used during the first days after a person stops drinking to help him or her safely withdraw from alcohol. These medications are not used beyond the first few days, however, because they may be highly addictive. Other medications help people remain sober. One medication used for this purpose is naltrexone (ReVia). When combined with counseling naltrexone can reduce the craving for alcohol and help prevent a person from returning, or relapsing, to heavy drinking. Another medication, disulfiram (Antabuse), discourages drinking by making the person feel sick if he or she drinks alcohol.
Definition
Alcoholism is a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its
development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by continuous or
periodic: impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse
consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial.
"Primary" refers to the nature of alcoholism as a disease entity in addition to and separate from other
pathophysiologic states which may be associated with it.
It also suggests that alcoholism, as an addiction, is not a symptom of an underlying disease state.
"Disease" means an involuntary disability. It represents the sum of the abnormal phenomena displayed by a group
of individuals. These phenomena are associated with a specified common set of characteristics by which these
individuals differ from the norm, and which places them at a disadvantage.
"Often progressive and fatal" means that the disease persists over time and that physical, emotional, and social
changes are often cumulative and may progress as drinking continues. Alcoholism causes premature death
through overdose, organic complications involving the brain, liver, heart and many other organs, and by
contributing to suicide, homicide, motor vehicle crashes, and other traumatic events.
"Impaired control" means the inability to limit alcohol use or to consistently limit on any drinking occasion the
duration of the episode, the quantity consumed, and/or the behavioral consequences of drinking.
"Preoccupation" in association with alcohol use indicates excessive, focused attention given to the drug alcohol,
its effects, and/or its use. The relative value thus assigned to alcohol by the individual often leads to a diversion of
energies away from important life concerns.
"Adverse consequences" are alcohol-related problems or impairments in such areas as: physical health (e.g.,
alcohol withdrawal syndromes, liver disease, gastritis, anemia, neurological disorders); psychological functioning
(e.g., impairments in cognition, changes in mood and behavior); interpersonal functioning (e.g., marital problems
and child abuse, impaired social relationships); occupational functioning (e.g., scholastic or job problems); and
legal, financial, or spiritual problems.
"Denial" is used here not only in the psychoanalytic sense of a single psychological defense mechanism
disavowing the significance of events, but more broadly to include a range of psychological maneuvers designed
to reduce awareness of the fact that alcohol use is the cause of an individual's problems rather than a solution to
those problems. Denial becomes an integral part of the disease and a major obstacle to recovery.
source: National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence
Is alcoholism inherited? Research shows that the risk for developing alcoholism runs in families. The genes a person inherits partially explain this pattern, but lifestyle is also a factor. Your friends, the amount of stress in your life, and how readily available alcohol is also are factors that may increase your risk for alcoholism. But remember: Risk is not destiny. Just because alcoholism tends to run in families doesn't mean that a child of an alcoholic parent will automatically become an alcoholic too. Some people develop alcoholism even though no one in their family has a drinking problem. By the same token, not all children of alcoholic families get into trouble with alcohol. Knowing you are at risk is important, though, because then you can take steps to protect yourself from developing problems with alcohol.