Drug Addiction Treatment Blog

If you are drinking too much alcohol, you can improve your life and health by cutting down your alcohol consumption.

How do you know if you drink too much? Read these questions and answer “yes” or “no”:

·          Do you drink alone when you feel angry or sad?
·          Does your drinking ever make you late for work?
·          Does your drinking worry your family?
·          Do you ever drink after telling yourself you won’t?
·          Do you ever forget what you did while you were drinking?
·          Do you get headaches or have a hangover after you have been drinking?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may have a problem with alcohol. Call Recovery Connection for a clinical assessment to be sure. Your doctor will also be able to tell you whether you should cut down or abstain. If you have other medical problems, you should not just cut down on your drinking — you should stop drinking completely.

In addition, alcoholism tends to run in families. If there has ever been a drinking problem in your family, you are at high risk of having a regular drinking pattern turn into an uncontrollable addiction before you realize it. If you do have a family history, it’s advisable to minimize your social drinking.

If your doctor tells you to cut down on your drinking, these steps can help you:
1. Write your reasons for cutting down or stopping.
Why do you want to drink less? There are many reasons why you may want to cut down or stop drinking. You may want to improve your health, sleep better, or get along better with your family or friends. Make a list of the reasons you want to drink less.
2. Set a drinking goal.

You may choose to cut down or not to drink at all. If you are cutting down, keep below these recommended limits:
Women: No more than one drink a day
Men: No more than two drinks a day

A drink is:
§                         a 12-ounce bottle of beer;
§                         a 5-ounce glass of wine; or
§                         a 1 1/2-ounce shot of liquor.

These limits may be too high for some people who have certain medical problems or who are older. Talk with your doctor about the limit that is right for you.

Now — write your drinking goal on a piece of paper. Put it where you can see it, such as on your refrigerator or bathroom mirror. Your paper might look like this:

3. Keep a “diary” of your drinking.
To help you reach your goal, keep a “diary” of your drinking. For example, write down every time you have a drink for one week. Try to keep your diary for 3 or 4 weeks. This will show you how much you drink and when. You may be surprised. How different is your goal from the amount you drink now? Use the “drinking diary” below to write down when you drink.

Now you know why you want to drink less and you have a goal. There are many ways you can help yourself to cut down. Try these tips:

Watch it at home.
Keep a small amount or no alcohol at home. Don’t keep temptations around.

Drink slowly.
When you drink, sip your drink slowly. Take a break of 1 hour between drinks. Drink soda, water, or juice after a drink with alcohol. Do not drink on an empty stomach! Eat food when you are drinking.

Take a break from alcohol.
Pick a day or two each week when you will not drink at all. Then, try to stop drinking for 1 week. Think about how you feel physically and emotionally on these days. When you succeed and feel better, you may find it easier to cut down for good.

Learn how to say NO.
You do not have to drink when other people drink. You do not have to take a drink that is given to you. Practice ways to say no politely. For example, you can tell people you feel better when you drink less. Stay away from people who give you a hard time about not drinking.

Stay active.
What would you like to do instead of drinking? Use the time and money spent on drinking to do something fun with your family or friends. Go out to eat, see a movie, or play sports or a game.

Get support.
Cutting down on your drinking may be difficult at times. Ask your family and friends for support to help you reach your goal. Talk to your doctor if you are having trouble cutting down. Get the help you need to reach your goal.

Watch out for temptations.
Watch out for people, places, or times that make you drink, even if you do not want to. Stay away from people who drink a lot or bars where you used to go. Plan ahead of time what you will do to avoid drinking when you are tempted.
Do not drink when you are angry or upset or have a bad day. These are habits you need to break if you want to drink less.

DO NOT GIVE UP!
Most people do not cut down or give up drinking all at once. Just like a diet, it is not easy to change. That is okay. If you do not reach your goal the first time, try again. Remember, get support from people who care about you and want to help. Do not give up!
Source: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism – National Institute of Health.

We encourage people suffering from alcoholism or drug addiction to search for help. Remember that Recovery Connection is always here and we can answer any other questions. Call us at anytime at 1-800-993-3869, or visit our site at www.recoveryconnection.org.

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Alcohol Detox and Alcohol Withdrawal
 

Alcohol Withdrawal
 

Alcohol withdrawal is a direct by product of alcoholism, alcohol addiction and alcohol dependency and occurs when the use of alcohol is discontinued. It is unavoidable, but the degree of uncomfortabliity one experiences is manageable. Due to the symptoms associated with alcohol withdrawal, which can range from anxiety, nausea and sweats to tremors, convulsions and seizures, it is highly recommended alcohol withdrawal be managed in an alcohol detox program.  

Due to the fear many alcoholics experience regarding alcohol withdrawal symptoms, they actually will make the decision to continue to drink alcoholically, rather than get sober. This is generally because they have tried to detox from alcohol on their own and the alcohol withdrawal symptoms they experienced were very difficult to handle by themselves. Many end up self medicating by drinking or taking other drugs to cope with the alcohol withdrawal symptoms and end up right where they started, drinking alcoholically.

Alcohol Detox
 

Alcohol detox, is a process by which the alcohol withdrawal symptoms are medically managed, allowing the person suffering from alcohol abuse or alcoholism to become abstinent of alcohol. Alcohol detox does not have to be a painful process. Alcohol detox generally takes place in a medically monitored alcohol rehab program, where medications are dispensed to reduce and sometimes eliminate the symptoms associated with alcohol withdrawal.

One of the most important reasons alcohol detox, should take place in a medically monitored alcohol detox unit, is many people going through alcohol detox may have additional medical problems. While it is important to mange the alcohol withdrawal symptoms, it is equally important to treat any medical problems that are present. It is important to guard against alcohol withdrawal symptoms making an already difficult medical situation worse.

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Substance abuse is a widespread problem in our society. An estimated 14.8 million Americans are current illicit drug users. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported that 77 percent of illicit drug users in the United States are employed. That’s 9.4 million people. The chances are good that your organization employs one of these workers.
Who is using drugs at work?
A survey by the federal government showed full-time employees who admitted to being current illicit drug users tend to be:

• between the ages of 18 and 25
• less educated
• male
• divorced or never married
• white
• low paid

Industries with the highest rates of illicit drug use:

• food preparation workers
• waiters, waitresses, and bartenders
• other service occupation workers
• construction workers
• workers in transportation and material moving

How does substance abuse impact the workplace?

• Employees who abuse alcohol and other drugs bring their problems with them to work.  
• Substance abuse lowers productivity.  
• Problems related to alcohol and drug abuse cost American businesses roughly $81 billion in lost productivity in just one year.
• Studies have shown that substance-abusing employees function at about 67% of their capacity.
• Substance abuse causes accidents and injuries.  
• Up to 40 percent of industrial fatalities and 47 percent of industrial injuries can be linked to alcohol use and alcoholism. 
• Employees who use drugs are 3.6 times more likely to be involved in a workplace accident and 5 times more likely to file a workers’ compensation claim.
• Substance abuse increases absenteeism and turnover.  
• An estimated 500 million workdays are lost annually due to alcoholism.
• Employees who use drugs are 2.2 times more likely to request early dismissal or time off, 2.5 times more likely to have absences of eight days or more, and 3 times more likely to be late for work.
• Illicit drug users are more than twice as likely than those who do not use drugs to have changed employers three or more times in the past year.
• Substance abuse increases an employer’s medical costs.  
• Employees who use drugs cost their employers about twice as much in medical claims as do non-drug-using employees.

What can your organization do to decrease the impact of substance abuse?  
 
Implement a drug-free workplace program  
In 1988, the Drug-free Workplace Act was passed, requiring all federal grantees and some recipients of federal contracts to agree to provide a drug-free workplace as a condition of receiving federal money. In a drug-free workplace, all employees adhere to a program of policies and activities designed to provide a safe Workplace. The policies and activities discourage alcohol and drug abuse and encourage treatment, recovery and the return to work of those employees who have abuse problems. Even if your organization is not required to have a drug-free workplace program, your organization can still benefit.  
A successful drug-free workplace program may include:  

• a written policy
• employee education
• supervisor training
• access to assistance
• drug testing

A good drug-free workplace program can lead to  

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Addiction is a neurologically based disease. For many years recovery specialists have compared alcoholism or addictions to a physical disease: like diabetes.  In reality addictions are more closely related to a neurological disorder like Tourette’s Syndrome* than they are to diabetes.  If the problems you suffer stem from severe alcoholism or addiction, you must accept that these problems are not primarily mental or free will issues. Addictions are not about will power. The problems facing addicts, alcoholics, and their families are miserable, disgusting, and infuriating. They are often hopelessly discouraging. But to imagine that an addict “could change if he wanted to” is a serious misunderstanding of the long term dynamic of addictive disorder. The fact is precisely that an addict cannot change in the long run even if he wants to! That is the definition of addiction: “the loss of control over the use of a substance.” It is important to understand that this loss of control is manifested not in terms of days or weeks, but in longer term behaviors: terms of months and years. 

The reason addicts have lost control is because they have suffered permanent physical neurological changes based in their brains and nervous systems. The disorder manifests in long term obsessive-compulsive behaviors outside the realm of the addicts own control. It is true enough that the use of chemicals begins with chosen behavior. But if alcoholism or addiction develops, the problem has moved outside the realm of free choice. It has developed into a long term mental and physical neurological disorder. All the emotional ‘feelings’ involved in drug or alcohol seeking are based in neurology. Addiction is based in physical dependency created by altered neurotransmitter balances, and driven by millions upon millions of new living, functioning active neurological pathways which have been established to sustain the condition in the addicts brain. The new neurological pathways are permanently established, and they will not just disappear. The primary neurological disorder is only complicated by physical dependence on the substances. The physical dependence on the substances is secondary!  Physical drug withdrawal does not change the underlying neurological addictive disorder. After drug withdrawal, long term overpowering cravings are predictable. These cravings are, in reality, spontaneous nerve impulses. Even in the longer term, overwhelming cravings are outside the addict’s control.

To locate a drug rehab or an alcohol rehab, you can either click on one of the links or call the national addiction treatment helpline at 1-800-99-DETOX to locate the right addiction treatment center for you or your loved one. For additional information about alcoholism, drug addiction, or associated disorders please go to, www.recoveryconnection.org.

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