One problem many Alcoholics or Problem drinkers have is that they are surrounded by a group of people or friends that encourage them to drink. Although these friends may not mean any harm they are not helping you progress.
Get your friends on your side
Get new friends
Avoid social situations where you will be tempted
Remove all Alcohol from your home
Here is a list of Alcoholic support groups in each state.
Have you ever wondered to yourself, “Am I an Alcoholic?” If you have and have yet to find out if you are or not, you should ask yourself a series of questions that will identify you as an alcoholic or not, which will determine the level of help you need, if any.
If you are having a hard time determining if you or a loved one are actually an alcoholic, the four following signs will help you determine whether or not you need to seen professional help or not:
You are unable to meet your given duties.
If you can’t seem to do the tasks assigned to you because of your drinking, lack the ability to finish, or continually fail to meet up to the standards given to you, you may have a serious alcohol problem that needs to be addressed
You are continually drinking throughout the day.
If you start drinking early in the morning, shortly after waking up, and continue throughout the day, this could be a sign that you’re dependant on alcohol to get you through the day; the mark of an addiction. This also has severe complications on your brain function, and can cause you to remain sluggish and forgetful.
You need to constantly increase the amount of alcohol you drink.
The body builds up what’s known as a tolerance. This tolerance, if the alcohol is to be effective at giving a “buzz” or dulling the senses must be continually increased. As this alcohol level increases, so does the amount of damage to your liver and brain. It can cause impaired judgment, as well as fat deposits in your liver cells.
You cannot quit without help.
This is one of the most obvious signs of an addiction: when you cannot stop something without someone else’s assistance. This is also shown by the lack of self control with alcohol present, as well as the constant “need” of the alcohol.
If you fit the given scenarios, then you most likely have an addiction to alcohol and can effectively answer the question “Am I an Alcoholic?” The proper steps afterward are now to be able to seek help, or at least take proper steps into lessen the amount of alcohol that you take in.
This article lists several symptoms of Alcoholism. If you experience one or more of these symptoms and drink regularly you should ask yourself if you have a problem with drinking. It is estimated that one third of America has some sort of dependency to alcohol. So before you reach for another drink, review these symptoms of alcohol addiction.
Liver Inflammation:
The liver is an important part of the body. It helps with digestion and also keeps one’s body freed from toxins. When the liver is inflamed, the body can become malnourished, or filled with ammonia which can poison a person’s system. Alcohol addiction puts a lot of additional strain on the liver. This can cause it to shut down or cause fat to deposit inside the liver cells, causing it to shut down.
Malnutrition:
Because alcohol contains 7 calories for every gram, a person’s body determines that it doesn’t need anymore energy, thus, throwing out all of the vital nutrients that it should keep. Alcohol has no beneficial value to the body, and when there are no vitamins coming in, the body can become malnourished and cause severe health risks such as scurvy (which is a depression to the immune system), stroke or heart disease.
Weight Gain:
Ever heard of the “Beer Belly”? Well, as stated before, one gram of alcohol contains 7 calories. These calories are known as “empty” calories that give your body very little nutrients. A person with an alcohol addiction can drink many alcoholic drinks, and consume several hundred of these empty calories which results in weight gain. Weight gain will cause one to feel more lethargic and unhealthy, and also increases the likely-hood of a heart attack.
Forgetfulness and Slowness:
Alcohol impairs the part of the brain that controls memory and judgment. If too much alcohol is consumed over the course of time, the brain can become damaged, and memory loss can take place. This process is also one of the main causes of alcohol induced brain damage. The pleasure that alcohol once gave deadens brain cells and depresses them to the point of no longer working. This causes one to appear mentally challenged and sluggish.
Impaired Judgment:
The very first part of the brain to be affected by alcohol is the frontal lobe. This is the part of the brain that controls judgment and right-thinking. As soon as alcohol hits this part of the brain, neurons begin to fire slower, and nerves known as “inhibitory nerves” are depressed. These nerves can cause one to act on immediate impulses, helping one to seem brave, but at the same time, very stupid.
If these symptoms of an alcohol addiction don’t get you to rethink reaching for another drink, consider the possibility of you joining the 17,941 dead who died due to drunk driving in 2006. These are merely symptoms of alcohol addiction, not the actual consequences of it.
There are typically four different types of drinkers. All of which have very distinct drinking habits that you should be aware of; either for yourself, or loved ones. Toward the end of this article, you should be able to accurately determine whether or not you or a loved one is a health drinker, social drinker or responsible drinker, problem drinker or irresponsible drinker or an alcoholic. We’ve added two more to our list because of the growing trend and concern for these types of drinkers: Under Age drinkers and Binge Drinkers.
The Health Drinker:
The health drinkers are the types of drinkers that drink alcohol for health-related reasons or to give them a deeper sense of peace.
The Social or Responsible Drinker:
The responsible drinker is the type of drinker who will drink slowly, and only on special occasions that call for a little more relaxation among friends or colleagues.
Social drinkers do not allow the alcohol to control them.
The Problem or Irresponsible Drinker:
The irresponsible drinker is the absolute opposite of the social drinker. These types of drinkers will often head for the bar for the buzz, and not for the social aspect of drinking. Problem drinkers get loud and brazen.
The Under-aged Drinker:
A form of the irresponsible drinker is the under aged drinker. When drinking is done by an under aged person, there are several risks involved.
The Alcoholic:
Alcoholics have lost all control of their drinking habits. Since the drink has become a drug, or a medication to pain, it can become highly addictive.
The Binge Drinker:
Another type of drinker out there is the binge drinker. Binge drinkers will often go extended periods of time without drinking followed by periods of extreme drinking. A person may believe he or she deserves to drink a massive amount of alcohol because they’ve not drank for a while, a binge drinker is a serious risk to him or herself.
Conclusion:
What types of drinker are you and your friends? Do you all have social drinking habits, or problem drinking habits? Always be careful when drinking alcohol. Make sure it does not become a crutch or addiction. Once it becomes an addiction, alcohol can run your life, and it is very difficult to quit drinking and straighten out your life. There is more to your life than allowing a drink to make decisions for you and rob you of the valuable time you have on earth.
Alcohol is one of the worlds most used social lubricants, but also one of the most lethal substances on this planet. I hope to, with this information, show you how alcohol effects the brain (the actual organ), what alcohol is, why it effects you and how to spot an addiction to alcohol, as well as how alcohol effects decision making.
There are a lot of things happen to the actual brain (the organ) when one has a drink of alcohol. What I’ll be writing now is how alcohol effects the brain when it enters the blood stream and as you’ll see, this has a large role in how alcohol effects decision making in the long run. I hope also show you the mental harm (as well as lethal outcomes) that an alcohol addiction can cause.
Now, I want to write on how alcohol effects the brain. The first part of your brain to be effected by alcohol is the frontal lobe. At a .05% alcohol level in your blood, your frontal lobe is effected. The frontal lobe is responsible for judgment and reasoning (which I’ll get to in a little bit). At .1 – .15%, the alcohol travels to your midbrain, where muscle coordination, vision, and speech are controlled. An alcoholic who drinks to this point tends to sway, slur their speech, and has very bad visual coordination (do not drive at all). After this point, the alcohol moves toward your Pons and Medulla Oblongota (two parts in the center part of your brain) where your respiratory system and cardiac system are effected. Hopefully, by this time, your body has shut down and you pass out before the alcohol becomes a lethal poison in your body.
It’s important that you know what you are putting into your body and why alcohol does what it does. Understanding this aids in your knowledge of how alcohol effects decision making, and the amount of alcohol you will allow into your body from this point forward.
Alcohol is a narcotic. A narcotic can be defined as a drug that dulls or depresses the senses. Narcotics such as alcohol can be very prone to addiction, especially if they are legal after a certain age. Like all narcotics, alcohol deadens pain and relieves anxiety. This is another reason it can be an addiction before you even know it. There are many ways you can find out if you have an addiction to alcohol. The best way to find out is by noting if you can cope with problems without the use of alcohol. If you cannot, it is a serious issue, and you might need to seek help before you become a serious alcoholic. Becoming an alcoholic has serious repercussions in how alcohol effects decision making as well as your brain health.
The judgment of an alcoholic is severely distorted by their addiction, as well as the alcohol itself deadening and depressing the nerves inside of the brain. This leads me into my last point, which is how alcohol effects judgment.
So do you want to know how alcohol effects decision making? Take for example those hidden urges that you have to suppress. Every single person has them. What allows you to stop yourself from acting upon these otherwise socially unacceptable, yet natural urges are called “inhibitory nerves.” Since alcohol is a depressant, these nerves are depressed, allowing you to appear more brave, when all you are is acting on urges that are already there. This is not safe when you decide to drive, or your friends dare you to do something. Since alcohol also inhibits the sympathetic nervous system. This nervous system gives you the “fight or flight” sense, which would normally cause you to become more cautious of a situation.
What I have just given you is information on how alcohol effects decision making, mental awareness and reason, as well as what alcohol is as a drug, and how to spot an alcoholic addiction. If you have a chemical in your body that inhibits the nerves that help you suppress the dormant urges that you have, and you begin to lose your judgment because your frontal lobe (where reason lives), do you think that you’re going to make great decisions? I would venture to say “No.” And that is how alcohol effects decision making.
When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, so does her unborn baby. There is no known safe amount of alcohol to drink while pregnant and there also does not appear to be a safe time to drink during pregnancy either. Therefore, it is recommended that women abstain from drinking alcohol at any time during pregnancy. Women who are sexually active and do not use effective birth control should also refrain from drinking because they could become pregnant and not know for several weeks or more.
What are FAS and FASDs?
Prenatal exposure to alcohol can cause a range of disorders, known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). One of the most severe effects of drinking during pregnancy is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). FAS is one of the leading known preventable causes of mental retardation and birth defects. If a woman drinks alcohol during her pregnancy, her baby can be born with FAS, a lifelong condition that causes physical and mental disabilities. FAS is characterized by abnormal facial features, growth deficiencies, and central nervous system (CNS) problems. People with FAS might have problems with learning, memory, attention span, communication, vision, hearing, or a combination of these. These problems often lead to difficulties in school and problems getting along with others. FAS is a permanent condition. It affects every aspect of an individual’s life and the lives of his or her family.
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) is an umbrella term describing the range of effects that can occur in an individual whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These effects include physical, mental, behavioral, and/or learning disabilities with possible lifelong implications. The term FASDs is not intended for use as a clinical diagnosis.
FASDs include FAS as well as other conditions in which individuals have some, but not all, of the clinical signs of FAS. Three terms often used are fetal alcohol effects (FAE), alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND), and alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD). The term FAE has been used to describe behavioral and cognitive problems in children who were prenatally exposed to alcohol, but who do not have all of the typical diagnostic features of FAS. In 1996, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) replaced FAE with the terms ARND and ARBD. Children with ARND might have functional or mental problems linked to prenatal alcohol exposure. These include behavioral or cognitive abnormalities or a combination of both. Children with ARBD might have problems with the heart, kidneys, bones, and/or hearing.
All FASDs are 100% preventable—if a woman does not drink alcohol while she is pregnant.
How common are FAS and FASDs?
The reported rates of FAS vary widely. These different rates depend on the population studied and the surveillance methods used. CDC studies show FAS rates ranging from 0.2 to 1.5 per 1,000 live births in different areas of the United States. Other FASDs are believed to occur approximately three times as often as FAS.
What are the characteristics of children with FAS and other FASDs?
FAS is the severe end of a spectrum of effects that can occur when a woman drinks during pregnancy. Fetal death is the most extreme outcome. FAS is a disorder characterized by abnormal facial features and growth and central nervous system (CNS) problems. If a pregnant woman drinks alcohol but her child does not have all of the symptoms of FAS, it is possible that her child has another FASD, such as alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND). Children with ARND do not have full FAS but might demonstrate learning and behavioral problems caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol. Examples of these problems are difficulties with mathematical skills, difficulties with memory or attention, poor school performance, and poor impulse control and/or judgment.
Children with FASDs might have the following characteristics or exhibit the following behaviors:
Children with FASDs are at risk for psychiatric problems, criminal behavior, unemployment, and incomplete education. These are secondary conditions that an individual is not born with but might acquire as a result of FAS or a related disorder. These conditions can be very serious, but there are protective factors that have been found to help individuals with FASDs. For example, a child who is diagnosed early in life can be placed in appropriate educational classes and given access to social services that can help the child and his or her family. Children with FASDs who receive special education are more likely to achieve their developmental and educational potential. In addition, children with FASDs need a loving, nurturing, and stable home life to avoid disruptions, transient lifestyles, or harmful relationships. Children with FASDs who live in abusive or unstable homes or who become involved in youth violence are much more likely than those who do not have such negative experiences to develop secondary conditions.
If you think your child might have an FASD, contact your doctor who might be able to refer you to a specialist who can assess your child.
How can we prevent FASDs?
FASDs are completely preventable—if a woman does not drink alcohol while she is pregnant or could become pregnant. If a woman is drinking during pregnancy, it is never too late for her to stop. The sooner a woman stops drinking, the better it will be for both her baby and herself. If a woman is not able to stop drinking, she should contact her doctor, local Alcoholics Anonymous, or local alcohol treatment center. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has a Substance Abuse Treatment Facility locator. This locator helps people find drug and alcohol treatment programs in their area. If a woman is sexually active and is not using an effective form of birth control, she should not drink alcohol. She could become pregnant and not know it for several weeks or more.
Mothers are not the only ones who can prevent FASDs. The father’s role is also important in helping the mother abstain from drinking alcohol during pregnancy. He can encourage her not drinking alcohol by avoiding social situations that involve drinking and by not drinking alcohol himself. Significant others, family members, schools, health and social service organizations, and communities can also help prevent FASDs through education and intervention.
In February 2005, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an Advisory on Alcohol Use in Pregnancy to raise public awareness about this important health concern. To reduce prenatal alcohol exposure, prevention efforts should target not only pregnant women who are currently drinking, but also women who could become pregnant, are drinking at high-risk levels, and are having unprotected sex.
[source: www.cdc.gov]October 16th, 2007 by Scott Young 
Most of life is habitual. You do the same things you did yesterday, the day before and every day for the last month. It’s estimated that out of every 11,000 signals we receive from our senses, our brain only consciously processes 40.
Habits, good or bad, make you who you are. The key is controlling them. If you know how to change your habits, then even a small effort can create big changes.
I’ve been using these techniques for years to re-engineer many aspects of my life. That includes overhauling my diet, exercising regularly, cutting out television, and bulking my e-mail and work routines. Little changes that, when put on autopilot, can result in an improved quality of life.
Here are some tips to get you started:
One Habit For 30 Days – Steve Pavlina, popularized the 30 Day Trial. You focus on one change for thirty days. After that time it has been sufficiently conditioned to become a habit. I’ve used this as the basis for most of my habit changes. It definitely works to sculpt the automatic programs that run in the background of your mind.
Use a Trigger – A trigger is a short ritual you perform before a habit. If you wanted to wake up earlier this might mean jumping out of bed as soon as you hear the sound of your alarm. If you wanted to stop smoking this could be snapping your fingers every time you feel the urge for a cigarette. A trigger helps condition a new pattern more consistently.
Replace Lost Needs – If you opened up your computer and started removing hardware, what would happen. Chances are your computer wouldn’t work. Similarly, you can’t just pull out habits without replacing the needs they fulfill. Giving up television might mean you need to find a new way to relax, socialize or get information.
One Habit at a Time – A month may seem like a long time to focus on only one change, but I’ve found trying to change more than a few habits at a time to be reckless. With just one habit change you can focus on making it really stick. Multitasking between three or four often means none become habits.
Balance Feedback – The difference between long-term change and giving up on day 31 is the balance of feedback. If your change creates more pain in your life than joy, it is going to be hard to stick to. Don’t go to the gym if you hate it. Find diets, exercise, financial plans and work routines that are fun to follow and support you.
“But” to Kill Bad Thoughts – A prominent habit-changing therapist once told me a great way to nuke bad thinking. Anytime you feel yourself thinking negatively about yourself, use the word “but” and point out positive aspects. “I’m lousy at this job – but – if I keep at it I can probably improve.”
Write it Down – Don’t leave commitments in your brain. Write them on paper. This does two things. First, it creates clarity by defining in specific terms what your change means. Second, it keeps you committed since it is easy to dismiss a thought, but harder to dismiss a promise printed in front of you.
30, 90, 365 – I’d like to say most habits go through a series of checkpoints in terms of conditioning. The first is at thirty days. Here it doesn’t require willpower to continue your change, but problems might offset it. At ninety days any change should be neutral where running the habit is no more difficult than not running it. At one year it is generally harder not to run the habit than to continue with it. Be patient and run habits through the three checkpoints to make them stick.
Get Leverage – Give a buddy a hundred bucks with the condition to return it to you only when you’ve completed thirty days without fail. Make a public commitment to everyone you know that you’re going to stick with it. Offer yourself a reward if you make it a month. Anything to give yourself that extra push.
Keep it Simple – Your change should involve one or two rules, not a dozen. Exercising once per day for at least thirty minutes is easier to follow than exercising Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays with yoga the first day and mountain biking the third day, except when it is raining in which case you will do… Simple rules create habits, complex rules create headaches.
Consistency is Key – The point of a habit is that it doesn’t require thought. Variety may be the spice of life, but it doesn’t create habits. Make sure your habit is as consistent as possible and is repeated every day for thirty days. This will ensure a new habit is drilled in, instead of multiple habits loosely conditioned.
Experiment – You can’t know whether a different habit will work until you try it. Mix around with key habits until you find ones that suit you. Don’t try to follow habits because you should, but because you’ve tested them and they work in your life.
Post Your Change Here – Pick a change you want to work on and post it right here in the comments. You’ll get the benefits of writing it down and making a public commitment. The best time to start is right now.
Image by acqyr
Source: Pick The Brain
How can Professional Alcohol treatment help you? Most often those addicted to alcohol and trying to get sober struggle to stop drinking. Many have failed to become or stay sober multiple times. In most cases it is because you have not identified the reason why you are drinking. This is something that a professional alcohol treatment center should do to help you over come your alcoholism.
Why can’t you do this yourself? You can but most are unable. Problems have been drowned or ignored for so long that you need someone who is outside to help you sort through the issues. There may be multiple issues which further complicate the situation and make it hard to pinpoint the source of your problem. There are lots of different reasons why people are addicted to alcohol.
Some of the sources of dependency are emotional, spiritual, mental and or physical. Those who are experienced and trained to help a person work through there own problems can guide the alcoholic through process of self discover and understanding. Finding the root cause to ones drinking is extremely important however it is not the only issue that has to be dealt with but is extremely important in the process of overcoming addiction.
After the root is identified there is a process of healing and progress. One must be willing to defeat their personal demons and work hard to overcome their root issue. Many need counseling or the guidance of a spiritual leader in order to help them overcome their past. A professional alcohol treatment clinic can provide the needed support group one needs to pass this step of recovery.
Last, there is the issue of alcohol. Although Alcohol may not be the root cause of the drinking it is certainly the most destructive by product of the problem. Each person must learn how to deal with and accept their problem with alcohol. That means not only to become sober but learning how to mentally and emotionally deal with sobriety. All of these different issues make it difficult for many to sort out by themselves. A professional alcohol treatment clinic can help each client overcome their problem with alcohol and provide the necessary resources and professional support that each individual needs.
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