Larry was a sixteen year old high school junior who was exhibiting a number of alcohol-related issues at school. For that reason, the principal told him that he had to see Miss Johns, the school therapist, before he would be allowed to return to class.
Later that day when Larry went home after school, he had to explain his school situation to his Mom and Dad. His Mother and Father were “fairly conservative” and told Larry that dropping out of school was not a feasible educational game plan. They told Larry that failing to graduate from high school would probably be like a lead weight around his ankles that could quite possibly hinder his educational attainment for the remainder of his adult life. What is more, Larry’s Mom and Dad were extremely dismayed that he was drinking in the first place and drinking with his peers in the second.
His Mom and Dad explained to Larry that although he may be a teenager, he has to understand fairly promptly that drinking is the pathway to failure, ill health, pain, and financial problems.
It was clear that his parents were in total agreement with Larry’s principal and informed Larry that he had better come to the understanding that he needs to see Miss Johns, the school psychologist. After his discussion with his Mother and Father, Larry in the end agreed to see Miss Johns the next day. So Larry phoned the school and made an appointment to see Miss Johns the next day during his fifth period class.
The Therapist Asks Larry if He Understands Why His Recent Alcohol-Related Actions Gave the School Administrators Room For Alarm
When Larry went to see Miss Johns, she at once analyzed all of the alcohol-related difficulties Larry had experienced and asked him if he knew why his recent alcohol-related activities signaled such alarm.
Quite candidly, Larry was unsure why the principal informed him that he had to see a school psychologist. As he stated to Miss Johns, why should he see a professional psychologist about his drinking circumstances? Due to the fact that just about all of his peers drink the same amount that he does, primarily, drinking shouldn’t be such a big thing. Stated another way, if nearly everybody is drinking, why is this such a big thing?
Miss Johns asked Larry when he started to drink. He said that some of his older buddies introduced him to drinking hard liquor when he was twelve or thirteen years old and between the sixth and seventh grades.
Miss Johns informed Larry that while his buddies may indeed drink as much as he does and that they may be an unhealthy influence on him, the facts are that he is the one who is getting thrown out of school due to alcohol-related absenteeism, fighting, and delinquency, not his friends. Furthermore, Miss Johns also stressed the fact that Larry, and not his peers, is the one who is failing and who is missing at least two days of class per week due to his alcohol related difficulties. Finally, Miss Johns stressed the fact that because of his drinking situation, Larry is getting into a dangerous cycle of hazardous drinking that can in time ruin his dreams, hopes, and aspirations.
In a word, Larry’s involvement with youth alcohol abuse was beginning to impede his ability to act like a responsible young man. As pronounced by Miss Johns, “Just because most of your buddies drink hard liquor, beer, wine coolers, or wine does not mean that it is the correct behavior for you.”
Larry Learns That In the End He Must Take Responsibility For Himself In Order to Avert Dangerous, Damaging, Destructive, and Unhealthy Situations Down the Road
Miss Johns told Larry that one’s peers can without a doubt influence a person in a negative manner, but that the individual himself or herself has to at the end of the day claim responsibility for himself or herself in order to steer clear of unhealthy, dangerous, destructive, and damaging circumstances in the foreseeable future.
Fortunately, Miss Johns was well prepared for her meeting with Larry. She showed him reports and research studies she had underlined that outlined different drinking facts and statistics that targeted most people in general. Then she showed Larry a lot of figures and reports that applied especially to teens.
As an illustration, Miss Johns emphasized the difference between alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse and explained to Larry that drinkers who continue to drink in a hazardous manner habitually become alcoholic.
Miss Johns also explained the concept of binge drinking which she defined as follows: drinking five or more drinks in one sitting for males and consuming four or more drinks in one sitting for females.
The Therapist Verbalizes A Number Alcohol Addiction and Alcohol Abuse Statistics and Facts
Then Miss Johns stated the following eight alcoholism facts and alcohol abuse statistics:
1. Alcohol is a factor in around half of America’s murders, accidental deaths, and suicides.
2. Alcohol-related accidents are the leading cause of fatalities among teens.
3. Each year in the United States, nearly 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking. This includes about 1,900 fatalities from motor vehicle crashes.
4. Research has shown that U.S. teenagers who drink alcohol are 50 times more likely to use cocaine than teenagers who never ingest alcohol.
5. Almost 1,700 college students in the United States are killed annually–about 4.65 a day–as a consequence of injuries that are alcohol related.
6. In 2005, 2.1 million American college students between the ages of 18 and 24 claimed that they engage in driving under the influence of alcohol.
7. The World Health Organization estimates that roughly 76 million individuals throughout the world experience disorders that are related to alcohol dependency or alcohol abuse.
8. As demonstrated by recent drug and alcohol abuse studies, it has been learned that about 53% of the adults in the U.S. have reported that one or more of their close relatives is alcohol dependent or is an alcohol abuser.
Larry Gets A Meaningful Wake Up Call Regarding the Long Term and the Short Term Effects of Teen Alcohol Addiction and Alcohol Abuse
After Miss Johns articulated the aforementioned alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse facts and statistics, it was clear that what Miss Johns taught Larry was a real bombshell to him. Why? Because for the first time in his young life, someone not only took the time to go over the long term and the short term results of alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse, but she also took the time to verify what she was saying with alcoholism and alcohol abuse statistics and facts that related to everyone in general, and principally to adolescents.
Indeed, it was almost as if a light went on and Larry without pause grasped why he should not be engaging in excessive and abusive drinking with or without his friends any longer. Larry thanked Miss Johns for her concern and for the material she presented.
Miss Johns then asked Larry how he felt about getting a physical exam and an alcohol evaluation for the alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency rehabilitation he would probably need.
Larry thought about this for few minutes and then agreed to get an extensive physical exam and to go through a thorough assessment of his drinking condition so that he could start an alcohol abuse or alcoholism rehabilitation program in a realistic time frame.
Mail this postHeather is a sixty-four-year-old woman who is the top administrator in the human resources department at a large silver molding company. To help reduce the costs correlated with excessive sick days, increasing absenteeism, poor employee work performance, employee alcoholism and alcohol abuse, and work related injuries, Heather and the other members of upper management instituted a number of programs that made the work atmosphere substantially more productive, healthy, and safe.
For example, fourteen years ago Heather and the other company leaders instituted an Employee’s Assistance Program so that all the workers had access to first-rate counseling for their personal problems that could negatively influence their personal well-being, health, and their work performance.
Top Management Constructs a State-of-the-Art Exercise and Workout Room Complete With Exercise Equipment, Scales, a Professional Trainer During Business Hours, Mirrors, Weights, and Exercise Charts
As another illustration, about eight years ago Heather and the other company executives erected a forward-looking exercise and workout room complete with weights, many different types of exercise equipment, a professional trainer during business hours, exercise charts, mirrors, and scales.
Moreover, just about five years ago Heather and the other members of upper management invested in a purification system that filters all the drinking water that is accessible in the building. In a similar way, three years ago, Heather and the other VIPs started a “walking club” that is basically intended for workers who want to work on their cardiovascular system.
The Company Executives Launch a Weight-Watchers Class and Employ a Weight-Loss Trainer to Manage the Program
As another example, about two years ago, Heather and the other members of top management put into operation a “Weight-Watchers” class that presently meets every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 4:30 PM until 5:50 PM. Furthermore, top management employed a weight-loss professional to oversee the program.
In the same way, two years ago Heather and the other members of top management instituted a “Stop Smoking Club” for workers who want to refrain from smoking.
In the last nine months, in conjunction with the Employee’s Assistance Program, Heather and the other company leaders initiated an “Anger Management” class for workers who want to learn how to better manage their anger issues.
The VIPs Initiate a Drug and Alcohol Testing Program
In the last three-and-a-half months, Heather and the other company executives put into operation a drug and alcohol testing program that is related to their drug and alcohol abuse prevention program. In actual fact, Heather is the key person in the company responsible for getting the message out to all the employees about the drug and alcohol testing program as well as the drug and alcohol abuse prevention program.
One of the main elements of the drug and alcohol abuse prevention program is a class entitled “Alcoholism and Depression” that meets every Wednesday after work. The main idea with this class is informing workers that abusive drinking and depression many times occur in the same person. It is hoped that comprehending this information will be able to help a person address both medical problems and get the alcohol rehabilitation and mental health therapy he or she needs.
Top Management Initiates an Alcohol Statistics and Facts Class
Another fairly recent enhancement to the drug and alcohol abuse prevention program is a class entitled “Alcohol Statistics and Facts.” The rationale behind this alcohol statistics and facts class is the reality that many individuals fail to appreciate the full impact of the results of alcohol abuse and alcoholism without first learning about some of the alcohol abuse and alcoholism facts and statistics that are available. Consequently, one of the objectives of this class is to provide various alcoholism and alcohol abuse facts and statistics to help workers gain a better realization of the host of problems that are linked to excessive and abusive drinking and how they can prevent these difficulties from coming about.
Most recently, Heather and the other company leaders, via comments from employees, developed a class that focuses directly on severe drinking entitled “What is Alcoholism”? This what is alcoholism class meets every Thursday morning an hour before work and focuses largely on the differences between alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency and the different kinds of rehab that are available for people who drink in an abusive manner.
Although every single one of these preventative maintenance and health programs was relatively expensive, top management reasons that they are several thousands of dollars ahead by providing all of their employees with healthy, more productive, and safe working conditions.
Mail this postWhen Janice was in high school, she had acquired a reputation as a person who studied much of the time and who rarely, if ever, let her hair down by drinking with her peers. She seemed passionate about doing well academically so that she would be able to pursue a career that she not only benefited from but one that also gave her a degree of monetary security.
After much deliberation, finally she decided that she wanted to be a lawyer. In order to reach this goal, nevertheless, she would first have to complete four years of undergraduate education.
After Completing High School Janice Gets Accepted Into An Outstanding Undergrad University as a Springboard For a Career as a Trial Lawyer
After Janice finished high school, she applied to and was accepted into a famous program in linguistics. Her logic behind this decision was that this academic discipline would be good preparation for law school and wouldn’t be comparable to the preponderance of law school applicants who decide to take political science as their undergraduate major.
After graduating with a 3.95 GPA at the undergrad level, she applied to and was accepted at a renowned law school at one of the Big Ten universities.
She enjoyed her legal studies but occasionally she was besieged with all the work that law school demanded. Akin to the way she handled herself in her high school and undergraduate days, nevertheless, she made buddies painlessly but scarcely took part in social activities until the term was completed.
After Being Jubilant With the Fact That She Had Done Very Well on Her Finals, Janice Wanted to Let Her Hair Down and Have Some Fun
Janice was the type of individual who worked meticulously to finish what she started and then would take a breather when she could. As is the case, nonetheless, the vast majority of the things she did between school sessions or during her summer vacations did not have much to do with drinking. Evidently, Janice was anything but a party-girl. Now that her final examinations for her second year in law school were finished and being delighted with the fact that she had done a super job on her tests, however, she wanted to let her hair down and do something besides studying for a change.
Drinking at a Local Pub Results in Alcohol Poisoning Symptoms, Calling 911, The Emergency Number, and An Ambulance Ride to The Rehab Hospital
So Janice and some of her pals went to a local club where they had a few drinks. As the hours flew by, Janice persisted in drinking without having to worry about research projects or examinations the next day. Indeed, Janice mentioned to her pals how enjoyable it was to ”get down” and drink with her classmates.
As the evening progressed, Janice and her friends continued to drink. Indeed, she was having such a magnificent time that she didn’t want the night to come to an end. It was almost like she was making up for lost time and attempting to squeeze a year’s worth of fun and laughter into a single evening. Such a “game plan,” in most instances, does not work. If truth be told, when Janice went to the restroom and threw up, her buddies started to get anxious about her health.
About thirty minutes later when Janice started to slur her words, speak in a confused manner, and then pass out, in spite of this, her pals instantly knew that they needed to call 911 and ask for emergency assistance because they suspected that Janice was displaying alcohol poisoning symptoms.
Once Janice was in the hospital, the lead doctor corroborated what her pals had believed, to be precise, that Janice ingested substantially more alcohol than her body could handle and, as a consequence, she suffered from an alcohol overdose
After the medical team pumped her stomach until no gastric contents were visible, Janice was placed in the recovery room. After staying around six hours in recovery, Janice was then relocated to one of the regular hospital rooms. Fortunately, the most serious part of her hospitalization had passed and all of her vital signs were normal once again.
In response to Janice’s medical condition, her friends attentively called her Mother and Father. As a consequence, early the next morning, her Mother and Father and her best friends went to the hospital to see how Janice was doing.
Janice Narrowly Escapes Death, is Gratified to be Alive, and Promises to Never Again Drink in an Irresponsible and Abusive Manner
Janice was conscious of the fact that she came close to dying and, consequently, was grateful to be alive. Her Mom and Dad knew how hard she studied at college and how little she let herself socialize with her buddies. Nevertheless, they also knew that Janice needed to stay away from abusive drinking.
As a result, they suggested that down the road, whenever a drinking opportunity unfolds, that she always drink responsibly and in moderation. Janice agreed and swore to her friends and to her Mom and Dad that she would never again drink in an irresponsible and excessive manner. As stated by Janice, “I never pondered the fact that I would become one of the alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics in the local college newspaper. I now understand that excessive and hazardous drinking is not for me. I pledge that this will never happen again.”
Fortunately, Janice was not only “school smart” but she also possessed common sense. Stated another way, she quickly comprehended that she had made a mistake and made up her mind that she would never make the same error again. If truth be told, she now knew that she had involved herself in “binge drinking” and that even one instance of this type of abusive drinking can end in death.
Mail this postTeresa was a forty-five-year-old insurance agent who knew that she had some drinking issues. For example, within the past month she has felt the need to have a drink or two before going to work, four months ago she failed to pass a random urine alcohol test where she works, five weeks ago she got stopped by the police for a DWI, and finally, for going on six months she has started to fail to remember what she says and does when she goes out drinking with her friends.
Like hosts of other people, Teresa’s experiences with alcohol began gradually and stayed at this speed for quite a long time due to the fact once in a “blue moon” she engaged in intermittent social drinking. In truth, for about four years, every time she drank, she made sure to drink in moderation. Something about her drinking behavior, nevertheless, seemed to completely change when she got divorced.
So She Can Come to Terms With the Divorce of Her Husband With Less Grief, Teresa Came to the Conclusion That She Will Start Hanging Around More Repeatedly With Some of Her Pals Who Love to Have Fun and Drink
Teresa got exceedingly “down” about the loss of her husband, and as a way to refrain from dwelling on her negative emotions she determined that she would start hanging around more often with some of her buddies who love to have fun and drink.
Quite forthrightly, Teresa believed that having fun almost every day by partying and drinking with her pals would help her get beyond the divorce of her husband with less grief.
Teresa’s Drinking Escalates Significantly the More Habitually She Goes to Private Parties, Family Get-Togethers, Dinner Dates, Sporting Events, and Happy Hours With Her Buddies
It didn’t take long, however, before her drinking escalated to a significant degree the more routinely she went to and drank at family get-togethers, sporting events, happy hours, dinner dates, and private parties with her pals. Moreover, the fact that her drinking friends were all quite a few years younger than she was and therefore able to drink and party more thoughtlessly was one of the reasons that she didn’t concentrate more on her increased drinking. In a word, she was drinking and having fun just like everyone else in her group of friends without much forethought about the negative effects of her hazardous and irresponsible drinking.
Yet somewhere in her awareness she knew that she probably needed alcohol counseling but stayed away from the thought as much as possible.
Teresa Gets a Physical Examination, Discloses the Facts About Her Excessive Drinking to Her Healthcare Practitioner, and Discloses the Truth About Her Depression
One afternoon during her annual physical, her doctor asked her if she drank alcohol. Not wanting to lie to her healthcare practitioner, Teresa acknowledged that she regularly drinks more than she should. In fact, she said that she commonly drinks in a hazardous manner. Then Teresa told her healthcare professional about her sadness. More specifically, she stated that shattered relationships usually elicited a negative cycle of events characterized by increased drinking which further resulted in more discouraging feelings that, in turn, led to more drinking. And this is explicitly what happened when she and her husband got divorced three months ago.
When her doctor heard this, he told Teresa that according to various facts and statistics on alcoholism he has been exploring, alcoholism and depression routinely arise in the same person. He then told Teresa that some of the alcohol statistics, facts, and research investigations he has been reading about also underscore the fact that people who drink in a hazardous and abusive manner and who also experience depression need to get treatment for both medical circumstances.
Teresa’s Healthcare Practitioner Schedules an Appointment for a Psychological Assessment and For an Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Evaluation
Teresa’s healthcare professional then told her the following: “I am not trying to make an impulsive analysis, but with your medical condition we may be facing two separate problems. As a consequence, I think we should make an appointment for you to get an alcohol abuse and alcoholism assessment from my partner, Dr. Warner, who is a substance abuse and chemical dependency specialist. Whether your drinking circumstance is more related to alcoholism or alcohol abuse is not clear at this time, but I think that further exploration is needed. Then I feel we probably should schedule an appointment for you to get a psychological exam from another one of my partners, Dr. Myers, who is a clinical psychologist. I want to get a better understanding about your pessimism and see how much your drinking and depression are interrelated.” Teresa displayed her agreement with her healthcare practitioner’s strategy and thanked him for his time and assistance. Now all she had to do was to try to cut back on her drinking and get ready for her appointments.
Mail this postMiss Benning was a health instructor at the most financially challenged co-ed high school in the region. Although she had been teaching for only five years, she had already obtained a reputation as a person with teaching approaches that encouraged and inspired her pupils to think and to learn.
For instance, one Wednesday morning at 10:00 she addressed the pupils in her class and articulated the following: “For the next two weeks we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a more wide-ranging point of view and we are also going to learn about some of the most typical signs of alcoholism from a more specific point of view.
Not all of these alcoholism signs will beyond doubt substantiate that an individual with a drinking problem is an alcohol dependent person, but the more signs that an individual manifests, the higher the probability that he or she is a person who is alcohol dependent.”
Miss Benning then informed the class that each pupil would be accountable for researching two alcohol addiction signs and then presenting his or her conclusions to the class via a seven minute oral presentation.
The Students are Keyed Up About Giving A Relatively Long Presentation to Their Fellow Pupils About The Signs of Alcohol Dependency
After learning about the different signs of alcohol addiction for quite a few days, the time had arrived for the student presentations. It was instantly obvious that the students were wound up about the topic because the information that they presented was exceptional. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the fervor manifested by the students in her classroom regarding this subject matter was an understatement.
The day after all of the pupils completed their presentations, Miss Benning passed out a sheet of paper with a list of all the alcohol addiction signs that were presented and discussed in the presentations and in class. Miss Benning then asked the pupils in her class to go over the list and rank the top ten alcohol addiction signs that were most indicative of alcohol addiction. After about fifteen minutes, Miss Benning collected the pieces of paper and told the students in her class that after she examines the numbers, she will present her findings the next school day.
There was some real excitement by the students while they were exiting Miss Benning’s classroom. One could swear that her students couldn’t wait for the next day to come so that they could find out the outcome of their in-class research.
The Students Match Their Numbers Against the Results From A Group of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Experts
When the next school day arrived, Miss Benning handed out a sheet of paper that listed the top three alcohol dependency signs according to the students’ rankings. To the left of these results, she included another column that was labeled “experts’ answer.” She then told the pupils in her classroom that the numbers in the extra column she added signified the answers that were constructed by a team of drug and alcohol abuse professionals.
Miss Benning told the pupils in her class to look over the numbers and then to raise their hand if they had any concerns, questions, or issues. Within 10 or 20 seconds, virtually every pupil in the class raised her or his hand. It was apparent that the students had some questions, concerns, or issues about their results versus the answers given by the professionals. For instance, almost every student disagreed with the highest ranked answer given by the professionals, namely, “Do you feel very ill when you quit drinking?”
The Essential Difference Between Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Addiction is the Physical Dependency That is Experienced With Alcohol Dependency and Not With Alcohol Abuse
Miss Benning then explained to her pupils why this answer was the most precise sign of alcohol dependency. She underlined the fact that the principal difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency is the physical addiction that is experienced with alcohol addiction and not with alcohol abuse.
Basically this means that when an alcoholic suddenly stops drinking, he or she will suffer through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Miss Benning then informed the pupils in her class that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the brain and by the body to the lack of alcohol to which they had become acclimated. Stated more explicitly, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are messages from the brain and from the body telling an individual who is alcohol dependent that something is very out of kilter and needs to be fixed. These messages consist of a number of dangerous, uncomfortable, and painful withdrawal symptoms that can potentially result in an individual’s death if the appropriate therapy is not promptly undertaken.
Miss Benning then listed the many diverse alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be gone through when an alcohol dependent individual suddenly stops drinking.
The fact that Miss Benning tried to highlight was this: a person who engages in alcohol abuse can experience almost any and every one of the alcohol dependency signs that the students had ranked, but the one symptom or sign that few, if any, alcohol abusers ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
To articulate this as plainly as possible, Miss Benning underscored the point that alcohol abusers, unlike alcoholics, are not alcohol dependent and consequently, when they stop drinking, they almost never go through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Pupils Feel They Have Discovered An Indiscretion With the Findings From The Team of Alcohol Dependency Specialists
The students also had an issue with the second ranked answer given by the drug and alcohol addiction specialists, to be exact, “Have you ever had a drink the first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?”
Miss Benning informed her students that this sign does not inevitably mean that the problem is alcoholism, but that it does stress the need that alcohol dependent individuals have to drink in order to keep away from alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
After Miss Benning explained the relevance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the individual who is alcohol dependent, the students started to grasp the basic difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction.
To add a sense of closure to the topic, Miss Benning asked the pupils in her class to take out a sheet of paper and answer the following question: “if every individual who is alcohol dependent knew about every one of the alcohol dependency signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would get alcohol addiction rehab?”
After approximately five or six minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ answers. While many students figured that approximately 80 to 90 percent of alcohol addicted people would get alcohol addiction rehabilitation if they knew about the facts related to alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol dependency signs, most of the pupils figured that this number would not be less than 60 percent.
The Pupils Were Amazed to Learn That Only 25% of Alcohol Dependent Individuals in the U.S. Ask For Alcohol Dependency Rehabilitation
To the shock of most of the students, Miss Benning declared that according to different scientific examinations, only 25% of the individuals who are alcohol dependent in the United States seek alcohol rehab. This amazed most of the pupils because they thought that first-hand knowledge of the awful statistics and facts associated with alcohol dependency would motivate most of the alcohol dependent individuals to seek alcoholism treatment.
Miss Benning then explained that alcohol addicted people not only need alcohol on an everyday basis in order to function but they also need alcohol on a daily basis so they can stay away from possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Evidently, the alcohol addicted person’s need to drink on a daily basis is more powerful than facts or logic. Without a doubt, because the need for alcohol is “reality” to the person who is addicted to alcohol, this is difficult to overcome.
A few minutes later the bell rang, signifying the end of the class. Based on the excitement exhibited by the students when they were leaving the classroom, Miss Benning knew that she had encouraged and motivated her students to stop and think about a vital health and social problem that exists in our society.
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