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Friday, April 30, 2010

Alcoholism: Getting the Facts

For many people, the facts about alcoholism are not clear. What is alcoholism, exactly? How does it differ from alcohol abuse? When should a person seek help for a problem related to his or her drinking? The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has prepared this booklet to help individuals and families answer these and other common questions about alcohol problems. The information below will explain alcoholism and alcohol abuse, symptoms of each, when and where to seek help, treatment choices, and additional helpful resources.

A Widespread Problem

For most people, alcohol is a pleasant accompaniment to social activities. Moderate alcohol use--up to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women and older people (A standard drink is one 12-ounce bottle of beer or wine cooler, one 5-ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits) -- is not harmful for most adults. Nonetheless, a substantial number of people have serious trouble with their drinking. Currently, nearly 14 million Americans--1 in every 13 adults--abuse alcohol or are alcoholic. Several million more adults engage in risky drinking patterns that could lead to alcohol problems. In addition, approximately 53 percent of men and women in the United States report that one or more of their close relatives have a drinking problem.

The consequences of alcohol misuse are serious--in many cases, life-threatening. Heavy drinking can increase the risk for certain cancers, especially those of the liver, esophagus, throat, and larynx (voice box). It can also cause liver cirrhosis, immune system problems, brain damage, and harm to the fetus during pregnancy. In addition, drinking increases the risk of death from automobile crashes, recreational accidents, and on-the-job accidents and also increases the likelihood of homicide and suicide. In purely economic terms, alcohol-use problems cost society approximately $100 billion per year. In human terms, the costs are incalculable.

What Is Alcoholism?

Alcoholism, which is also known as "alcohol dependence syndrome," is a disease that is characterized by the following elements:

• Craving: A strong need, or compulsion, to drink.
• Loss of control: The frequent inability to stop drinking once a person has begun.
• Physical dependence: The occurrence of withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety, when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking. These symptoms are usually relieved by drinking alcohol or by taking another sedative drug.
• Tolerance: The need for increasing amounts of alcohol in order to get "high."

Alcoholism has little to do with what kind of alcohol one drinks, how long one has been drinking, or even exactly how much alcohol one consumes. But it has a great deal to do with a person's uncontrollable need for alcohol. This description of alcoholism helps us understand why most alcoholics can't just "use a little willpower" to stop drinking. He or she is frequently in the grip of a powerful craving for alcohol, a need that can feel as strong as the need for food or water. While some people are able to recover without help, the majority of alcoholic individuals need outside assistance to recover from their disease. With support and treatment, many individuals are able to stop drinking and rebuild their lives.

Many people wonder: Why can some individuals use alcohol without problems, while others are utterly unable to control their drinking? Recent research supported by NIAAA has demonstrated that for many people, a vulnerability to alcoholism is inherited. Yet it is important to recognize that aspects of a person's environment, such as peer influences and the availability of alcohol, also are significant influences. Both inherited and environmental influences are called "risk factors." But risk is not destiny. Just because alcoholism tends to run in families doesn't mean that a child of an alcoholic parent will automatically develop alcoholism.

Al-Anon/Alateen
Alcoholics Anonymous
Can I Get Sober On My Own?

Posted by LoneWolf at Friday, April 30, 2010

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Inspirational Quotes

  • "Today is not yesterday: we ourselves change; how can our works and thoughts, if they are always to be the fittest, continue always the same? Change indeed is painful; yet ever needful; and if Memory have its force and worth, so also has Hope." -- Thomas Carlyle
  • "I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is over self." -- Aristotle
  • "One must never lose time in vainly regretting the past or in complaining against the changes which cause us discomfort, for change is the essence of life." -- Anatole France
  • Never give in... never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force... never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. ~Winston Churchill
  • Problems are only opportunities with thorns on them. ~Hugh Miller, Snow on the Wind
  • "You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." -- C. S. Lewis
  • I am bigger than anything that can happen to me. All these things, sorrow, misfortune, and suffering, are outside my door. I am in the house and I have the key. -- Charles Fletcher Lummis
  • The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.-- Dolly Parton
  • "If you take responsibility for yourself you will develop a hunger to accomplish your dreams." -- Les Brown
  • "We are like tea bags -- we don't know our own strength until we're in hot water." -- Sister Busche
  • "The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one." -- Elbert Hubbard

Quotes On Grief

"There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief...and unspeakable love." - Washington Irving

"He that conceals his grief finds no remedy for it." - Turkish Proverb

Grief is a tidal wave that over takes you,smashes down upon you with unimaginable force,sweeps you up into its darkness,where you tumble and crash against unidentifiable surfaces,only to be thrown out on an unknown beach, bruised, reshaped...Grief will make a new person out of you,if it doesn't kill you in the making.- Stephanie Ericsson

Tears have a wisdom all their own. They come when a person has relaxed enough to let go and to work through his sorrow. They are the natural bleeding of an emotional wound, carrying the poison out of the system. Here lies the road to recovery. - F. Alexander Magoun

Death is no more than passing from one room into another. But there's a difference for me, you know. Because in that other room I shall be able to see. - Helen Keller

So long as the memory of certain beloved friends lives in my heart, I shall say that life is good.
Helen Keller

Grief and sadness knits two hearts in closer bonds than happiness ever can; and common sufferings are far stronger than common joys.
Alphonse de Lamartine

Favorite Helen Keller Quotes

  • When we do the best that we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.-- Helen Keller
  • Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.-- Helen Keller
  • The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.-- Helen Keller
  • No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.-- Helen Keller
  • I seldom think about my limitations, and they never make me sad. Perhaps there is just a touch of yearning at times; but it is vague, like a breeze among flowers.-- Helen Keller
  • Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.-- Helen Keller
  • All the world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming.-- Helen Keller

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