We believe after an effective detoxification from chemicals, treatment must include a combination of 12-step principles, in addition to addressing the full spectrum of our client's physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual needs. Chemical dependency is a progressive and chronic relapsing brain disease that affects the body, mind, emotions, family, workplace and the entire community.
Most people in Carmel Valley, Del Mar, La Jolla, San Diego and Scripps Ranch at least try drinking alcohol sometime during their life. Many others have been given a prescription for pain medication due to an injury, dental or surgical procedure. For many people, the substance makes them feel so good, that they look forward to the drink or pain pill, like a reward for having done a good job at work or school. Unfortunately, some people are genetically wired to like the drug or alcohol so much that they become physically dependent on the substance and physically have to drink more alcohol or take more pills to just feel normal. The amount of time it takes for this to happen varies with the person, gender and the substance. It can take from 6 months to a 2 years for prescription pain medication to become physically dependent and alcohol can take from 2-10 plus years for a person to become dependent. The pattern of symptoms though are similar:
-- drinking or using drugs to calm your nerves
-- occasional memory lapses after heavy drinking or drugging
-- thinking a lot about the next time you will have a drink or use drugs
-- hiding your drugs or alcohol
-- sneaking while you are drinking or doing drugs so you won't be found out
-- feeling guilty about drinking or using the drugs
-- difficulty in your relationships - angry or aggressive over small events
-- deep inside there is a feeling of helplessness; you are drinking or doing the drugs and can't even stop yourself, no how hard you try
-- beginning of depression with the frequent thoughts of feeling hopeless, futile.
If you feel you or a family member is suffering from the use of alcohol or prescription drugs, you may be suffering from a substance use disorder that is causing the problem. Seek help before the symptoms and consequences get more severe. We can help. Professional. Confidential.
Facts to Know about Outpatient Treatment for Addictions:
1. Outpatient Detoxification is the first step in developing a foundation for your recovery. Begin treatment by taking good care of your body.
2. Outpatient treatment is just as effective for early and middle stage addiction treatment (those who do not yet have severe medical or legal complications of alcohol and drug abuse and are still working or attending school.
3. Outpatient Womens morning program is ideal for many moms who want sobriety, who are unable to leave their children for 30 days and other women who want their afternoons and evenings free for school or work.
4. Outpatient rehab groups develop the similar cohesion as inpatient treatment, and a sober support system emerges from sharing the common experiences of isolation.
5. Intensive Outpatient treatment spans 70 days on average, allowing you more than double the amount of time to begin to recover from alcohol and/or drug dependence through rehab treatment, meetings, family, relationships and work or school. Adding weekly aftercare for a year provides additional amounts of support for your recovery.
6. Outpatient drug rehab treatment at Lasting Recovery includes traditional addiction psycho-education and wellness programming to help you begin reducing your stress in early recovery from alcohol and drugs.
At the end of outpatient treatment:
---problems seem resolvable. You sit next to other people who are going through the same thing. You realize you don't have to isolate anymore and that you're not alone.
---life is usually easier to manage since your brain neurochemistry is repairing.
---stress levels is down as a result of not using alcohol or drugs and receiving learning how to manage stress more effectively.
---re-connection of the emotional and reward pathways in the brain lead to clearer thinking
---significant reduction in symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Benefit from the experience of an outpatient group for 10 weeks and experience the benefits for yourself and your family, of living life clean and sober.
Judy Saalinger, Ph.D., MFT, CAS
Co-Owner and Clinical Director
The impact of alcohol and drug use on relationships can be severe:
---arguments
---misunderstandings
---broken promises
---betrayal
---disappointment
---guilt and shame
Tense situations fueled by alcohol or drugs lower the threshold of our patience, impairs judgment and lessens impulse control, damaging a person or a family for life. This cycle of destructive relationship interactions can continue until one or both of the people get off the sinking ship.
Alcohol Rehab helps you and your loved ones to:
---Recognize that alcohol and drugs are the problem, not the person
---Stop trying to change each other and learn to accept the other person
---Attend support groups to talk to others who understand
---Overcome mistrust and find hope
---Experience relaxation for the first time in a long time
---Be honest in their daily lives
---Recognize the cycle of addiction that leads to relapse and build in new recovery pathways.
I began working with people who suffer from addiction problems since 1981 and have seen hundreds of couples repair and strengthen their relationships with partners, parents, children, extended family, friends and employers. Yes, Alcohol and Drug Rehab will help your relationship. Give yourself a chance to recover.
Judy Saalinger, Ph.D., MFT, CAS
Co-Owner and Clinical Director
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Seek help before it's too late. Before the next crisis. If you or some you love is having a problem drinking too much and recognize you have a problem, it is almost a sure thing that there will be even more problems in the future related to your chemical use. Medical problems, family problems and possibly legal problems.
It's a fact: In San Diego Count, on average 2 of our neighbors are killed in alcohol related traffic accidents each week, according to Mothers against Drunk Driving, MADD. San Diego County has the second highest DUI arrests and convictions according to the DUI Arrest Management Systems, in 2005. If you have had one or more DUI arrests, getting effective treatment will be the answer for you.
New and improved research based treatment improves the outcomes of those seeking help. Research shows:
--women stay sober longer if they receive treatment in women only groups
-- medications given for alcohol craving significantly reduce relapses
--motivational and caring treatment approaches with the therapist increases recovery rates
--12 step recovery and an intensive outpatient treatment program doubles the chance of recovery
--cognitive behavioral therapy increases the management of anxiety and depression
--family education is essential to the long term recovery of the entire family
--complete detoxification is essential to effective treatment
Lasting recovery's intensive outpatient treatment is one of many programs in the country that provide these types of services, and one of only a few in San Diego County. If you or your family is seeking treatment, ask about these research based treatment methods. If you are in San Diego county, call us at 858-453-4315. We are here to help you.
Throughout San Diego County, in areas of La Jolla, Mission Valley, Pacific Beach, and Coronado, people are struggling with trying to stop drinking, and others have given up, thinking to themselves that they are hopeless and why bother, they are unable to stop and stay stopped. Other men, women and young people continue drinking by telling themselves that their problems with alcohol are not that bad.
In denial, these folks may minimize the consequences of using and blame the family or friends for complaining. Denial of addiction is based on the mistaken belief that the person does not have a problem because they still have a job, a family and do not drink every morning.
Some are still working, others have quit or lost their jobs. Some are homeless, but most are at home through San Diego county, being cared for or enabled (actually leading to more severe progression of the disease), by family or friends who wish the person would stop drinking, and yet do not know how to get them to stop.
Living in Late Stage alcoholism is the image of what most people think of when the words alcoholism is mentioned - drinking from early morning, lost job, abandoned by family, multiple legal offenses and treatment programs without gaining substantial periods of recovery.
There are hundreds of people getting sober each day in San Diego. In the Middle and Late Stages of alcoholism and addictions, they call treatment centers and ask for help. They ask for Outpatient or Inpatient detoxification ; ask their doctors for help, or go online and check out the alcohol treatment programs or alcohol rehabs in their area. They show up at AA meetings.
These folks even tell us they are relieved when they get a DUI, knowing that this will be a chance for them to get help to stop drinking.
Identification of the Lat State of Alcoholism:
---the person drinking thinks that responsibilities interfere with drinking.
---loss of job
---radical deterioration of family relationships
---unreasonable resentments
---loss of will power
---onset of lenthy drunks
---moral deterioration
---urgent need for morning drink
---geographic escape attempted (I won't drink in this new town)
---urgent need for morning drink
---impaired thinking
---loss of family
---successive and lengthy drunks
---unable to initiate action
---obsession with drinking
---all alibis exhausted
If you are reaching out for help give us a call here at Lasting Recovery. If we are unable to help yo and your family with our outpatient detoxification, intensive outpatient alcohol and drug program we will refer you to a program that will work for you. If you are a family member and are unable to encourage your family or friend into treatment, we can recommend an Interventionist that will be of help to your family.
Call us at 858-453-4315.
In addressing this Middle Stage of the disease of addiction here in San Diego County, you may be asking the question: Given the already negative effect of drinking alcohol, as outlined in the Early Stage, why do I keep on drinking?
The answer:
There is a growing illusion in this disease, that alcohol is continuing to have the same effects as it once had. We refer to this as Euphoric Recall.
People keep using alcohol for the effect they remember - the drug's action is pleasant or useful, including social or medical uses, and it allows people to temporarily feel more pleasure, less pain or discomfort or both. People recall how alcohol used to help them feel more at ease in social situations. Only now, in the Middle Stage of the addiction, the effects of the drugs have changed.
This Middle Stage is often called the Loss of Control Phase. During this phase drinking has different effects. Occasionally we can drink socially and do not crave the alcohol once we have been exposed to it. Other times we are confused as to why, drinking the same amount, it seemed to take us over. As rationalization begins to dominate the individual, i.e., we make up excuses to ourselves and others as to why we drank more, or ended up in an embarrassing situation. Rationalization are the lies we tell ourselves and how we learn to avoid others because we are thoroughly confused at our behavior. For many of us, we are able to control a lot of things in our life and think that if we just tried a bit harder, we could consistently control our alcohol use as well. So we firmly tell ourselves that we will not drink more than two drinks at the next party, or that we will not drink at all.
We this stage progresses without help, we are unable to keep our commitments to not drink, so we begin making excuses or lying about drinking. We may drink in bars or restaurants to hide the evidence of bottles if we drink at home. Many of us then decide that going out socially to drink alcohol becomes such a disaster that we would rather stay at home and drink.
Our anxiety is actually increasing as the alcohol does progressively more damage to the brain and body. Nutrition is negatively affected, and important vitamins and minerals are depleted. At the same time, we ironically keep remembering that alcohol once reduced fear, anxiety and even anger. It used to help us feel more confident, helped us sleep and reduced physical discomfort.
Instead, what alcohol actually does is cause drowsiness, disorientation and blackouts. Alcohol may impair our motor coordination and cause impaired judgment. Some people will receive a DUI, have an extra marital affair, or make poor financial decisions while under the influence. We may experience nausea or vomiting after drinking - a minor overdose. In this Middle Stage there are increased memory blackouts and the beginning of early morning tremors. Toward the end of this stage, many people begin to break their rules about not drinking before 5, or noon and start earlier and earlier in the day and eventually drink alcohol in the morning. The compulsion to drink overrides commitments we have make to ourselves, to our families, friends and employers.
We then avoid family and friends, and experience a loss of other interests. The efforts to control the drinking fail repeatedly. We are unable to discuss problems as the alcohol has taken over our days and nights. At the end of this stage, we find ourselves drinking alone. If this sounds like a portrait of your life right now, reach out and ask for help.
If we reach out for help now, we will avoid the Late Stage of alcoholism. Our Staff at Lasting Recovery can answer any questions for you or your family member about getting help with detoxification or intensive outpatient treatment. If we are unable to meet your needs for detoxification and outpatient care, we will refer you to a program that can. Give us a call at 858-453-4315.
Every day in San Diego people are feeling confused and asking themselves why they drank an entire bottle, or 2, of wine. Some people have told their wife, husband, friend or child that they were not going to drink more than 2 small glasses. Or that they were going to quit drinking. Some people begin to justify this drinking episode with the thoughts that they changed their mind, or it wasn't that bad, or they could not have an alcohol problem because they do not drink in the morning, or before 5pm, or drink and drive.
How do we know if our drinking is a problem?
Many millions of people are social drinkers and many millions more are just crossing over the line from social drinking into the early stages of alcoholism, or the addiction to alcohol.
The American Society of Addiction Medicine defines addiction as a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. They define this disease to be often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by continuous or periodic impaired control over alcohol or drugs, preoccupation with drugs or alcohol, use of addictive substances despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial.
The time it takes from the early stage of the disease, to the last stage of addiction, where there are severe medical, family or legal consequences ,varies between men and women. Research has shown that men process the alcohol more quickly in their bodies, and the severe effects take an average of 15 years to show up. Women, who process the alcohol more slowly, thereby staying in the body longer before it is discarded, the damage occurs within an average of 8 years.
SYMPTOMS OF THE EARLY STAGE
--- An increase in alcohol tolerance. It takes more than 2 standard drinks to obtain a change in mood.
--- Drinking to calm nerves. Alcohol or drugs become the favored way to reduce stress, quiet generalized anxiety and fears of the unknown in relation to work, family, finances, or health issues.
--- Desire to continue when others stop. The loss of control or impaired control begins to take over most drinking experiences. The 2 standard drinks is many times not enough to feed the developing compulsion to drink larger amounts.
--- Occasional memory lapses after heavy drinking. Research has shown that after only a few drinks, the alcohol can produce impairments in memory that is detectable. The degree of impairment is directly related to the amount of alcohol consumed. When large amounts of alcohol are consumed quickly, as in a binge, the brain and body are overloaded and unable to metabolize the substance. This is the beginning of the brain deficits that occur. Most notably the effects are seen in the lack of ability to transfer new information from short term to long term storage, as in a blackout.
---Secret irritation when your drinking is discussed. Many people begin to feel some confusion and guilt about their drinking, and start to rationalize to themselves and others as to why they continue drinking.
Rationalizing, a thought distortion, is the beginning of the development of the psychological defense system of denial. If there is no help requested by the person, or an intervention by the family, workplace or legal system to point out the beginning of the problem of early stage alcoholism, the disease will progress.
Next - Part 2 of 3 - Development of Alcoholism - Middle Stage
Thanks for reading and passing along this information.
Looking for alcohol in Del Mar or Carmel Valley? You can find large amounts of it for purchase in the grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, bars, gas stations, mini marts and liquor stores, throughout the north coastal areas.
Some people can ignore the multimillion dollar advertising campaign to get you to either order or pick up the alcohol for consumption, while other are seduced into purchasing alcohol regularly and enjoy evening drinks with their friends and family.
Still others will purchase alcohol daily to keep themselves from needing to enter a detoxification and treatment program, in full alcohol withdrawal with shakes and the possibility of a life threatening seizure. Which one are you? Are you safe from the risks of becoming the daily drinker, or the alcoholic?
The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has examined the scientific literature to determine what constitutes not-at-risk drinking. The staff at NIAAA examined the physical, mental, social and legal risks associated with drinking and identified the amount men and women can drink without increased risk. Based on their analyses, the NIAAA recommends that:
--Men should consume no more than 4 standard drinks per day and no more than 14 standard drinks per week.
--Women, who process alcohol differently than men, should consume no more than 3 standard drinks per day and no more than 7 standard drinks per week.
--People 65 years of age and older should not drink more than one drink per day.
A standard drink equals a 12 oz. beer or cooler, 8-9 oz malt liquor, 5 oz of talble wine, or 1.5 oz of 80 proof spirits. Depending on the type of spirits and recipe, one mixed drink can equal from one to three or more standard drinks.
People who exceed the recommended daily limit have engaged in binge drinking.
Of the people who HAVE NOT exceeded the recommended daily and weekly limits in the past year (72% of the U.S. population over age 18), less than 1 in 100 will eventually meet the diagnostic criteria for either alcohol abuse or dependence.
People who HAVE engaged in binge drinking at least once in the previous 12 months (16% of the U.S. Population over the age of 18), 1 in 5, or 20% will eventually meet the diagnostic criteria for either alcohol abuse or dependence.
People who exceed both the limits recommended for daily and weekly use, which is 10% of the U.S. population over the age of 18, 50% or 1 out of 2 people will eventually meet the diagnostic criteria for either alcohol abuse or dependence.
Finally, people who exceed the recommended weekly limit but never binge drink (2% of the U.S. population over the age of 18) about 1 in 12 or 8% , will eventually meet the diagnostic criteria for either alcohol abuse or dependence.
If you want to be safe and reduce your risks for becoming alcohol dependence, don't exceed the daily (a binge) or weekly limit. This is no guarantee, however that trying to reduce the consumption will work, as there are genetic as well as environmental risks factors that lead to continued use despite consequences. If you have tried to reduce your consumption and been unsuccessful, you are not alone. Alcoholism is often described as having an allergy of the body and an obsession of the mind. The overconsumption, fueled by the obsession to continue drinking, can lead to blackouts, personality changes,a loss of self esteem, physical problems, and problems with family, friends, employers and the law.
If you or someone you love is unable to consistently control the amount of alcohol they are drinking, seek help now by using the assessments on our website, www.lastingrecovery.com, to to determine if you have a problem. There are solutions. If you would like more information, give us a call at 858-453-4315.
Do you ever feel sick of drinking alcohol and want to stop. Are the symptoms of withdrawal so uncomfortable that in the past you gave up and went back to drinking and hating yourself for it?
Be motivated to go through the detox and achieve recovery! You are worth it. And you can do it.
Adequate detoxification is important to beginning the longer process of complete physical and psychological withdrawal from alcohol. The proper management of this first stage will maximize your chances of lasting rehabilitation, by providing a net of safety and reduction of harm during alcohol or drug withdrawal. You deserve to have a new beginning.
How do you know if you are already in withdrawal from alcohol or just suffering a bad hangover? The onset of alcohol withdrawal usually occurs between 6 and 24 hours after the last drink, and an uncomplicated withdrawal usually lasts between 1-4 days.
The first thing to do is decide if you or your loved one will need an outpatient or an inpatient detoxification. The greater the amount of alcohol consumed in a day and the longer the period of time of drinking or ingesting drugs in the body, the greater the chances of a complicated withdrawal, which means an inpatient detox would be safest.
To determine if you or someone you love is suitable for an outpatient detoxification which usually lasts from 1-4 days, look at the following list:
1. Not severely dependent
2. No previous complicated withdrawal (no seizures, disorientation, confusion or hallucinations)
3. No concurrent illness, injury or recent surgery
4. No significant use of other psychotropic drugs that could aggravate withdrawal
5. You are motivated to achieve abstinence
6. A reliable caretaker is available.
Daily drinking by men of more than 6 standard drinks (1.5 ozs) a day, and women more than 4 a day, places a person at high risk for a complicated withdrawal. Weekly drinking of 42 standard drinks of alcohol for men and more than 28 for women places a person high risk. Other individual, drug and factors in the environment can effect the level of risk for alcohol related problems.
A simple withdrawal, manageable in an outpatient detoxification can begin by seeming like a hangover or a case of the flu, and usually occurs between 6 and 24 hours after the last drink. Some symptoms include:
--tremulousness
--perspiration
--increased pulse
--increased temperature
--nausea, vomiting and diarrhea
--restlessness, agitation
--anxiety
--insomnia, sleeping disturbance
--fears
--depression
--headaches
If you would like more information on our detoxification program for alcohol, drugs or prescription drugs, including Suboxon, give us a call. We can help you 7 days a week.
Ladies and Girlfriends, be aware of what you consume!
The official word the UK Department of Health, as reported in Joined Together, a service for the latest information on alcohol and drug dependence and effective treatment, reports that women who drink regularly face an increased risk of breast cancer by 50%.
The BBC reported recently that women who consume more than 14 standard units of alcohol weekly raise their risk of developing breast cancer by 50 percent. A standard unit is 5 oz, or about 5 glasses of wine per standard bottle. The majority of women drinkers,who live in Carmel Valley, Mission Hills, La Jolla, Rancho Santa Fe, and Del Mar, who come to intensive outpatient alcohol treatment to receive treatment and recovery, have reported drinking from 1-2 bottles of wine in an evening, adding up to 10 standard units at one sitting!
If you or someone you love is drinking 3 or more bottles of wine in a 7 day week, the chances of breast cancer risk increases by 50%.
With stronger wines being poured into bigger glasses these days in bars and restaurants, a single glass of wine can contain up to 3.5 units of alcohol. Most women don’t realize how much they are drinking.
Experts say that alcohol use causes about 2,000 breast-cancer cases a year in the U.K. How many cases in the U.S. are related to drinking?
If you are a woman and would like to cut down on your alcohol intake, give us a call. Helping women to live healthy and productive lives is our mission.
According to a recent British survey, 8 out of 10 bottles of wine consumed at home are purchased by women. Drinking wine has replaced the social connection of having a cup of coffee with friends.
The problem is that women do not think drinking wine 3-4 times a week is a problem. Most women who call an outpatient alcohol and drug treatment program for alcohol treatment are dependent on wine.
Wine is packaged and sold throughout grocery stores, and many women think it is a food item. Wine is displayed in the vegetable section, the bread and bakery section, the candy section, end aisles, front aisles, the potato chip section and all sections in between. It’s no wonder that women in Carmel Valley, Del Mar, Encinitas, La Jolla and Scripps Ranch purchase and drink it. Consumers are seduced by hundreds of millions of dollars spent in research and marketing by the brewers to get the women to pick up the bottle of wine.
I have heard college educated women say that they could not have an alcohol problem, because they only drink wine. They think alcohol is a food group. And it is not.
Yet women are frequently drinking and isolating at home, becoming more depressed and anxious, and feeling more and more lonely. Why the loneliness? We have given our personal power over to the substance in a bottle. We think it will change our mood state and give us a euphoric feeling, yet the downside is that we become depressed and anxious, feeling guilty because we cannot keep our commitment to just have one or two drinks.
Women often have a 2 drink rule. If a women has a problem with being unable to consistently control the amount and effects of alcohol, feels urgency to drink and sneaks or hides alcohol, she could be in the early stage of alcohol dependence.
Two drinks does not seem like it provides effective emotional effects, e.g. a mood change, and a sort of compulsion takes over. The needs of the body to satisfy the growing physical and psychological need for alcohol, undermine her thoughts, emotions and behaviors. In this case, women cannot consistently control the amount of alcohol they are drinking and the 2 drinks turns into 6 or 8 drinks, an overload to the mind and body.
Drinking alcohol whether it be wine, beer, vodka or whiskey, while ignoring the feedback from others that the alcohol is a problem just adds to the confusion and need to drink more.
If drinking wine is beginning to be a problem for you, call us for outpatient alcohol treatment, where you can attend during the day, from 10-1pm, or evening from 6-9pm. Take the steps now to get back your health. Now is the time to decide and act.
Are women who drink wine with their friends in Del Mar, Encinitas, Carmel Valley and La Jolla, alcoholics?
Women who have a few social drinks now and then, are probably not alcoholics. Some, however, may be on their way to developing an addiction to alcohol.I get calls every day from women who think they might have an alcohol problem, and women who know they have a drinking problem and are asking for help.
When I was struggling to understand my drinking behavior over 25 years ago , I felt guilty and confused. I thought I should be able to control the effects of my drinking. Betty Ford and Elizabeth Taylor, two very famous women in our country, could not control the amount they drank either. These women identified a pattern of drinking behavior that was predictable, and distinguished them from light social drinkers. Knowing that they could face their problem with alcohol gave me courage to face mine.Read over the following list of predictable behaviors for alcohol dependency and see if you can identify with any of the following. If so, you are not alone.
___Buying liquor at more than one location to keep the quantity secret.
___Hiding bottles or cans of alcohol or secretly disposing of them.
___Advance planning to reward yourself with heavy drinking.
___Memory loss after drinking too much.
___Feeling sick and hung over after drinking.
___Feeling afraid you made a fool of yourself the night before.
___Drinking alcohol before leaving the house for party or event
___Drinking to feel wittier, more relaxed, or less anxious.
___Uncertain about going to events where there will not be alcohol.
___Entertaining or creating situations so you can drink alcohol.
___Avoiding discussions, literature or TV programs on alcoholism.
___Carrying liquor in your purse, car or at the office.
___Becoming defensive when someone questions you about drinking.
___Are angry that other people are trying to control you and your drinking.
___Drinking while angry, upset, depressed, or under stress.
___Driving after you have been drinking alcohol, feeling certain you can drive.
___Switching types of alcohol to prevent becoming too intoxicated.
___Drinking at work or at your activities with your children.
___Other people show concern about how much you drink.
___Breaking promises to others because of drinking.
___Feeling crazy or overwhelmed but knowing why.
___Feeling guilt and remorse for behavior while drinking.
___Being unable to predict how many drinks will be consumed in one sitting.
___Drinking more than planned or faster than other people do.
___Feeling like it is impossible or difficult to stop drinking without help.
If you can relate to some of the above questions, talk to someone who understands what you are going through and get the help you need. You do not need to suffer any longer.Call Lasting Recovery toll free: 800-808-6373, or in San Diego County, 858-453-4315.
Combating underage drinking must come from education and community support. The beginning of alcohol and drug use is becoming more prevalent in junior high, as this is when hormone-driven risky behavior begins. Educators, counselors and administrators should be trained to see the signs of early use in teens. Counselors should be trained in intervention techniques and communication with students families. This should be true for facilities through college and trade schools.
Families need to stay involved in their young ones lives. The most successful discussions with young people are non-accusatory, supportive and engaging. Discuss the facts, get all the information and help find solutions through support rather than using scare tactics. This loving support will give young people a sense of self-worth and the confidence to be drug-free (Dr. Rob, 2003).
City and school law enforcement must stand firm on zero-tolerance laws regarding underage drinking. Despite many states adopting these laws, consistent enforcement wavers. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, stated in 2006 that when the first eight States to adopt zero-tolerance laws were compared with nearby States without such laws, the zero-tolerance States showed a 21-percent greater decline in the proportion of single-vehicle night-time fatal crashes involving drivers under 21, the type of crash most likely to involve alcohol. Resources must be available to see these laws into action.
Alcohol is widely available and promoted to young people in America today. Though underage drinking use is regarded as a normal part of growing up by some people, it is dangerous for the drinker and the community as evident by the number of alcohol-related accidents and crimes. Adolescents are at greater risk for development of health-related issues due to alcohol abuse and adverse consequences including risky behavior and poor school performance.
Lowering the legal drinking age would not help the problem of underage drinking but aggravate it. William Cope Moyers, executive director of the Hazelden Center for Public Advocacy and a recovering alcoholic said, "Twenty-one is not working according to the college presidents statement. But from my own experiences a long time ago, 18 never worked either" (Hazelden, 2008).
References
Alcoholics Anonymous (2007). Young people and AA. New York, NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services.Discovery Health (2006).
Underage drinking nets alcohol industry billions. Dr. Rob (2003). Teen center: teens and risky behavior – One nurse's plea to teens.
Hazelden (2008). Debate to lower drinking age builds despite 21'a success.
NIAAA (2006). Alcohol alert. Retrieved January 17, 2008, from http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/
Spears & Spears (2008). In tandem: reading and writing for college students.New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Your comments are appreciated. Given that most adults who suffer from alcohol problems began in their teens, keeping the age of drinking at 21 seems the most prudent decision.
Binge drinking for men is defined as 5 or more standard drinks and for women as 4 or more standard drinks on a single occasion.
A standard drink is a 12 oz. can of beer or cooler; 8-9 oz malt liquor; 5 oz. glass of table wine; or 1.5 oz shot of 80-proof spirits.
According to a recent, large survey 14% of the U.S. population binge drink at least once a week.
In comparison with the 60% of the U.S. population who never binge drink, in the next three years the 14% of drinkers who binge at least once a week are
330% more likely to meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse
280% more likely to suffer from some form of liver disease
270% more likely to use tobacco
270% more likely to meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol dependence
230% more likely to meet the diagnostic criteria for drug dependence
180% more likely to lose their driver's license
180% more likely to meet the diagnostic criteria for tobacco dependence
160% more likely to use other drugs
130% more likely to experience a divorce or separation
The risks are even higher for the 3% of drinkers who binge 5 or more times per week.
Read this letter - It was written by an addict several years ago, and is still true today.
AN OPEN LETTER TO MY FAMILY
Dear Family Members:
I am a Chemically Dependent Person. I need Help.
Chemical dependency is a family illness and needs the total involvement of my family.
Don't allow me to lie to you and accept it for the truth. In doing so, you encourage me to lie. The truth may be painful, but get at it.
Don't let me outsmart you. This only teaches me to avoid responsibility and to lose respect for you at the same time.
Don't let me exploit you or take advantage of you, blame or argue when I'm drunk, high or sober. And don't pour out my liquor or take away my drugs. You may feel better, but the situation will be worse.
Don't accept my promises. This is just my method of postponing pain. And don't keep switching agreements. If an agreement is made, stick to it.
Don't lose your temper with me. It will destroy you and any possibility of helping me.
Don't allow your anxiety for us to compel you to do what I must do for myself.
Don't cover p or abort the consequences of my drug use. It reduces the crisis, but perpetuates the illness.
Above all, don't run away from reality as I do. Chemical dependency, my illness, gets worse as my use continues. Start now to learn, to understand and to plan for my recovery. I need help from a doctor, a counselor, a psychologist or a recovered alcoholic or addict … and from God. I cannot help myself.
I hate myself, but I love you. To do nothing is the worst choice you can make for us.
Please help me,
Your Addicted Person
If you want to learn more about how to get professional help, call us at Lasting Recovery. We can either help you with your outpatient alcohol or drug addiction recovery or refer you to an inpatient rehab. The choice is yours. Call us at 858-453-4315.
Today I received a call from a 37 year old man who was confused about his alcohol use. He drank alcohol only on the weekends, and he gladly reported that he did not have any legal problems, did not drink in the mornings and he believed his alcohol use was not interfering with his work. Then his wife told him to pack his bags and leave, the next time he decided he was going to drink.
His alcohol use, however was interfering with his family. He brought home alcohol every night, and extra for the weekend, as he usually got started drinking by noon. His evening drinking started as soon as he got home, and sometimes he started in the parking lot of the liquor store. He would think about the alcohol around noon, when he began counting the hours until he could get off work and go the liquor store. He would get so excited, as he imagined himself getting home and having a shot and some beers to relax. His wife nagged him about his routine behavior, as she saw he preferred his drinking more in the evening than spending time with her or his family.
He started drinking when he was age 16, and then he only drank on the weekends. When he came in, I gave him this information:
1. Addiction 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 alcohol or drugs, preoccupation with drugs or alcohol, use of addictive substances despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial.
2. Primary refers to the nature of addiction as a disease entity in addition to and separate from other pathophysiologic states which may be associated with it. Primary suggests that addiction, is not a symptom of an underlying disease state.
3. 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.
Part II tomorrow.
Trying to stop drinking or using drugs is difficult for those people who are more progressed in their disease. Women generally have difficulty with alcohol and drug use sooner than men due to sex differences. If you need help and want to get back on the road of living your life safe and healthy, seek help now.
Americans across the country now have parity for alcohol and drug addictions and mental health problems.The Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, advocated throughout the country for the past decade, passed both houses of Congress today. Stigma is still strong against people with addiction problems.
I just completed an alcohol and drug educational session and one of the most important concerns of people in the early part of their addiction recovery is how to explain why they have been out of work for the past couple of months, why they are not in school this semester, why they don't have a car, or why their children aren't living with them at this time.
The brain disease of addiction acts like a thief, a taker. Addiction takes people's self respect, jobs, driver's licenses, money, kids, education and health, damages their relationships with themselves and others. Alcohol and drug recovery helps these men and women restore their self esteem and recognize that yes, they are responsible for putting back the pieces of the wreckage created by them when they were not really themselves. Hopefully this legislation will begin to remove the stigma of addiction and allow addiction to be an 'acceptable' disease.
"No matter what happens in your life, you've got to believe, 'this too shall pass' and if you keep persisting, you'll find a way." --Anon
Safety needs are survival needs. Feeling trust in ourselves and others is difficult when we are using alcohol and drugs. Many of us can't trust ourselves to say no to drinking our using drugs, even though we swore we would not drink alcohol or use drugs again, ever. Addiction to alcohol and drugs is stronger than our will power, as the substances have changed our brain chemistry and when we are craving we feel we will die unless we get the substance in our bodies. Some of us can feel safe having a couple of drinks or do just a small amount of drugs. And we can do this sometimes, until the compulsion takes over and we end up in saying or doing things we wish we hadn't, or we experience a blackout and don't recall what happened. We threatened our own safety and the safety of others because the destructive power of the substances took over our brain and our actions.
Choose to stop using alcohol and drugs, and end the powerful pull the addiction has had in your life. It takes thoughtful action to choose to live life fully. Just for today. To be truly safe from harm, we must first reclaim our own thoughts, emotions and actions without the mind altering effects of alcohol and drugs on our choices.
UNFULFILLED
Frightened of situations, relationships do not feel physically or emotionally safe; avoid social situations, isolating, afraid for what we will do our say to others; or too trusting of others, loosing our ability to take responsibility for our actions, ignore, deny, minimize, rationalize and neglect our own and others safety and well being.
SATISFIED
Listen to your intuition and rational mind about your alcohol and drug use. Keep your commitment to yourself to reach out to a recovery activity, begin treatment for your addiction, talk to people you can trust and let them know you can't trust your own commitment to not use alcohol and drugs despite the negative consequences to you and others. Reach out to sober people.
TRY THIS:
* List the consequences that have happened as a result of being under the influence of chemicals * Write out a personal commitment to yourself to stick to a recovery plan, attend an AA or NA meeting, sign up for a treatment program, call someone you know who has knowledge of addictions, or call a therapist, or AA Central in your community. There is someone on call 24 hours a day.
What are you willing to say or do today to feel safe?
What would give you a ten, 50 days from now? Write down this goal:
Take an action today to keep your commitment to feel safe today.
MSN Health and Fitness section recently had a report entitled Beyond 12 Steps.
The author, Mia Szalavits, poses the question, 'how do you find evidence-based addiction and alcoholism treatment for yourself or a loved one instead of, or in addition to,12 step approaches?'
I agree with this guide and am encouraged to see worthwhile information available in the media regarding treatment and care for people with alcohol and drug addictions. As an addiction specialist and licensed psychotherapist, I see the amazing results in our program with this combination of treatment approaches.
Here are the five dos and five do not's as the best guide to treatment:
1. Do start your search for treatment with full psychological or psychiatric evaluation from and M.D. psychiatrist or a Ph.D. psychologist.
2. Do look for therapists who use empirically supported or evidence-based treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy or motivational enhancement therapy.
3. Do make sure you feel safe and understood by the therapist or treatment approach you choose.
4. Do get as much social support as possible, and do not limit your search to traditional support groups.
5. Do consider the use of anti-addiction medications.
6. Do not accept treatment that is confrontational, humiliating or degrading.
7. Do not think a formal intervention, in which family members confront the addict about his or her problem is the only way to help.
8. Do not assume inpatient treatment is superior to outpatient treatment.
9. Do not use a facility for troubled teens that treats multiple disorders with a one-size-fits-all approach.
10. Do not give up.
This handy guide to locating treatment for yourself or a loved one is essential. Thanks MSN for putting this online!
Judy Saalinger, Co-Owner and Clinical Director Lasting Recovery
CDC Finds Alcohol Taking Deadly Toll on Native Americans September 2, 2008 Research Summary A study of death certificates recorded between 2001 and 2005 found that about 12 percent of all deaths among Native Americans were related to alcohol, All Headline News reported Aug. 30. The alcohol-related mortality rate among Native Americans was three times greater than among the general population, according to the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Alcohol-related deaths among Native Americans were most prevalent in the Northern Plains states.
Alcohol-related causes of death included traffic accidents and liver disease, each of which caused about one-quarter of all fatalities. Roughly two-thirds of the Native Americans who died from alcohol-related causes were men, and about the same proportion were under age 50. The study was published in the Aug. 29, 2008 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
