Category Archives: Binge Drinking

How to stop drinking

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How to stop drinking

how to stop drinkingDrinking isn’t a scary thing until it becomes a problem. It gets especially scary when you find yourself drinking even when you don’t want to. It can seem impossible to overcome your drinking but there are actually steps you can to stop drinking. As long as you haven’t reached the point of no return you can do what you need to rewind and stop your problem drinking in its tracks.

How to stop drinking: acknowledge why you do it

Why do you engage in your drinking? You have to be able to answer that question in order to stop drinking. Is it to help you with anxiety and stress? It may be hard to admit why you have you are drinking but you can’t change what you don’t acknowledge exists. Admit why you engage in the problem drinking to yourself and you are on your to stopping drinking.

How to stop drinking: Think rational thoughts instead of sitting in denial

You probably understand at a conscious and intellectual level that your drinking is unhealthy yet you keep on using or drinking and this baffles you. If you are in denial about your drinking this is probably why. If you can’t get through the day without a shot of vodka, you may be self-medicating and if you have reached the point of knowing its bad and can’t stop you may need outside help from something like a drug rehab to stop drinking. Realizing this is a rational thought.

How to stop drinking: Using coping skills

People never break bad habits they merely replace them with new ones. Recognize that you get a reward of some sort from smoking, using drugs, and drinking. Find something else to give you that reward and you have found new coping skills and have stopped the drinking. If you have reached the point of no return and need to attend rehab it is still a very good idea to find new coping skills for life for when you are out of rehab. Finding new coping skills can stop drinking in its tracks. And if you can stop drinking then you can begin to live a healthy life again. You have the ability to quiet yourself without drugs and alcohol; without your alcohol. You also have the ability to reduce stress without drugs and alcohol. Find new things to use to stop drinking instead of drugs and alcohol which fuel it.

How to stop drinking: Have a support system and become accountable

If you truly want to stop drinking and get clean then you are going to need help from people and you are going to need to be accountable to those people. Accountability means showing up when you say you are going to and no longer engaging in alcoholic drinking behaviors like being flaky. The support system you have is meant to help you stop drinking by telling you the truth about yourself when you want to go into denial about your drinking. Your support system will also help you to find new ways to be healthier and do those things with you. Support and accountability can also come in the form of rehab to stop drinking.

 

 

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

Will urinalyzers cut down on DUI’s?

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Will urinalyzers cut down on DUI’s?

We all know how and why breathalyzers work. You blow into a tube and it can accurately detect your blood alcohol content (BAC). If you have ever seen a breathalyzer hopefully it was because you owned one that you used to keep an eye on your own BAC and it wasn’t because you are drunk driving. If it was because you were drunk driving, at least you and the rest of the people on the road are safe. Drunk driving is dangerous and causes thousands of accidents a year. Many people needlessly die due to drunk driving and law enforcement as well as groups such as MADD; have been trying to combat it for years now. Finally there may be an answer to the drunk driving epidemic: urinalyzers.  

Few people actually have the extra cash to spend on a portable breathalyzer and even fewer people who have a portable breathalyzer with them, actually use it. The drunker people get the less responsible, shall we say, they get. This is where the urine-analyzer rightly dubbed the “urinalyzer”) comes in. A urinalyzers is a new device which measures your BAC when you go to the bathroom after a few drinks, a lot of drinks, or you can’t even walk to the bathroom in a straight line amount of drinks. These urinalyzers are the newest thing in nightclub technology created by a marketing agency DDB and Zouk, a popular night club in Singapore.

The urinalyzer is a creative and clever device that is meant to stop drunks before they ever become drivers. Therefore the urinalyzer is meant to stop drunk drivers. So how does a urinalyzer work?

  • First off, when you enter the nightclub you hand over your car keys in exchange for a special RFID card from the valet.
  • Second, you have a few drinks.
  • Third, you go to relieve yourself and the card will pair with the urine analyzer which then provides instant feedback on a screen above your urinal. 

If you have gone above the limit and don’t listen to the warning that you just got from your urinal, the RFID card will warn the valet pretty much not to let you drive. The valet will then offer you many other ways to get home that don’t involve you getting behind the wheel of a car. They may offer to call you a cab or pitch to you their own drive-home service.

The urinalyzer is a new proactive technology so it has plenty of room to develop and fix any minor inconveniences or problems; the biggest one right now being the fact that women don’t use urinals. It won’t be surprising if eventually the urinalyzer finds its way into the women’s restroom too. But in the meantime the urinalyzer has stopped 573 people over the legal limit; in only two weeks. The sad news about that is only 342 took the valet up on the cab or drive-home service but those numbers could improve and include every person over the limit with police involvement.

Either way it seems more than hopeful that yes, urinalyzers will cut down on DUI’s.

http://www.thefix.com/content/urinalyzers-tag-drunk-clubgoers91941

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

Xanax and Alcohol: A Deadly Combination

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Xanax and Alcohol: A Deadly Combination


In recent years, as the use of prescription medication has proliferated in the United States, so too have the abuse of and overdose from many of these substances.

Prescription-drug abuse is the fastest-growing drug problem in the U.S., says a report issued last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The same report states that in 2007, there were roughly 27,000 unintentional deaths from drug overdoses—or one death every 19 minutes.

But of all the things that people ingest, there are few combinations more life-threatening than alcohol and Xanax, a benzodiazepine in the class of sedatives such as Valium and Klonopin.

What Makes Xanax and Alcohol a Deadly Combination?

When taken together, Xanax and alcohol have what’s known as an additive effect, which means that in the presence of Xanax, alcohol is made more potent than it would be alone.

Both Xanax and alcohol work by depressing the central nervous system of the body, reducing the activity of several mental functions, such as thought, memory, coordination, and respiration.

Alcohol alone doesn’t have that limit, because often times people will pass out before they drink enough alcohol for it to be lethal. When you take the two together and you have a totally different picture – Xanax and Alcohol: a deadly combination.

Prescription drugs and alcohol can be a dangerous combination. Alcohol interacts with anti-anxiety drugs such as Xanax, intensifying the drugs’ sedative effects, causing drowsiness and dizziness, and making falls and accidents more likely. A 2010 study published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health reported that automobile drivers were much more likely to weave and speed if they were under the influence of drugs like Xanax in addition to alcohol than if they had consumed alcohol alone.

How it Works

Your usual three drinks is actually like drinking six. And because of the additive effect of combining the two substances, it becomes impossible to know just how your body will absorb the alcohol you’ve ingested. Throw in other factors—sleep deprivation, an empty stomach, a cold—and the mixture is made all the more unpredictable and deadly.

Xanax and alcohol is the most deadly combination because it can cause amnesia. So not only is it does this combination affect respiratory function, the amnesic effect it causes is just as deadly. People die accidentally in the truest sense of the word: they don’t remember how many drinks they had, or how many pills they took.

 Why Xanax, in particular

In fact, it is this same rapid action that makes Xanax the most addictive of the benzodiazepines, many neuroscientists believe, providing the sensation of a high more so than other drugs of its class.

Other people start taking prescription drugs just to get high, perhaps in part because they have the false notion that prescription drugs are safer to experiment with than are illicit drugs.

Any benzodiazepine is highly dangerous in combination with alcohol, but Xanax is perhaps the most dangerous, because it is more fast-acting than the others. Because Xanax and alcohol both work on the brain at a rapid-fire pace, their mutually enhancing effect is bolstered compared to slower-acting benzodiazepines, which peaks in the brain more slowly, after the effect of the alcohol may have already begun to decline.

 

 

 

Sources:

http://www.thedailybeast.com

http://www.cdc.gov/

http://www.scientificamerican.com

 

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

What’s the difference between a hangover and alcohol withdrawal?

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What's the Difference Between a Hangover and Alcohol Withdrawal

Nearly everyone who has tried alcohol has experienced headache, nausea, anxiety, fatigue, and dehydration after a long night of drinking; you know it better as a hangover. Not everyone has experienced alcohol withdrawal, even though they may have tried alcohol. And while some of the characteristics of the two are similar; there is a huge different between a hangover and alcohol withdrawal.

So what is the difference between a hangover and alcohol withdrawal? Well, in order to answer that question it is good to look at what both of them are.

What is a hangover?

A hangover is a collection of signs and symptoms linked to a recent bout of heavy drinking. The sufferer typically has a headache, feels sick, dizzy, sleepy, confused and thirsty. Hangovers can occur at any time of day, but are usually more common the morning after a night of heavy drinking. As well as physical symptoms, the person may also experience elevated levels of anxiety, regret, shame, embarrassment, as well as depression. The severity of a hangover is closely linked to how much alcohol was consumed, and whether the sufferer had enough sleep. A hangover is the consequence of consuming too much alcohol which causes urination and the chances of dehydration; an immune system response which can affect appetite, concentration and memory; stomach irritation which can cause nausea and stomach ache; a drop in blood sugar which can result in shakiness, moodiness, tiredness, weakness; dilation of blood vessels which can cause headaches; sleep quality which causes tiredness and fatigue.

What is alcohol withdrawal?

Alcohol withdrawal refers to a group of symptoms that may occur from suddenly stopping the use of alcohol after chronic or prolonged ingestion. Not everyone who stops drinking experiences withdrawal symptoms, but most people who have been drinking for a long period of time, or drinking frequently, or drink heavily when they do drink, will experience some form of alcohol withdrawal symptoms if they stop drinking suddenly. Alcohol withdrawal symptoms can include:

  • Anxiety
  • Irritability
  • Rapid emotional changes
  • Depression
  • Fatigue
  • Bad dreams
  • Headache – general, pulsating
  • Sweating, especially the palms of the hands or the face
  • Nausea and Vomiting
  • Loss of appetite
  • Insomnia, sleeping difficulty Paleness
  • Rapid heart rate (palpitations)
  • Eyes, pupils different size (enlarged, dilated pupils)
  • Skin, clammy
  • Abnormal movements
  • Tremor of the hands
  • Involuntary, abnormal movements of the eyelids

Alcohol withdrawal can also result in hallucinations, agitation, fever, convulsions, seizures, black outs, DTs, and in the worst case scenario death.

So what is the difference between a hangover and alcohol withdrawal?

The answer should be quite obvious now. The difference between a hangover and alcohol withdrawal is: A hangover is the result of consuming too much alcohol and alcohol withdrawal is the result of cutting back on alcohol or stopping all together. The two are totally different from one another. Alcohol withdrawal is the result of a physical dependence on the substance and then depriving the body of it and a hangover is merely the body’s reaction to taking in too much alcohol one night. Alcohol withdrawal can result in death. A hangover may make you feel like death, but you won’t die. Many people get hangovers because it is so easy to accidentally take in too much alcohol but many people do not suffer alcohol withdrawal because they have had to build a physical addiction to it and then try to stop drinking first in order to experience it.

 

Source:

http://www.addictscience.com/hangover-withdrawal/

 

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

Drunkorexia

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Drunkorexia

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, those aged 18-24 with eating disorders have the highest rate of death—12 times higher than the average.

The statistics on drunkorexia are staggering. Drunkorexia is the slang word used mainly by college students to describe someone who restricts food calories to make room for all those alcoholic drink calories they will be taking in at the campus party later that night. Drunkorexia may also include purging food and alcoholic drink to avoid the calories. Despite the known risks of these behaviors, the statistics still show that 30% of women between 18 and 23 diets so they can drink and not just drink but drink more.

A recent Southeastern University study of first-year college students found that 14 per cent restricted calories before drinking, six per cent of that number doing so in order not to gain weight. A startling 70 per cent were female. According to the CBC, 35 per cent of people with substance abuse issues also have eating disorders. The statistics pare down drunkorexic to one out of five college students.

Drunkorexia most of often begins with a fear of gaining weight from alcohol and is very prevalent among college-aged women; not to mention more dangerous too. This doesn’t mean that men don’t engage in drunkorexic behaviors at all, because some of them do. In extreme cases, the behaviors associated with drunkorexia are related to bulimia and/or anorexia, in which the alcohol is a catalyst making it easier to vomit or it helps to manage eating anxieties. Individuals don’t have to have eating disorders to be considered drunkorexic though; individuals without eating disorders that restrict their intake of food before going out can still struggle with drunkorexia.

Unfortunately for the sex that drunkorexia most commonly affects, females, it is also significantly more dangerous. Because women weigh less they have fewer metabolizing enzymes and less body water to dilute the alcohol with. A martini on an empty stomach immediately sends alcohol shooting into the system making the blood sugar levels shoot up. The result of this is an entire upheaval of the body’s metabolism which can cause serious instability. Those with eating disorders or with disordered eating patterns essentially disintegrate from the inside out. Alcohol consumes their vitamins and nutrients need to survive and this can lead to serious health problems such as fainting, cognitive impairment, and hypoglycemia.

The dangers of being drunkorexic don’t stop there though. Cutting food calories to take in more drink calories is very risk. Not only can drunkorexia make an eating disorder such as bulimia or anorexia worse it can also severely affect the individual’s emotional, mental, and physical health.

•             Drinking on an empty stomach gets you drunk faster, which in turn reduces your self-control and predisposes you to make bad decisions

•             Binge eating may also be experienced because the person is extremely hungry and may be unable to control their urges

•             Purging often follows after these spurts of binging on food

•             Reducing food caloric intake puts a person at risk of not getting the nutrients needed to function properly

•             Self-starvation and alcohol abuse can also lead to blackouts, alcohol poisoning, alcohol-related injury, violence or illness.

•             Drinking on an empty stomach can make the drinker more vulnerable to alcohol-related brain damage.

•             Drinking on an empty stomach can also have a detrimental impact on hydration of the body being able to hang onto minerals and nutrients which can exacerbate symptoms of malnutrition and cognitive problems.

The long term effects are even more severe and the worst case scenario results in an early death. Long term effects of drunkorexia are: osteoporosis, brain damage, cirrhosis of the liver, cardiac problems and death. But this isn’t stopping the drunkorexics. In fact there is a new trend to hit the drunkorexic scene that involves smoking alcohol to get drunk without even needing to consume the actual liquid.

 

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

5 best college drinking games

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College Drinking Games

Every college student on every college campus would argue what the best college drinking games are. Not only that but for every college drinking game there is a different variation depending on how you were taught to play it and how you are now passing it. Needless to say though, there are definitely some drinking games that are better than others. Here are the 5 best college drinking games and we think you probably already know what is number one.

5.) Beer pong: Beer pong requires a ping pong table, ping pong balls, some red solo cups and quite a bit of alcohol. Beer pong will probably always be THE BEST college drinking game. In beer pong, opposing teams, usually two, stand at opposite ends of the ping pong table with nine cups set up in a triangle in front of them. Each team tries to bounce pin pong balls into the opposing teams cups filled with beer forcing the opposing team to drink. Beer pong is fast paced and is fun for the “audience” too. The rules of beer pong vary slightly but this is definitely number one of the list of the 5 best college drinking games.

4.) You may know it as circle of death, waterfalls or ring of fire: This college drinking game has so many names but for the sake of keeping it simple we are going to call it Ring of Fire. Ring of fire requires a deck of cards and a lot of alcohol. Players sit in a circle and draw cards that are spread out in the middle of the circle of players; that’s why its name the ring of fire. Each card has a corresponding rule the players must follow. For example when a 6 is drawn it means all the chicks have to drink. “Six, chicks.” Then the next person will draw a card with a corresponding rule. This is the one of the best college drinking games because the rules can be changed to fit whatever and it can become totally hilarious. Only reason it doesn’t beat out beer pong as THE BEST is because it isn’t that great for onlookers.

3.) Quarters: Quarters is a quick and simple way to get drunk. This is what makes it one of the best college drinking games for those looking to get messed up quick. The point is to try and bounce a quarter into a shot glass and assign drinks. If you miss the shot you take a drink. Quarters is one of the best college drinking games, but it does take practice.

2.) Asshole: Asshole is one the best college drinking games but it is complicated and frustrating. A deck of cards is dealt out to players. In the first round the goal is to be the first player to get rid of all their cards. The first player to get rid of all their cards is the President next round, the last player to get rid of all their cards is the Asshole. The President creates hilarious moments for players and onlookers. The goal is always to become President next the round. Asshole can go on for a long time which makes it one of the best college drinking games.

1.) Never Have I Ever: Never have I ever mixes drinking, low inhibitions and sharing of personal information. Players take turns making “never have I ever…” (Example: Never have I ever been to France-they are usually more sexual in context when actually playing) statements and players who have done those activities have to drink. This is one of the best college drinking games because it can be really hilarious and you can learn some occasional disgusting facts about your friends. The only time this best college drinking game gets dull is when you run out of “never have I ever…” statements.

For more about college and drinking, check out the Top 5 Party Schools or Florida’s Hottest Spring Break Destinations

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

5 Holistic Remedies for Your Hangover

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5 Holistic Remedies for Your Hangover

A hangover is your body’s way of letting you know you may have had a little too much fun last night. Unfortunately once you reach the point of a hangover there is no going back no matter how much you wish you could. That extra beer or shot doesn’t seem worth it now but yet here you are. Hangovers feel awful, they are very similar to being sea sick; there is the fatigue, dehydration, pounding headache and in some cases severe nausea. Depending on how hung over you are there may even be some dizziness going on. This is all because your body has been depleted of essential vitamins and it has been wracked with alcohol. Luckily there are some holistic remedies for your hangover that can have you feeling better in no time. Here are 5 holistic remedies for your hangover:

1. Holistic remedies for your hangover: Bananas and Ginger

Bananas are full of potassium, potassium that while you were drinking and using the bathroom was leaving your body rapidly. Eating a banana will replenish your body with the essential vitamin potassium giving you some energy to beat the fatigue. Ginger is an old holistic remedy for hangovers. In fact ginger was used to treat nausea and seasickness for a long time. If you want to conquer your nausea ginger is the best bet.

2. Holistic remedies for your hangover: Honey and Lemons

Honey and lemons with a little bit of hot water can help to replenish lost fluids and sugars due to a long night of drinking. Your body has a hangover because it has lost a lot of its essential sugars and fluids due to drinking. Honey can help because it contains fructose which competes for the metabolism of alcohol. Competition is needed since the rapid change in alcohol levels is what has caused your headache.

3. Holistic remedies for your hangover: Water

Water works well to help with just about anything including a hangover. Drinking water is by far the best cure for a hangover to date. This is because dehydration can wreak havoc on the body and is the reason for most of the symptoms that come along with a hangover. Drinking water, whether it is carbonated, tap water or a filtered bottle of Dasani, is the best holistic hangover remedy there is. Drink more than the average eight glasses a day while recovering from a hangover.

4. Holistic remedies for your hangover: Sports drinks and Juice

Juice especially if it is freshly squeezed orange juice can help to raise blood sugar levels which in turn can help to ease some of the discomfort due to a hangover. If you are nauseous it is probably best to skip the acidic juices though and stick with a sports drink. Sports drinks are easy on the stomach and contain lots of electrolytes to replenish some of the vitamins your body is missing right now. Any sports drink with electrolytes will help with your hangover.

5. Holistic remedies for your hangover: Rice, Toast and Soups

Usually when you have a hangover the last thing you want to do is eat but eating can be a good thing if it is the right kind of food. Food will give you some sustenance for energy. Staying away from solid foods and sticking with clear liquids such as chicken noodle soup is the best bet early into your hangover. Later on if you can handle solid food, move onto something like toast or rice that will be easy on the stomach.

There is not fool proof holistic remedy for your hangover but there are some ways to ease the discomfort by giving your body what it is so dearly missing. A late night of drinking can wreak some havoc on the body so if you find yourself with a hangover do the right thing and just stick with what works and is easy on the body which is mainly a good amount of sleep and some tall glasses of water.

Sources:

http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/natural-medicine/home-remedies/home-remedies-for-hangovers4.htm

http://www.feminiya.com/5-home-remedies-to-cure-the-hangover-blues

http://www.cure-hangovers.com/home-remedies-for-hangovers.html

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

Hangover Movie: Dude, Where’s My Car

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Dude Wheres My Car

“The Hangover” movie series has reigned supreme the last couple years as the ultimate going out, getting wasted and can’t remember what happened movies. The story and plot lines in these movies are not unique in themeselves and have been rehashed over and over again.

A few years ago another hangover movie – Dude, Where’s My Car was another hangover cult classic.

‘Dude, Where’s My car’ premiered in 2000 and was an instant classic for teenagers everywhere who were into the party scene. Probably similar to the same older generation that now enjoys the Hangover movies. The entire plot of dude where’s my car is going to seem very familiar to the hangover movies too that are so popular today.

“Two potheads wake up from a night of partying and can’t remember where they parked their car.” Just like in The Hangover when a group of guys awaken from a hard night of partying and can’t remember what happened.

If you assumed that the rest of this movie plot includes antics and interesting characters on the journey to finding their car again – then you would be right! The main characters are two “potheads” (played by Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott) whom are trying to find their car. This hangover movie begins with a…wait for it… HANGOVER after having a wild party the night before. Ashton and Sean wake up to find the house trashed and people sleeping on the lawn. The unfortunate thing is that they are not in their house they are in their girlfriend’s house which if I may add happens to be hot twins.

Hard night of partying. Check.

Can’t remember what happened. Check.

Hot girls. Check.

Do you see the pattern here?

This movie includes dogs getting stoned, a sexy scene including Kristy Swanson who plays “Christie Boner” and even aliens.

Ashton who plays Jesse and Sean who plays Chester pretty much are idiots and all they know is Jesse’s car is gone and they encounter a transsexual stripper who wants his/her suitcase of stolen money, a group of alien-seeking nerds and an angry street gang. Their girlfriends Wilma and Wanda are upset (for lack of a curse word) that they trashed their house. Mind you the whole time they must find a “continuum transfuctioner” (a mystical device that could either save or destroy the world) while trying to not be duped by a group of jumpsuit-wearing, sexy-as-hell, aliens posing as humans want it.

Sound ridiculous enough? Well it gets more ridiculous.

This movie glorifies smoking pot and getting wasted. In fact I can remember watching this movie as teenager and thinking how badass it all was and how hot Ashton Kutcher was. Truth is eventually you grow up and you realize life is not in the slightest bit like the ridiculous comedic hangover movies they shove in our faces. While this movie is certainly hilarious it’s definitely not productive or filled with tons of brain enhancing or memory boosting scenes.

This hangover movies is slapstick stupid comedy at it its best.

Don’t drink and drive my friends!

 

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

5 Signs Your “Party-Animal” Friend Might Be an Alcoholic

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Party Animal Personality

5 Signs Your “Party-Animal” Friend Might Be an Alcoholic

There is a group of you. Maybe it is a group of three, possibly four. You all work different jobs, maybe two of you work the same job and you enjoy going out for drinks on the weekend. And you all love having a good time, I mean that is what life is about right? Fun with friends? But there is that one person, that one friend in your group on the weekends that you would consider the “party-animal” and their drinking is turning into a head tilting, embarrassing mess. You and your friends have begun having conversations with each other about the “party-animal” friend’s drinking and you begin to wondering if they might be an alcoholic. They quite possibly could be but you don’t know what an alcoholic is. You know the homeless drunk that you see when walking down the street but that isn’t your “party-animal” friend. Maybe your friend just needs to grow up? Or maybe it something more serious? Well, here are some signs that may help you to figure out what is really going on with your friend.

5 signs that your “party-animal” friend might be an alcoholic:

  1. Pay attention to your friend’s tolerance for alcohol. An increased tolerance for alcohol is a big indicator that your party animal friend might be an alcoholic. Overtime their system doesn’t respond to the same amount you would probably drink while out. As a result of this they drink more and more frequently.
  2. Look at how your friend considers drinking as a part of their daily routine. An alcoholic person often sets up a schedule for their alcohol. For instance if they visit a bar or liquor store daily after work your party animal friend may be an alcoholic. You will also notice that your friend makes excuses just to go get a drink.
  3. Passing out or blackouts are severe indicators that your party animal friend might be an alcoholic. Passing or blacking out can happen to anyone and everyone but it is unlikely and is unusual if it happens more than once. Someone who blacks out or passes out from drinking too much could very well be an alcoholic or be on their way to being an alcoholic.
  4. Bring up your party animal friend’s drinking to them and see what happens. Usually someone who might be an alcoholic responds very negatively and defensively. They will constantly deny or lie about the issue and never face the facts about their drinking.
  5. Keep track of how often your party animal friend becomes drunk whenever alcohol is available. Ordering “doubles” of drinks, gulping, or becoming quickly intoxicated are all indications that your party animal friend might be an alcoholic.

Everyone has that one friend that likes to get a little bit out of control and they are fun to be around and they are our friends. But if you think your party animal friend might be an alcoholic it is best if you care about them and talk to them about cutting back or quitting all together.

Sources:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2046129_recognize-signs-alcoholism.html

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

The Other Hangover

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The Other Hangover

Everyone knows what a hangover feels like. The parched mouth, aching muscles, and splitting headache are all unfortunate consequences of a hard night of drinking. “The Other Hangover” is less easily explained. It sometimes starts with a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. You wake up and realize that something is wrong, but you can’t remember what it is. Slowly, flashes of what you did the night before begin to play in your head. Maybe you got in a fight; maybe you danced topless on the bar. Whatever it was, you begin to realize that your overindulgence the night before may have cost you a lot more than your bar tab.

This is what’s known as “The Other Hangover.” It’s the embarrassment, guilt, or shame you feel due to the dumb decisions you made under the influence of alcohol.

The Other Hangover: Anti-Drinking Campaign

“The Other Hangover” is a concept developed by University of Minnesota undergrads. This semester, the campus has been plastered with posters and ads that try to convince students not to overdo it at the bar.

The idea came from a group of advertising students tasked with creating a responsible-drinking campaign for a national competition last year. The students surveyed their peers and found that the threat of most negative consequences (DUI, alcohol poisoning, and death) was not enough to scare them into drinking responsibly.

The ads feature things like women dancing provocatively at a bar with the caption “Reputations Aren’t Drunk Proof”  and a guy with an arm around a girl and the other hand holding a drink which read “Before you got wasted, you weren’t known as ‘The Creep’”.

Some have praised The Other Hangover Campaign for relating to college students on a level they understand. Since young people tend to think they are invincible, traditional campaigns focused on the dangers of drinking don’t seem to do much good.

Critics of the campaign call it “drunk shaming” and say that it reinforces sexist stereotypes (i.e. if you are a woman and you make out with a guy at a bar, you’re a slut.) The message, they say, is don’t get to drunk, or you’ll do something stupid and everyone will hate you. They claim that there are better and more effective ways to teach college kids responsible drinking.

However, maybe the ad will work where others have failed. It is no secret that campaigns like “The Faces of Meth,” which show the physical deterioration of people who have been arrested for multiple charges of possession, has been more effective on teenagers than more traditional campaigns. Some think this is because it shows teens something that they actually care about – i.e. the erosion of their physical appearance, rather than something that they think could never happen to them-i.e. car crashes or overdoses. Similarly, The Other Hangover ads play on the social consequences of drinking rather than the physical or legal consequences. According to its creators, it targets the things that young people “truly care about.”

http://www.theotherhangover.com/

http://jezebel.com/the-other-hangover/

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.