How to stop drinking

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.

Drunkorexia

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.

Why is alcoholism a chronic disease?

Why is alcoholism a chronic disease?

Alcoholism is not only a chronic disease it is also progressive and in some instances fatal.

What is alcoholism?

Alcoholism is the physical dependence on any mind or mood altering substance and the continued use regardless of consequences. Alcoholism is not a moral deficiency but rather a disease of the mind, body and spirit. Most people who become alcoholic cannot stop using drugs or drinking simply because they want to or “will” themselves to. Most people who suffer from addiction or alcoholism must seek outside help or an outside solution to help them get sober and then remain sober as they journey into recovery.

Like diabetes and cancer, alcoholism is a primary disease. This means that it is not a symptom of another disease, nor is it a personality flaw, moral weakness, mental illness, or lack of willpower. Alcoholism is not the result of drinking too much. Rather, the body of an alcoholic responds quite differently to the ingestion of alcohol than does the body of a non-alcoholic.

How is alcoholism progressive?

There is no cure for alcoholism, but there is treatment. Since alcoholism is a progressive disease, it always gets worse without treatment – it never gets better. Alcoholism causes biological, psychological, social and spiritual problems, and as the disease progresses, the person’s ability to function declines. All of the body is affected. Personality changes are the result from brain impairments to the person’s thinking and functioning. They think, feel, and behave differently than before, yet regard the way they are acting as normal. Social or relationship problems begin to happen in the family, the community, and at work. The alcoholic may handle the loss of his or her spouse and family due to chemical dependency, and withdraw from social contacts which do not involve drinking.

Why is alcoholism a chronic disease?

A non-chronic disease has a relatively quick onset, and the affected person is very aware of its sudden presence. But alcoholism is a chronic disease, meaning that it develops gradually over a period of time – sometimes measured in years. This helps to understand why there may be a long period of time between being well and acknowledging the presence of the disease. Problems or symptoms are present, but they are typically attributed to some cause other than chemical dependence, for instance, a bad marriage, working too hard, “unfair” supervisors, etc. People with alcoholism and family members deny that they have this disease for a long time. It is important to realize that such denial is not the same as lying. Rather, it is a matter of being convinced that problems or symptoms are due to something (anything) other than alcoholism. Denial of the disease is part of the chronic disease process, and breaking through that wall of denial is an extremely difficult process.

So why is alcoholism a chronic disease?

Because it gradually persists without any acknowledgement from the alcoholic that they have it. Alcoholism is not a moral failing but a disease that is in the worst way possible very fatal as well as chronic and progressive.

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

Facts About Alcohol Poisoning

Signs of Alcohol Poisoning

What is alcohol poisoning?

Alcohol poisoning is the result of drinking copious amounts of alcohol in a short period time. Alcohol poisoning is very serious and can sometimes be deadly. Binge drinking or drinking too much too quickly can affect your heart rate, your breathing, and your gag reflex. This can potentially lead to coma and death.

Binge drinking is rapidly consuming five or more drinks in a short span of time. Binge drinking is the main culprit of alcohol poisoning.  But alcohol poisoning can also happen when you accidentally or intentionally drink household products that contain alcohol.

Someone who has alcohol poisoning requires immediate medical attention. If you think someone may have alcohol poisoning, call 911 or for emergency help immediately. The treatment for alcohol poisoning will include breathing support, intravenous fluids, and vitamins until all of the alcohol is out of the body.

What causes alcohol poisoning?

Alcohol comes in different forms. The three most common forms of alcohol are Isopropyl alcohol which you find in rubbing alcohol, lotions and cleaning products, Methanol which is common in antifreeze, paints and solvents, and Ethanol which is found in alcoholic drinks, mouthwash and some medications.

Alcohol poisoning can occur from drinking household products accidentally or purposely but usually alcohol poisoning is due to drinking too many alcoholic beverages in a short amount of time.

Alcohol is not like food. Alcohol is absorbed into the body very quickly where as food takes hours to digest. It also takes your body a long time to get rid of the alcohol you have consumed. So it hits you faster and lasts longer. Alcohol is processed by the liver and it takes about an hour for your liver to metabolize the alcohol in one drink. The rate which alcohol is metabolized varies depending on the person.  But the more alcohol you give your body the more alcohol your liver has to handle and drowning it in alcohol is dangerous. Binge drinking is what usually causes your liver to become overworked.

Alcohol depresses the central nervous system. This means that alcohol affects the nerves that control your involuntary actions such as breathing, regulating body temperature, your heartbeat, and your gag reflex. Drinking too much can cause these functions to stop working properly or cause them to shut down all together which can lead to cardiac arrest or even seizures. In worst case scenarios this can lead to death.

What are the symptoms of alcohol poisoning?

Some of the symptoms of alcohol poisoning are:

  • Confusion
  • Vomiting
  • Seizures
  • Slow breathing-this means less than eight breaths a minute
  • Irregular breathing-this means there is a space of more than 10 seconds between breaths
  • Blue-tinged skin or pale skin
  • Low body temperature
  • Unconsciousness or passing out
  • Inability to wake the person

Not all of the symptoms need to present for someone to have alcohol poisoning. A person who has alcohol poisoning and cannot be woken up or is unconscious is at risk of dying so it is important to call 911 immediately.

Some factors can put at a higher risk for alcohol poisoning. For instance your age, your sex, your size and weight, and your overall health can all determine if you are at a higher risk for alcohol poisoning. This is because all of these qualities have to do with how your body processes alcohol. There are other things that can increase the risk of alcohol poisoning such as what you eat, your drug use if any, the type of alcohol you’re drinking, your tolerance level, and the rate at which you are drinking. These are quite apparent.

Alcohol poisoning is very dangerous and should be taken very seriously. No one has to die due to alcohol poisoning if everyone takes the right action and drinks responsibly. If not and you see someone who you think may have alcohol poisoning call 911 immediately.

Source: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sectionfront/life/alcohol-poisoning-the-hard-facts-364840/

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