Alcohol Abuse Advice

What Is Alcoholism?

It can be difficult to define alcoholism because everyone has a different idea of what an alcoholic is and how they expect them to behave.  Alcoholics are not always down and out and begging on the street for money for booze.  More often than not, they are functional; they hold jobs and have families.  One thing that distinguishes an alcoholic is that their desire to drink tends to get in the way of their everyday life and the lives of those around them.  Alcohol substance abuse can start early in life or later, depending on the individual and their particular circumstances.  Many people who have a problem drinking start early on in life,  during their teens, and use alcohol as a drug to make them feel more confident and also to mask other problems. 

Alcohol substance abuse is typically brought on by the desire of the alcoholic to seek an altered state.  This can often start as simple experimentation with alcohol when one is young, but manifests itself into an addiction as the person ages.  Those who suffer from alcoholism will, usually at some time or the other have problems holding a job, maintaining relationships with others as well as staying within the realms of the law.  Many alcoholics will drink and drive and get caught, costing them their license as well as money for attorneys to help them out of this problem.  In some cases, this is what it takes for the alcoholic to seek help for their problem.  Others have to lose even more before they realize that they have a drinking problem and seek out help. 

In most cases, alcoholism is recognized in an individual by others before it is recognized as a problem by the alcoholic.  Those who suffer from alcohol substance abuse are usually in a state of denial about their problem and will say that they can stop any time that they want.  They often resent interference by others who try to get them to quit drinking.  Family and friends can try to help those who are alcoholics by suggesting rehab, staging interventions and seeking out help from others who are also involved with alcoholics.  However, in order for recovery to take place, the alcoholic has to want to do something about their problem. 

The good news is that those who suffer from alcoholism have help.  If they want to get the monkey off their back, which is alcohol substance abuse, they can do so when they enter rehab.  This will detoxify them and teach them different behavior patterns.  Changing a learned behavior can be difficult, but works out well when the alcoholic has help in doing so.  Good programs not only define alcoholism for the individual but also teach them the physical aspects of the problem as well as address their need to drink for psychological reasons.  Those who want to get help with their alcohol substance abuse can do so when they re-learn behavior, stop drinking and address the problem head on through a rehab program.  They should be prepared for set backs along the way, but with the proper treatment as well as the willingness on the part of the alcoholic, there is a lot of help and hope for those who want to stop their addiction.