Kevin was a forty-year-old accountant who was beginning to feel some of the effects of his heavy drinking. Kevin figured that he could spend a few minutes online, look for some basic alcohol statistics, facts, and information and quickly determine if he was alcohol dependent or merely an alcohol abuser. Frankly, Kevin was amazed at the number of websites that contained the information he was looking for, and he quickly found himself intrigued with the websites that discussed some of the typical symptoms of alcoholism.
Locating the alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse facts and statistics he was looking for was the positive news. The less than encouraging news, on the other hand, was the fact that Kevin exhibited many of the symptoms of alcoholism that were discussed on the websites.
What were some of the symptoms of alcoholism that Kevin identified with? First, his important relationships were deteriorating the more he drank. Second, he had a hard time getting the thoughts of drinking out of his mind. Third, virtually every negative issue in his life started to annoy him more often than usual. Fourth, he frequently felt depressed. Fifth, he often experienced hangovers, namely, an inability to remember what he said or did the night before when he was drinking. And sixth, he noticed that he was starting to lose interest in some of his favorite after work activities such as playing video games, working on his truck, and playing his guitar.
Other symptoms of alcoholism that Kevin exhibited were the following. First, in the past eight or nine weeks he has been showing poor decision-making skills and poor judgment at work. Second, he noticed that most of the money he had in his savings account was gone because his excessive drinking was so costly. Third, he was drinking more heavily than any other time in his life. And fourth, for the first time in his life he was having a real difficult time getting to sleep at night.
Since Kevin manifested all of these alcoholism symptoms, he was justifiably disturbed about his drinking problem. So Kevin decided that he would do something that more than a few problem drinkers fail to take action on, namely, schedule an appointment with their family physician or healthcare provider to discuss their drinking problem.
When Kevin arrived at the family physician's office, the first thing he stated when he saw his physician was the concern he had about his abusive drinking. When his physician asked what was setting off this anxiety, Kevin stated that he had gone online and read about different alcohol-related statistics and facts and found out that he exhibited quite a few of the more typical symptoms of alcoholism. When the physician asked him to explain what symptoms he was referring to, Kevin reached in his front pocket, took out a piece of paper, and read the total list of alcoholism symptoms that he thought he displayed.
The physician emphasized to Kevin how smart it was for him to make an appointment so he could discuss his drinking problem. The doctor then gave Kevin an extensive physical exam, asked him some alcohol-related questions, and suggested that it would be a good thing if he went to see Dr. Nelson, one of his associate doctors who was a drug and alcohol addiction specialist.
When Kevin emphasized the fact that he had been feeling down in the dumps the past few months, the physician told Kevin that depression and alcohol addiction often take place in the same person. Consequently, the doctor thought it would be a good idea for Kevin to get counseling at the mental health clinic located across the street so that he could address his depression.
Understandably Kevin did not want to face the thought of registering in an alcohol treatment program. Nor was he happy about going to a counselor to work on his depression. Regardless of these valid concerns, however, Kevin truly experienced some psychological relief for the first time in nearly a year due to the fact that he refrained from making excuses for himself and with determination made up his mind that he needed to do something productive about his depression and his drinking issues.
Locating the alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse facts and statistics he was looking for was the positive news. The less than encouraging news, on the other hand, was the fact that Kevin exhibited many of the symptoms of alcoholism that were discussed on the websites.
What were some of the symptoms of alcoholism that Kevin identified with? First, his important relationships were deteriorating the more he drank. Second, he had a hard time getting the thoughts of drinking out of his mind. Third, virtually every negative issue in his life started to annoy him more often than usual. Fourth, he frequently felt depressed. Fifth, he often experienced hangovers, namely, an inability to remember what he said or did the night before when he was drinking. And sixth, he noticed that he was starting to lose interest in some of his favorite after work activities such as playing video games, working on his truck, and playing his guitar.
Other symptoms of alcoholism that Kevin exhibited were the following. First, in the past eight or nine weeks he has been showing poor decision-making skills and poor judgment at work. Second, he noticed that most of the money he had in his savings account was gone because his excessive drinking was so costly. Third, he was drinking more heavily than any other time in his life. And fourth, for the first time in his life he was having a real difficult time getting to sleep at night.
Since Kevin manifested all of these alcoholism symptoms, he was justifiably disturbed about his drinking problem. So Kevin decided that he would do something that more than a few problem drinkers fail to take action on, namely, schedule an appointment with their family physician or healthcare provider to discuss their drinking problem.
When Kevin arrived at the family physician's office, the first thing he stated when he saw his physician was the concern he had about his abusive drinking. When his physician asked what was setting off this anxiety, Kevin stated that he had gone online and read about different alcohol-related statistics and facts and found out that he exhibited quite a few of the more typical symptoms of alcoholism. When the physician asked him to explain what symptoms he was referring to, Kevin reached in his front pocket, took out a piece of paper, and read the total list of alcoholism symptoms that he thought he displayed.
The physician emphasized to Kevin how smart it was for him to make an appointment so he could discuss his drinking problem. The doctor then gave Kevin an extensive physical exam, asked him some alcohol-related questions, and suggested that it would be a good thing if he went to see Dr. Nelson, one of his associate doctors who was a drug and alcohol addiction specialist.
When Kevin emphasized the fact that he had been feeling down in the dumps the past few months, the physician told Kevin that depression and alcohol addiction often take place in the same person. Consequently, the doctor thought it would be a good idea for Kevin to get counseling at the mental health clinic located across the street so that he could address his depression.
Understandably Kevin did not want to face the thought of registering in an alcohol treatment program. Nor was he happy about going to a counselor to work on his depression. Regardless of these valid concerns, however, Kevin truly experienced some psychological relief for the first time in nearly a year due to the fact that he refrained from making excuses for himself and with determination made up his mind that he needed to do something productive about his depression and his drinking issues.
About the Author:
Denny Mitchell writes about health effects of alcohol, alcoholic symptoms, and alcohol overdose. For more info, visit warning signs of alcoholism.
No comments:
Post a Comment