Last week, a post reviewed scenarios of three people in very different life circumstances.  In each scenario, the person was depicted showing conflict between risky behaviors caused by drinking and life goals that depended on good judgment. We’ll take a deeper look now into how alcohol and risk taking are connected. 

Alcoholism and Risky Choices Affects Three Lives

In scenario one, the father (lawyer) is the primary bread winner with a family to provide for.  His drunk driving and all-terrain vehicle activity could leave his wife and children with serious financial problems.  He could also leave his children fatherless and make his wife a widow.  When he is drinking, he minimizes the risk and thinks mostly of his own fun and being part of his friend group.

In scenario two, the young mother drinks to make up for lost “fun” time in her teen years.  The young child only has one adult he can depend on, his mother.  Her illegal drinking and recent legal problems could land her in jail, draw a heavy fine, or give cause for removing her son from the home.  When she is drinking, she puts her own emotional needs first.  The possible consequences from a few hours of “fun” could turn her young son’s life upside down in a flash. 

In scenario three, the young professional woman’s unsafe driving and sexual behaviors could do some serious damage to herself and others.  Her choices could put her health at risk, could hurt or kill another person, and could cause serious financial problems.  When she drinks, she tries to forget her past.  She also ignores the potential consequences of her choices in the present moment. 

Alcoholism and Risky Behaviors

A person with a drug or alcohol addiction often overlooks risk.  They tend to minimize and separate realistic risk from how much drinking meets some other need - covering up feelings, keeping up social connections, dealing with emotional pain, releasing stress, etc. 

Even though the drinking could temporarily meet each person’s needs, it could at any time take them directly off the positive path they may want to be on.  Serious injury, financial problems, death, loss of parental custody, jail, and other problems are part of the risk when a person drinks irresponsibly. 

Untreated Mental Illness Increases Risky Behavior

Sometimes, a person drinks to cope with a mental illness such as severe anxiety or depression.  In this case, heavy drinking makes the underlying mental illness even worse.  Depression deepens, anxiety increases, and despair grows.  An untreated mental illness is one of the most alienated and painful things a person can live through.  Drinking to cope with it only makes things worse. 

Normal inhibitions keep a person from being dangerously impulsive.  You tend to pull back and think twice about doing something that could injure you, embarrass you, insult someone, etc.  Alcohol lowers these inhibitions, making impulses easier to follow.  This becomes especially dangerous when a person is depressed.  They may be more likely to hurt themselves or someone else when they feel desperate or trapped.

Alcohol Rehab Can Reduce Risky Behaviors

Alcohol rehab can help a person stop drinking and greatly reduce the risk in their life.  If a person is drinking out of control, it is likely they will need some form of alcohol treatment to help them change their mindset and behavioral patterns.  Do you find yourself or someone you care for in the above scenarios?  If you do, please consider learning about alcohol rehab before the worst case scenario comes true.

For you, going to a party is a way to blow of steam, let go, and forget your troubles.  But does your partying put your health and life goals at risk?  It may be hard to admit, but using drugs and alcohol to cope can actually bring on more and bigger problems.  Alcohol rehab may be needed to get your life back on track.

The Lawyer Who Drinks And Drives

You are a successful lawyer, working your way up to being a junior partner in your firm.  You only drink about once a week, but it is always to get drunk.  And when you get together with some old friends once a month, you almost always do dangerous activities while drinking such as driving through the country, using all-terrain vehicles, or driving motor boats. 

You see all this as a very normal way to let loose from your stressful job, but your wife is constantly worried that you will be injured, get arrested, or die from these activities.  She is a stay-at-home mom with your two small children.

The Single Underage Mom Who Parties

You are a twenty year old single mom with an 18 month old son.  You just broke up with your partner (father of your son) because he was very controlling and abusive.  You know this was the right thing to do, but your partying has increased.  You have been through so much and you feel like you need to make up for lost fun time. 

Because of the friends you have been spending time with, you’ve had two contacts with the police and now you are being questioned by Child Welfare about putting your child in harm’s way.  You are worried but still want to be able to go to parties when you want some fun.

The Young Professional Who Drinks The Pain Away

You are in your mid 20’s, with a college degree, and a good job.  Because of your parents’ alcohol problems and divorce, you have had a lot of emotional pain to deal with through your life.  You have also gone back home to care for your younger siblings when your mom ditches her responsibilities.  You feel like you’ve spend a lot of your younger years being like an adult, like you are really in your 40’s now instead of young with your own life ahead of you. 

You frequently drink with your friends at bars and at their homes.  You’ve driven many times while drunk, but you haven’t had anything happen yet.  The economy is bad now and you can’t afford big fines or a big car repair bill.  You also have sexual relations with when you are drunk, often times with no protection.

Alcohol Rehab Can Help Reduce Risky Behaviors

It’s not hard to see how these situations could become trouble in a hurry.  We’ll take a closer look at how a person with alcoholism could continue to take such risks.  Sometimes mental illness gets into the mix, creating a problem with co-occurring disorders.  Alcohol rehab helps to balance a person’s perspective on their life, helping them curb their urge to ignore red flags.  Alcohol rehab may be the only way to help a person who seems bent on living a dangerous life with alcohol.  Sadly, it sometimes takes an unfortunate accident or dramatic problem to get an alcoholic person to alcohol rehab. 

Check in next week for part 2 of this series on alcohol addiction and taking risks. 

You probably know someone in your life (now or in the past) that really needs to go to alcohol treatment.  They probably deny they have a problem, say they could quit drinking any time they want to, and maybe portray themselves as someone who “goes with flow.”  However, these could be signs of a person needing alcohol rehab.  Loss of control with drinking is a big sign of a problem.  Alcoholics become good at distracting others from their behaviors with nice promises and smooth explanations.  Look past these comments if you have concern - believe your eyes, not your ears.

Multiple Failed Attempts To Quit or Cut Back Drug and Alcohol Use

An alcoholic may say they can quit anytime and that they don’t have a problem.  However, a clear sign of alcoholism is the inability to actually quit.  In fact when they say they’ve quit several times before (as proof that they can), it really show shows that they can’t maintain sobriety.

This also holds true for just cutting back to a more healthy social amount.  If they have already gotten out of control with their habits, this is kind of like trying to get the cat back into the bag after it’s been used to being out.  Very difficult to do alone.  Alcoholics drink as a coping mechanism, so really, they don’t have much motivation to quit or reduce their drinking until they understand the full scope of their problem.  In the short term, less drinking means they aren’t able to get as numb as they are used to.

It’s About Impulse Control

Someone says, “Hey, let’s go to the bars,” or “Have another one,” and the alcoholic has little ability to stop themselves.  The impulse wins nearly every time because their skill at delaying gratification or using good judgment about drinking has been disabled. 

It’s partly because one strong effect of alcohol in the body is a loss of impulse control.  A person who normally only has one or two can have this effect for a short time without completely losing their ability to make good choices.  Of course, anyone having even one drink needs to be smart about choosing to drive each and every time.  But if their pattern is controlled social drinking, it is likely to stay that way over time.

Poor Judgement On When To Say When

An earlier post described how alcoholics have great difficulty tracking the amount they drink.  They may say they’ve only had “a few” but they may have actually had several times that amount.  Their tolerance is probably higher, so they may not report as much impairment as a true social drinker.  However, that does not mean they are actually less impaired.

A person drinking socially and safely generally has a good sense about their physical sensations, knowing they should keep track, and understanding how their drinking fits into the bigger picture of their activities for the day.  In other words, they most likely know if they are drinking socially before they get on the road, they will only be able to have a certain amount within a certain amount of time so they can drive safely.  An alcoholic has no ability to do this.

Alcohol Rehab Can Get Life Back In Control

Of course, nobody is ever completely in control of their life.  That’s pretty unrealistic.  However, everyone has a great deal of control about their behaviors and choices.  Losing control of the ability to manage alcohol use is destructive and sometimes deadly.  Alcohol rehab can restore a person’s ability to monitor themselves and make good choices. 

“I don’t know if there’ll be snow, but have a cup of cheer” - and so goes a popular holiday song.  Drinking and holidays are pretty common partners around the world.  It sure makes it easy to blend in your out-of-control drinking when everyone else is doing it too.  This holiday season could be your wake-up call to go to alcohol rehab. 

photo credit: Steve & Jemma CopleyHave

Family Conflict Made Worse By Heavy Drinking

Nearly everyone has one obnoxious relative, someone who speaks their opinion loudly and doesn’t care what others think.  Well, are you that relative in your family?  Drinking even small amounts of alcohol can lower a person’s inhibitions.  Ordinarily, they might keep their opinions more closely guarded.  Have a few drinks and a family feud might be rekindled.

Do you find family gatherings to be stressful?  Do you feel like you often end your holiday time with someone complaining about you, fighting with you, trying to “get in your business”?  Ask yourself how often you’ve been drunk when that’s happened.  You might discover that your drinking gives you the fuel to provoke others and be overly sensitive to criticism.  And if you’re not the only one getting drunk during the conflict, there’s no way a sensible calm discussion is going to suddenly break out. 

Everyone Else Is Drinking So Who Cares

Your denial can run wild when other people are also drinking at holiday gatherings.  It’s all just innocent normal party drinking like everyone else.  You and your family might even have a “tradition” of getting pretty drunk watching football games, drinking after dinner, or even going out to the bars. 

One thing to consider - your drinking may not seem abnormal because so many people around you also drink to excess.  You may not even think twice about spending most of the holidays drunk.  Perhaps you aren’t the only one in the group that has a problem.  Has anyone in your family already spent time in an alcohol treatment center?  Or should they?  And just because lemmings follow each other off cliffs doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. 

Drinking and Driving

I’ll never forget last year when I heard about a family in Ohio coming back from the Christmas holiday in a mini-van.  They were struck by a drunk driver (almost three times the legal BAC limit) in a head-on collision on the interstate.  Half the family was killed instantly including one of the parents, a newborn baby, and three other young children.  It’s an unbelievable tragedy that many people have kept in their hearts this past year.  Even the most basic description of the accident stirs disturbing images in your mind. 

Anyone who sees someone intoxicated at their family gatherings needs to be sure they don’t drive away in that condition.  If you know your drinking gets out of control at the holidays, tell a family member you trust to keep you off the road at all costs.  This man got sentenced to 43 years in prison and a lifetime burden.  I sincerely hope that he also has some form of alcohol treatment while serving his time.

Consider Alcohol Rehab For Heavy Drinking Problems

The holidays are supposed to be a time of joyous reunion with loved ones.  Unfortunately, these times often expose personal problems and family rifts.  If you find that your holidays are affected by your heavy drinking, strongly consider giving the best gift possible to yourself and your family - time at an alcohol rehab center. 

You’ve been clean and sober for 18 months, having some ups and downs but staying sober.  Then boom - something shocking and tragic happens, and you once again turn to alcohol to soothe your anxiety.   This is why relapse is common.  Even when you are doing well, something intense can shake you to the core.  Take a look at what can happen when you think you’re immune to relapse.

Relapse Triggers Are All Around

Infectious germs loiter all around us every day.  When our immune systems are strong and responsive, they fight off nearly every germ that tries to invade the body.  Germs find ways inside, like through cuts, eyes, and mouths.  Being overworked and stressed, not enough sleep, close contact with an infected person, all of these are opportunities for survival.  Germs seize these opportunities and wreck havoc.  That’s why we drink orange juice, exercise, and sleep soundly - to keep our immune system battle-ready at all times. 

For a person in addiction recovery, relapse likes to sneak up and hide around the corner.  Relapse triggers lie in wait every day until an opportunity presents itself.  Many times, the person can fend them off with positive thinking, exercise, keeping emotional balance, talking to friends, and so on.  But what happens when they don’t take care of the day-to-day healthy habits?  What happens when the relapse prevention plan becomes erratic, ignored, or forgotten?  Relapse, that’s what.

Relapse Starts With Innocent Sounding Lies

Your mind starts to open the door for relapse the minute it lies to you.  “This drink is just to help me calm down.”  “I’m not going back to the old days, just trying to get to sleep.”  “Once I can relax, I’ll be fine.  I can stop anytime anyway.”  These seemingly innocent comments are really dangerous lures.  They draw you into the trap of active addiction.  You might even feel that you deserve to blow off some steam.  You’ve been so stressed out by your anxiety, but it will just be this one time. 

Some part of you might be saying, “Hey, what the heck am I doing here?  I don’t have to get drunk to make things better.”  You know the way you were when you were drinking all the time - the DUIs, the reckless sex, the money problems, the legal issues, the depression.  Addiction is a dark place you don’t want to go, but you feel yourself sliding in that direction more and more. 

Relapse Means You Need Alcohol Treatment

Relapse does not mean the end of the road, the end of your progress, or proof that you are some kind of failure.  Relapse is a learning opportunity, so tell someone you need to stop drinking and that you need help.  Yes, you may feel some shame in telling someone, but what about the shame that you are knowingly hurting yourself?  The shame can get much better when you open up your dark little place and let the light of truth inside.  If you keep it all to yourself, shame and relapse can get so scary and isolating.  Tell someone you need help. 

If you are not already in alcohol treatment, make a phone call and find an alcohol rehab center in your community.  And yes, even if you have been to alcohol treatment before, you may need to swallow your pride and consider this the moment you need to go again.  If you truly know yourself as an alcoholic, then you cannot “un-know” this.  Pretending your alcoholism is gone is just plain dangerous. 

Alcoholism is a serious problem for anyone who succumbs to it.  Many people understand the basics about how being drunk all the time would make life hard.  But what about the body?  How much of a hit does the human body take when it’s assaulted by massive amounts of toxin every day?  If nothing else, this list hopefully makes anyone with alcoholism seriously consider alcohol treatment.

The Big List of Health Problems From Alcoholism

Liver cancer, hepatitis, and cirrhosis are all diseases that can come on as a direct result of heavy drinking.  The liver is on the front line of absorbing toxins from the blood.  It can become damaged almost beyond repair from working overtime all the time.

Common heart problems resulting from alcoholism can include cardiomyopathy (weakened heart muscles leading to heart failure), high blood pressure, increased risk of stroke, irregular heart rhythms called arythmias.  Anemia and other blood disorders can also arise from lack of proper nutrient absorption.  Blood vessels near the surface of the skin become constantly dialated, giving the chronic drinker the look of flush skin all the time. 

Tissue inflammation of all sorts is a side effect of heavy drinking.  This can lead to pancreatitis, usually seen in people who’ve been drinking heavily for at least 5-7 years.  It’s usually chronic by the time they get medical attention.  Other digestive problems include peptic ulcers from long-term irritation of the stomach lining.

Heavy drinkers are at risk for weight gain from excess calories in each drink.  This puts them at a greater risk for all the health issues overweight people face including diabetes.  On a related note, heavy drinking for several days without enough food can cause a person to become hypoglycemic, which means they are suddenly short of necessary sugars in the body.  This can bring on strange behaviors, disorientation, and even convulsions or a coma (when severe).  If the person is already diabetic, their risk of hypoglycemia is greater.

Heavy drinkers may begin losing feeling in their extremities from long-term neurological damage.  Alcoholics can also have a lasting impact on the development and growth of connections throughout the brain and chemical balances. 

It should be noted that women are at risk to develop these problems sooner than men.  Women require less alcohol over a shorter period of time to develop alcoholism.  Also, any woman who drinks while she is pregnant puts her unborn baby in a great amount of danger.  Many thousands of babies are born each year with fetal alcohol effects.  Also, heavy alcohol use while pregnant can increase the risk of a miscarriage.

The Final Word Alcoholism and Health

In short, heavy chronic drinking raises the risk for nearly every disease in the book.  That’s the bottom line.  As much as heavy drinking impairs a person in the moment, it also does a lifetime of damage along the way.  Alcohol rehab can turn someone’s life around.  If an alcoholic doesn’t get alcohol treatment in time, it could really be too late to save their body.  For lasting good health, alcohol rehab is a smart choice.

A sure sign that someone has a serious drinking problem is when they lose control of their drinking behaviors.  They frequently say one thing then do another, leaving the concerned friend or relative really wondering.  If you are watching out for someone who seems to lose control of their drinking on a regular basis, you may very well need to talk with them about getting alcohol treatment.  But first, take a look at the following examples to see if you need to take action. 

Alcohol Use More Than Intended

Your roommate says he’s just going to have one or two beers over at a friend’s place.  You drop by about an hour later and find that he’s finished a six pack and is heading into a new one.  A woman tells her husband she’s going to have a drink after supper.  Two hours later, her husband has noticed her refilling at least four times.  

Maybe it’s part of the denial, but the two people described above both said one thing and did another.  They each indicated they were having a fairly small amount to drink, but in reality they had at least three times as much.  Did they really think they were only having one or two?  Or did they just say that outloud to someone else to make it seem OK?  It could certainly be both. 

Use Drugs For Longer Period Than Planned

A husband tells his wife he’s just going to watch the game and drink a few beers at a friend’s house, then he’ll come home and they’ll go out for dinner.  However, he doesn’t come home in time for dinner, and his wife can’t reach him.  He and his friends had gotten drunk during the game and went down to the bars for a few hours. 

Once a person with alcoholism gets rolling, it can be hard to stop.  Drinking almost always takes longer than they say because they have little ability to control the amount they have.  They can become oblivious to the passage of time or other obligations.  The goal of their drinking is not to have a mild buzz once in a while.  It is to get intoxicated, even when they don’t say so.

Not Being Able to Keep Track of Alcohol Amounts

If you ask an alcoholic how much they had, you will invariably get some strange answers.  Some will swear they only had four or five, when a blood alcohol count from a DUI will show almost twice the legal limit.  Or, they may simply say, “I don’t know,” which is probably the most accurate.

Alcoholics almost always underestimate their amount.  They aren’t keeping track in the first place because again, their drinking is not done in a socially responsible manner.  They are drinking in an out of control manner because they are using the alcohol as a coping mechanism.  Getting drunk is what they have done for so long they may not know or remember how to monitor themselves accurately.

Stop Out of Control Drinking With Alcohol Rehab

Check back here for another post describing more ways alcoholics lose control of their drinking.  Unfortunately, there’s just too much to put in one post.  Alcohol treatment is the best way to truly stop drinking that has gone out of control.  Sometimes a short stay at a residential alcohol treatment center is the best thing.  A person taken out of their environment can get a real fresh start, especially when the problem has been chronic and serious. 

Trying to Fix the Problem of Alcoholism

The World Health Organization is extending an open invitation for all interested parties and persons to voice their ideas for combating the negative effects of alcohol abuse. 

Suggestions are being taken throughout the month of October, 2008 and will become a part of the official documentation presented to health officials, industry representatives, non-governmental organizations, and member states during round table discussions in November.

The Need for Open Communication about Solutions to Alcohol Abuse

“The harmful use of alcohol is a leading risk factor for premature death and disability in the world. Every year at least 2.3 million people die from alcohol-related causes,” says Assistant Director-General of the WHO’s Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health Cluster, Dr. Ala Alwan. “This web-based public hearing is broad and inclusive and will provide an opportunity for everyone, including the public, to present their views on effective strategies to reduce the burden resulting from the harmful use of alcohol.”

The Importance of Participating in Government Decision-Making

Friends and loved ones who have witnessed firsthand the harmful effects of alcohol abuse and addiction are far better qualified to propose grassroots strategies for combating this deadly disease than most wealthy politicians who might be far removed from its influence.  Hearing what the people have to say about the situation also makes decision making much fairer to those who will be affected by the decisions in the long run. 

“We are particularly interested in getting views on integrated approaches that can protect at risk populations, young people and those affected by harmful drinking by others,” says Dr Benedetto Saraceno, Director of the WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse.

How to Get Your Voice and Suggestions Heard

If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “If only there weren’t so many liquor stores on this block, the men around here might come home at night to see their children and wake up in the morning to go to work,” then you would be the perfect candidate to suggest a limit to the number of alcoholic retailers in a given location.

Once you’ve pinpointed a problem – in your neighborhood, your family unit, your town or county – and reframed it into a viable, workable solution, the next step is to log on to the WHO’s website and follow the instructions on how to log your suggestion.

Submissions can be composed in any of the UN’s six official languages (English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, French, and Russian) and should be no longer than 2000 words.  Participants can also utilize up to 500 words to outline their viewpoint on alcohol and the related health crisis.

Tell Us:  What ideas, viewpoints, and suggestions can you contribute to the discussion?

Just Say No To Drugs was the mantra in the late 1980’s.  Nancy Reagan championed this phrase give teens a simple response to drug and alcohol peer pressure.  Many parents simply tell their kids that drugs are bad and they should stay away from them.  But why is this approach just not enough?  Talking with kids about drugs and alcohol is a challenge, but it doesn’t have to leave you tongue-tied.

Be Honest About Why Drugs May Seem Fun

It’s tempting for parents to simply demonize drugs and alcohol, attempting to scare their children away from even the idea of trying it.  While this approach is understandable and pretty common, it probably leaves some good learning opportunities out of the picture.  It’s strong on power but weak on understanding the nature of teenage temptation.

A more effective approach would include being pretty honest about the reasons people think taking drugs and drinking is fun.  Honestly describing the attractive effects of drugs doesn’t necessarily make taking them more likely.  Being honest keeps the mystery down and keeps the talk straight. 

For example, you can say that some people really enjoy how alcohol relaxes them.  It makes them feel kind of silly and loose, like they are having fun and forgetting their troubles.  It’s also why friends might try to convince someone else to try it (like your kid).  Then say how friends are more likely to tell you the “good” things about drinking and taking drugs, or make it seem cool or funny to get in trouble and buck against the adults. 

Be Just As Honest About The Dangers of Drugs

Tell them just as honestly how alcohol and drugs affect their feelings in bad ways, too.  Sadness gets sadder when they are drinking, anger gets stronger, crazy mood swings are exhausting.  They are more likely to do things they would regret while drinking or taking drugs.  They have a better chance of hurting themselves accidentally or intentionally, a better chance at having dangerous, abusive, or unprotected sex. 

Talk about kids and adults who have had big enough problems that they needed to go to drug rehab or an alcohol treatment center.  Even if it hasn’t happened in your community, the internet makes it convenient to look up good examples of kids who went far off the track with drugs and alcohol. 

You know your kid better than most other people, what they value, what they wouldn’t want to get off track, what they need from you as a parent.  If they have big concerns about friend rejection, they may take drugs to feel like they fit in and have friends.  If they have anxiety from academic and success pressure, their weak spot might be tension relief. 

Kids Will Listen To What Their Parents Say About Drugs

Kids still listen to their parents as teenagers, and they certainly don’t need their parents less at this age.  But peers do become very important to teens and preteens.  If you can appreciate this and help your kid see the bigger picture, you will remain a valuable source of support and honesty for them. 

You probably won’t be there when those big moments of temptations happen.  But locking your kids in the closet isn’t going to teach them much about making good choices either.  If you discover that your child already has a problem with drugs and alcohol, you may need to consider drug rehab or alcohol treatment.  When you keep the communication open and honest, there’s always a chance for a good outcome.

Lindsey Lohan’s had one, so has Paris Hilton, Heather Locklear, and even Joba Chamberlain this weekend.  They’ve all been arrested for or charged with a DUI recently.  If you’ve had a DUI, you know it can be a costly, embarrassing, and soul-searching ordeal.  A DUI can even prompt a trip to an alcohol treatment center or outpatient alcohol rehab.  Now matter how difficult the experience, it can become one of the best things to ever happen to you.

DUI Breaks The Facade That You Have Everything Under Control

A woman I know recently described how low she crashed when she had her DUI.  She felt that was rock bottom, and it all came on so suddenly when she had her car accident.  I wondered about that, and thought maybe she was actually skimming much closer to “the ground” than she thought.  The accident was just the most obvious moment, highlighting her out-of-control life to everyone.

What the DUI did for her was break the facade into a million pieces.  When she sobered up the next day, she was faced with a choice - keep her head in the sand about her drinking problem, or face the awful truth straight on.  She faced it, wincing and squirmed at the beginning.  She attended alcohol rehab, went through her probation, and had no car or license for one whole year.  Nearly two years after that DUI, she told me that it was one of the best things to ever happen in her life.  She finally got honest with herself and has made personal growth she never thought possible.

DUI Costs Money Embarassment Legal Problems And More

A DUI can hit you in so many ways - your wallet, your public and social image, your transportation options, and your legal record.  Amazingly, some people have multiple DUI’s before they get serious drug or alcohol rehab.  For this woman, just one DUI was all it took to turn her life around.  For a person with untreated mental illness, a deeply set addiction, or multiple addictions, it may take more to get the message through.

A person of limited income will feel the hit to the pocket book a lot harder than a celebrity, but the celebrity can have immense damage to their reputation from just one offense.  You often don’t realize the freedom of being able to drive wherever you want until that privilege is taken from you.  You may think you understand being self conscious until you hear how many people have read your name in the paper.  You may take your auto insurance for granted until you discover you have a higher rate for a few years.  No matter your income or social status, a DUI is intended to be taken seriously. 

DUI And Alcohol Rehab Force Reality Upon You

If you can stand it, a DUI is a huge opportunity for you.  It forcibly stuns you into reality.  A cop has your blood alcohol level, has your driving and behavior on videotape, records the alcohol smell.  Tough to deny.  Reality may be something you are actively trying to avoid.  Get drunk and you don’t notice too much around you.  Convince yourself you have only had “a few” and can drive OK. 

Reality may bite, but it doesn’t lie.  Once you really know you have a drinking problem, you can’t un-know it.  You just hide from it.  If you are ready to face the truth and keep your head out of the sand, alcohol rehab is a great place to start.  Reality is the real blessing of a DUI and alcohol rehab.