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. 

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.

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?

We’ve talked a lot here recently about alcoholism and, specifically, women and alcoholism and it seems that others, researchers in particular, are thinking about one of the biggest health questions that comes up for women who drink: pregnancy. How much alcohol is too much when you’re going to have a baby? And when is alcohol rehab a necessity?

What The Experts Have to Say About Alcohol and Pregnancy

According to The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia released new alcohol guidelines for pregnant women, stating that ‘no drinking is the safest option.’

Without the facts, however, some women are taking risks that they don’t even realize when they take a drink. To remedy the situation, The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the National Collaborating Centre for Women’s and Children’s Health have issued an update on the advice originally published in 2003 that medical practitioners should pass along to pregnant women. Here’s what they say:

* Pregnant women and women planning to become pregnant should avoid drinking alcohol in the first 3 months of pregnancy, because there may be an increased risk of miscarriage.

* Women should not get drunk or binge drink (drinking more than 7.5 UK units of alcohol on a single occasion) while they are pregnant because this can harm their unborn baby.

* All women should be informed about the importance for their own and their baby’s health and of maintaining adequate vitamin D stores during pregnancy and breast feeding. 10mcg per day is recommended.

What To Do if Someone You Love is Pregnant and Drinking

We know that drinking alcohol when you’re pregnant increases the risk of having a miscarriage or stillborn child, restricts the rate of growth in the fetus which ultimately means babies who are born early and with a low birth weight. Worst of all is the possibility of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) which can mean birth defects, and problems that range in severity that affect behavior, mental development and psychological development. To me, this seems like enough to deter the moderate or casual drinker from drinking at all during pregnancy. But for some reason, many women still don’t know the risk they’re taking when they take a drink during pregnancy.

If you know someone who is pregnant and drinking, share these guidelines with them. If they can’t quit drinkng on their own, then alcohol rehab is not only a medical necessity, it is an immediate one. Don’t wait. Contact The Canyon immediately.
For more information about this study and how alcohol affects women who are pregnant, check out Medical News Today.

If you go to any Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meeting, you’ll likely find a horde of folks outside the building before, after and during all puffing away. At drug rehabs across the country, you’ll likely find that cigarettes are allowed but perhaps that caffeinated products like chocolate and coffee are not. It doesn’t make sense, really, but many take the “one thing at a time” approach to addictions and prioritizing the most immediately devastating. However, new research has come out stating that if you’re addicted to cigarettes in addition to drugs and alcohol, you may increase your chances of staying clean and sober during and after treatment if you quit smoking cigarettes as well.

Which Comes First: Quitting the Cigarettes or Quitting Drinking?

Experience tells me that it’s essential to focus on quitting drugs or alcohol first. Personally, I had no luck whatsoever saying ‘no’ to a cigarette when I was getting loaded or drinking. But it doesn’t have to be an either/or situation.

Says Medical News Today, “It is a common worry that trying to quit smoking and drinking at the same time will undermine treatment for alcohol dependence. However, most studies have reported that efforts to quit smoking either have no impact on maintaining sobriety or actually increase success of alcohol treatment.”

How Do You Quit Smoking and Drinking at the Same Time?

That I know of, there aren’t treatment guidelines that have been developed specifically for those people who are trying to quit smoking and drinking or using drugs at the same time. There are a number of medications and stop-smoking aids that are available over the counter, and counseling is recommended for anyone undergoing addiction treatment, even after you have completed a more formal alcohol and drug rehab.

Medical News Today says, “Researchers have found that when smoking cessation support was delayed by six months, study participants were more likely to remain sober compared with those who received concurrent treatment for both addictions. But a follow-up analysis found that this may have been true only for white people in the study.”

Do What’s Best for You

It’s important to remember that no one method is going to work for everyone across the board. The best way to figure out what will work for you is to do your research and know what’s out there, then try something. Anything. Even a day without smoking will serve you. Keep trying different methods until you find something that works. Quit everything together, quit one after the other, quit one then wait five years and quit the other. Whatever it takes. Just quit.
You can get more information on quitting smoking to stay clean and sober at Medical News Today and Harvard’s health website.

Traditionally, there have been more men than women entering alcohol rehab in the United States. There are a number of reasons for this, not the least of which is the stigma associated with alcoholism and drug rehab of any kind in certain circles.

According to a study in Medical News Today, the number of women in alcohol rehab is rising and quickly catching up with the number of men seeking treatment for alcoholism. They say:

* “A new examination of data on similarly aged groups, compared across decades, has found substantial increases in drinking and alcohol dependence among women.”

* “Increases were particularly notable among white and Hispanic women - beginning with those born in the United States after World War II.”

Some of the findings of the study were kind of interesting and disturbing at the same time. Like, for example, younger people were reporting that they had intense problems with alcohol over their lifetime more often than did older people, even though, technically, they’ve had less time to develop such problems. Then again, the intensity of experience is somewhat more life altering when you’re younger as time hasn’t been given a chance to dull the experience or level it out by comparison to other experiences.

Women, Age and the Need for Alcohol Rehab

Richard A. Grucza is an epidemiologist at Washington University School of Medicine and the study’s corresponding author. He says:

“By looking at two different cross-sectional surveys that asked the same questions in the same manner, but were conducted 10 years apart, we were able to compare, for example, 30  to 40 year olds in 2001 with 30 to 40 year olds in 1991. Essentially, this allowed us to correct for the effects of age on reporting. When we did this, we found that the tendency for young people to have higher levels of lifetime alcohol dependence clearly remained for women, although it disappeared for men.”

Young women, older women… the results are the same. It doesn’t matter how old you are, you are just as likely to have a problem with alcohol that requires treatment as a man.

Why Are Women Needing Alcohol Rehab in Increasing Numbers?

Well, in my opinion, it’s not necessarily that more women need alcohol rehab but that maybe more women are coming forward and seeking treatment. Too many women have responsibilities to children and elders, whole families depending on them to be present every day and not. Alcohol treatment may not have seemed like an option but more like a luxury. As people become more educated and realize that, if you’re an alcoholic, alcohol rehab is a necessity and not something to deny yourself for any reason. Women are taking this to heart.

Shelly F. Greenfield is the associate clinical director of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Program at McLean Hospital. She says:

“One possible explanation is that between 1934 and 1964, the social acceptability of women’s drinking increased. As it was more socially acceptable for women to drink, a greater number of them became drinkers. Because women have a heightened vulnerability to the effects of alcohol - that is, greater blood alcohol levels at similar ‘doses’ of alcohol - we may therefore see a concomitant rise in alcohol dependence among those who ever drank.”

Grucza had an interesting take on the phenomenon as well: 

“Clearly there were many changes in the cultural environment for women born in the 40s, 50s and 60s compared to women born earlier. Women entered the work force, were more likely to go to college, were less hampered by gender stereotypes, and had more purchasing power. They were freer to engage in a range of behaviors that were culturally or practically off-limits, and these behaviors probably would have included excessive drinking and alcohol problems.

If A Woman You Love Needs Alcohol Rehab…

Help is available. The Canyon provides a retreat-like atmosphere in Malibu, California, that provides the healing and care that is required for women to truly be able to relax and focus on themselves. Give us a call to find out more about what we have to offer women who need alcohol treatment.

For more information on this study and others, take a look at Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

There’s a new marketing slant in alcohol production lately that seems to hone in on the American need to be highly productive but escape as well: alcohol energy drinks. Perhaps it’s the conception that the energy part of the drink will counter some of the sedating effects of alcohol that makes it so appealing. Maybe it’s the caffeine and sugar turbo effect that mixes with the intoxication of alcohol. Who knows. The problem is that people feel like these new drinks are somehow less harmful than alcoholic beverages alone. Unfortunately, according to a new study published on Medical News Today, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Alcohol Energy Drinks Are Dangerous

In fact, according to the study, those who drink alcohol energy drinks or mix liquor with energy drinks are doubling their chances of getting injured to the point of needing medical assistance during an alcoholic binge.

John Rogerson is the CEO of Australian Drug Foundation (ADF).  He says:

“People need to consider the risks involved in consuming these drinks. The research suggests you are more likely to end up in hospital or be assaulted if you drink these products.

“Combining alcohol and energy drinks is just plain dangerous. People might think they are drinking alcoholic energy drinks responsibly, but if they choose to then drive they are at particular risk, because they may feel more sober than they really are.”

Alcohol Energy Drinks and Alcohol Rehab

The fact that people who consume alcohol energy drinks are in more danger of getting hurt than those who drink alcohol alone means that the need for alcohol rehab in these cases is more urgent than ever if alcoholic behavior is present. Don’t fool yourself: you may feel more alert on these drinks but the alcohol’s effect on your system, your reflexes and your perception is no less than it would be without the caffeine. The false sense of confidence may end up prolonging the alcoholic’s denial of his or her circumstance and need for alcohol rehab.

If you have questions about how your alcohol dependence and addiction may be endangering your life and the lives of those around you, please contact us at The Canyon for more information about our comprehensive alcohol rehab program.

If you would like more information on this topic, check out Australian Drug Foundation.

If you or someone you love is an alcoholic and you know that some sort of drastic measure is needed to right things again, then you’re first thought is most likely alcohol rehab. If you’ve never been before, the idea can sound kind of mysterious…and scary. So what exactly happens in an alcohol rehab?

Alcohol Detox

First things first: physical addiction. Maybe you didn’t want to admit that you were an alcoholic when your spouse or partner left due to your bad behavior. Maybe an over-drafted bank account, an eviction notice and a pink slip didn’t get the message across either. It was everyone else who had the problem, right? Not you. But the day you developed the shakes, irritability, insomnia and other withdrawal symptoms that only went away with a drink, you had to realize that your body doesn’t have any hidden agenda: you’re addicted to alcohol. Obviously, you’re not going to be able to make headway on any meaningful recovery until you first deal with the harsh physical symptoms of alcohol detox. In an alcohol rehab, this is priority number one and may involve medical assistance to help assuage the symptoms, lots of sleep  and rest, doctors appointments to make sure that you’re stable, and not much else for the first few days.

Transition Into Alcohol Rehab

The next phase of alcohol rehab is to slowly, as you feel up to it, begin to incorporate group meetings and one-on-one therapy sessions into your day. Every alcohol rehabilitation facility is different and will have different schedules to ease you into but at The Canyon, this is where you start. We offer a ton of different therapeutic options for you to choose from—equine-assisted therapy, art therapy, yoga and meditation, bodywork and massage—and you can add these to your day as you progress. The idea is to first stabilize you physically in detox and then stabilize you emotionally with therapy. You will create a treatment plan that you will follow during your stay and update that treatment plan each week with your personal therapist.

                                                                        Back to the World

Alcohol rehab, like any medical treatment, will eventually come to an end. But at The Canyon, you aren’t abruptly tossed back into your old environment with nothing more than good wishes for the future. We provide all of our guests with comprehensive aftercare that can be as intensive as sober living here on site or as loose as just checking in if you live out of state. Each person living with addiction experiences that addiction differently and we believe that their treatment should be just as unique.

Have you been to alcohol rehab? Tell us a story about how it measured up to what you expected.