Changing a Person's Drinking Behavior
Thousands of articles have been written and countless research studies have been undertaken regarding alcoholism. In spite of this, the one finding that has apparently failed to reverberate throughout the alcohol abuse and alcoholism academic and medical communities is the emphasis on the fact that alcohol addiction has its roots in alcohol abuse. While this fact has many ramifications, perhaps the key upshot of this fact is that millions of non-alcoholic individuals in our society and throughout the world who engage in abusive drinking can address their drinking consumption and make healthy and positive changes in their drinking behavior before they become alcohol dependent.
One school of thought sees alcohol abuse in the following way: alcohol abuse takes place whenever an individual's drinking causes a problem in any aspect of his or her life.
The areas of a person's life where alcohol abuse commonly leads to problems includes the following:
· relationships
· employment
· school
· finances
· health
· the law (for instance, a DUI).
The Need for Positive and Healthy Change
Now that we are aware of the problems that are usually associated with alcohol abuse, it can be seen that in order to overcome these difficulties and issues it is important for the alcohol abuser to look in the mirror and honestly ask himself or herself if alcohol is causing a problem in any facet of his or her life.
As an additional component in the quest for healthy and positive change, problem drinkers need to understand that continued, repetitive, and heavy drinking can and does turn into alcohol addiction. Stated differently, millions of non-alcoholics in our society who have a drinking problem will, at some point in their lives, experience a transition from alcohol abuse to alcohol dependency. When this happens, it must be emphasized, the person will no longer simply be an alcohol abuser. Indeed, at this point, the person will be an alcohol abuser and an alcoholic.
Signs of Alcohol Addiction
How can a person tell if he or she is alcohol dependent? First, the experience of alcohol withdrawal symptoms when an individual suddenly stops drinking is one sign that alcoholism has reared its ugly head.
Second, repetitive and out-of-control drinking behavior is another indication that a person has become an alcoholic. What this usually means is that after consuming the first drink, the individual lacks control over stopping his or her drinking and therefore continues to drink until he or she becomes inebriated.
Alcohol Addiction Has Its Roots in Alcohol Abuse
Perhaps the key in all of this is the following: most, if not all instances of alcohol addiction get their start from alcohol abuse. Stated another way, it is highly unlikely that a non-drinker will become alcohol dependent simply by having one drink or that a non-drinker will become an alcoholic by getting drunk once. Indeed, alcoholism does not result from infrequent and sporadic drinking but rather from continuous, excessive, and repeated drinking. The point: alcoholism doesn't take place in a vacuum. In short, the roots of alcoholism are found in alcohol abuse.
Knowing this and letting this "fact" influence an individual's drinking behavior in a positive and healthy manner is perhaps the single most important health-related bit of information that a problem drinker can learn and implement in his or her life.
Why is this so important? Research shows that alcoholics are masters of denial, deception, dishonesty, and manipulation and often blame their alcohol-related problems on situations and people outside themselves. Alcoholics also exhibit out-of-control and irresponsible drinking behavior. Not only this, but most alcoholics will lie, cheat, and steal in order to get their next drink. Why would an alcohol abuser who is not yet an alcoholic want to face such a dreary and destructive set of circumstances?
Part One of Two
This article is part one of a two-part article. See the "About the Author" section below for the website address of the complete article.
About The Author:
Denny Soinski writes about alcohol abuse, alcoholism, drug abuse, and drug addiction. The above article is part one of a two-part article. To see the full version of this article, please go to the following website: When Alcohol Abuse Changes to Alcoholism.
Copyright 2009 - Denny M. Soinski. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, and give the author name credit.
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