How do you want to solve your problem?

The term "alcoholism" would be described as an addiction to alcohol. When a person has a strong case of alcoholism, it is very difficult for them not to drink. Some people who suffer from this are unable to feel content with themselves without consuming alcohol. Unlike cravings for food, alcohol cravings are much more potent and much more difficult to ignore for people with alcoholism. Often times, people craving alcohol feel that they need it to sustain themselves more than food or water. In worst case scenarios, people feel they can't go an hour without drinking alcohol. This results in a loss of control over body and mind in the alcoholic.

Because alcohol affects many organs in the body, long-term heavy drinking puts you at risk for developing serious health problems, some of which are described below. More than 2 million Americans suffer from alcohol-related liver disease. Some drinkers develop alcoholic hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver, as a result of long-term heavy drinking. Moderate drinking can have beneficial effects on the heart, especially among those at greatest risk for heart attacks, such as men over the age of 45 and women after menopause. But long-term heavy drinking increases the risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and some kinds of stroke. The pancreas helps to regulate the body's blood sugar levels by producing insulin. The pancreas also has a role in digesting the food we eat. Long-term heavy drinking can lead to pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas. This condition is associated with severe abdominal pain and weight loss and can be fatal.

Many car accidents are a result of alcoholism. In the United States, though measures have been taken to prevent it, the number of accidents involving alcohol has increased significantly over the last ten years. In the year 2004, 25,000 fatal accidents were the result of alcohol. Besides the terrible loss of life, there is also a cost to taxpayers in the US who have to pay because of others' mistakes. 21 to 24 billion dollars a year must be paid to the government for alcohol-related accidents. Insurance also poses a problem to the families of the deceased.

When someone experiences alcohol problems, the negative effects of drinking exert a toll, not oly on the drinker, but also on their partner and other family members. Recent data suggest that approximately one child in every four (28.6%) in the United States is exposed to alcohol abuse or dependence in the family.12 One of the clearest demonstrations of how alcohol use negatively impacts the family is the widely documented association between alcohol use and interpersonal violence. Family problems that are likely to co-occur with alcohol problems include:14 Violence, Marital conflict, Infidelity, Jealousy, Economic insecurity, Divorce, and Fetal alcohol effect. Drinking problems may negatively alter marital and family functioning, but there also is evidence that they can increase as a consequence of marital and family problems. Thus, drinking and family functioning are strongly and reciprocally linked. Not surprisingly, alcohol problems are common in couples that present for marital therapy, and marital problems are common in drinkers who present for alcohol treatment.

If you think your drinking is a problem, try following these steps: STEP ONE: Decide what your aim is. Do you want to give up alcohol altogether? Or do you want to cut down to within daily benchmarks? Or maybe you want to avoid binge-drinking and all the problems that go with it. The decision is yours but be clear about what you want to achieve. STEP TWO: Pick a day in the next week to start cutting down. Go for a day when you are likely to be relaxed and not under pressure. Plan ahead for a day when it is easier to avoid alcohol. STEP THREE: Work out how you can avoid situations when you know you end up drinking more. If you often drink at home, stock up on alternatives to alcohol, like alcohol-free beers, or lagers or wine or soft drinks. You might like to tell other people that you are cutting back, this should avoid them putting pressure on you to drink and they might even join in. STEP FOUR: Do not give up! Changing habits like drinking takes time and hard work and sometimes it is difficult to drink less. Keep focusing on the positive things you have achieved. If you do relapse, set a new date to start reducing again. STEP FIVE: If you continue to find it difficult to cut down you could see a trained alcohol counsellor to help you develop strategies or contact Drinkline for advice. Try phrases such as: No thanks ,I have had enough or I have got a lot on tomorrow. Reward yourself. Chart your progress. Cutting down requires willpower and self-control so you should be pleased with yourself for succeeding. Buy yourself something special with the money you save from not drinking. Be honest with yourself. Make sure you only reward yourself when you meet the targets you set yourself.

Alcoholics often have a difficult time deciding whether or not to give up drinking. They feel that alcohol has been a companion to them, and wonder why they should give it up when it has helped them through so many difficult times. The truth is that alcohol was probably one of the underlying causes of those difficult times. Without knowing it, drunks can become a person they never knew existed, causing tension and creating friction in places where there wasn't any before. Once sober, the alcoholic is forced to deal with the consequences and often does not know how, which is when they relapse back into drink. This is the reason for giving up alcohol: it ruins one's mind, body, and life. Once identified as the cause of the ruination, the problem can be solved, as long as the alcoholic has the will to try. Becoming independent from drinking is a very difficult bond to break, which usually makes the results all the more satisfying.

Alcohol rehabilitation centers are large in number in the United States, but few in diversity. Most rehab centers claim to be the best in the business, and yet are indistinguishable from the rest. This makes giving up alcohol more difficult, for most people require individualized treatment and rehab. A treatment plan should not be formed according to any restrictive model; it should be tweaked and morphed into a plan that actually brings results to the people who use it. People, whether or not they are alcoholics, are not the same, and therefore cannot use the same exact treatment service. Finding an alcohol rehabilitation center that is different and cutting-edge is, therefore, rather difficult. These latter centers often have individualized treatment plans, and dual-diagnosis as well. Most of them are located in Florida, where the methods are creative and exciting, giving quality care to alcoholics.

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