Getting Sober: What To Expect, is written from first hand experience of a recovering alcoholic who knows what you'll go through. I know all to well the fears you may face when thinking about getting sober. Just the idea in itself wants to make you keep drinking! It’s not so bad, there’s 2 years of research in this book explaining what the majority of alcoholics go through when recovering in the early days of alcoholism.
In this book you will have all those questions answered and more! It is my hope that knowing what to expect when getting sober will make that decision all the easier. Getting Sober: What to Expectt was written with your best interests in mind. I hope this book makes that decision easier for you once you know what to expect.
Good luck and I wish you the very best on your road to recovery!
Please visit www.sobertime.net to get your copy of Getting Sober: What to Expect.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Alcohol Dependence
A cluster of physiological, behavioural, and cognitive phenomena in which the use of alcohol takes on a much higher priority for a given individual than other behaviours that once had greater value. A central descriptive characteristic of the dependence syndrome is the desire (often strong, sometimes overpowering) to take alcohol. There may be evidence that return to alcohol use after a period of abstinence leads to a more rapid reappearance of other features of the syndrome than occurs with nondependent individuals.
Diagnostic Guidelines
A definite diagnosis of dependence should usually be made only if three or more of the following have been experienced or exhibited at some time during the previous year:
1. a strong desire or sense of compulsion to take alcohol;
2. difficulties in controlling alcohol-taking behaviour in terms of its onset, termination, or levels of use;
3. a physiological withdrawal state when alcohol use has ceased or been reduced, as evidenced by: the characteristic withdrawal syndrome for alcohol; or use of the alcohol with the intention of relieving or avoiding withdrawal symptoms;
4. evidence of tolerance, such that increased doses of alcohol are required in order to achieve effects originally produced by lower doses (clear examples of this are found in alcohol-dependent individuals who may take daily doses sufficient to incapacitate or kill nontolerant users);
5. progressive neglect of alternative pleasures or interests because of alcohol use, increased amount of time necessary to obtain or take alcohol or to recover from its effects;
6. persisting with alcohol use despite clear evidence of overtly harmful consequences, such as harm to the liver through excessive drinking; efforts should be made to determine that the user was actually, or could be expected to be, aware of the nature and extent of the harm.
Narrowing of the personal repertoire of patterns of alcohol use has also been described as a characteristic feature (e.g. a tendency to drink alcoholic drinks in the same way on weekdays and weekends, regardless of social constraints that determine appropriate drinking behaviour).
It is an essential characteristic of the dependence syndrome that either alcohol taking or a desire to take alcohol should be present; the subjective awareness of compulsion to use alcohol is most commonly seen during attempts to stop or control alcohol use.
Article original source:http://www.mental-health-matters.com/disorders/dis_details.php?disID=4
Diagnostic Guidelines
A definite diagnosis of dependence should usually be made only if three or more of the following have been experienced or exhibited at some time during the previous year:
1. a strong desire or sense of compulsion to take alcohol;
2. difficulties in controlling alcohol-taking behaviour in terms of its onset, termination, or levels of use;
3. a physiological withdrawal state when alcohol use has ceased or been reduced, as evidenced by: the characteristic withdrawal syndrome for alcohol; or use of the alcohol with the intention of relieving or avoiding withdrawal symptoms;
4. evidence of tolerance, such that increased doses of alcohol are required in order to achieve effects originally produced by lower doses (clear examples of this are found in alcohol-dependent individuals who may take daily doses sufficient to incapacitate or kill nontolerant users);
5. progressive neglect of alternative pleasures or interests because of alcohol use, increased amount of time necessary to obtain or take alcohol or to recover from its effects;
6. persisting with alcohol use despite clear evidence of overtly harmful consequences, such as harm to the liver through excessive drinking; efforts should be made to determine that the user was actually, or could be expected to be, aware of the nature and extent of the harm.
Narrowing of the personal repertoire of patterns of alcohol use has also been described as a characteristic feature (e.g. a tendency to drink alcoholic drinks in the same way on weekdays and weekends, regardless of social constraints that determine appropriate drinking behaviour).
It is an essential characteristic of the dependence syndrome that either alcohol taking or a desire to take alcohol should be present; the subjective awareness of compulsion to use alcohol is most commonly seen during attempts to stop or control alcohol use.
Article original source:http://www.mental-health-matters.com/disorders/dis_details.php?disID=4
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Men More Likely to Drink When Troubles Escalate
Men are more likely than women to drink alcohol when they are upset, according to new research.
Scientists at Yale University found that after listening to a stressful story women reported more sadness and anxiety than men.
But for men the emotional arousal was linked to increases in alcohol craving.
The researchers say that the men studied drank more alcohol than the women on average, resulting in men having more experience with alcoholic drinks and potentially leading to them using alcohol as a way of coping with distress.
They studied the reactions of 54 healthy adult social drinks to three types of imaginary scripts: stressful; alcohol-related; and neutral/relaxing.
Emotions, behavioral/bodily responses, cardiovascular arousal and self-reported alcohol craving were analyzed.
Researcher Tara Chaplin said the fact men drink more alcohol when upset could be a 'learned behavior' or could be 'related to known gender differences in reward pathways in the brain'.
'Women are more likely than men to focus on negative emotional aspects of stressful circumstances, for example, they tend to 'ruminate' or think over and over again about their negative emotional state,' she said.
'Men, in contrast, are more likely to distract themselves from negative emotions, to try not to think about these emotions.
'Our finding that men had greater blood pressure response to stress, but did not report greater sadness and anxiety, may reflect that they are more likely to try to distract themselves from their physiological arousal, possibly through the use of alcohol.'
The study is published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
Visit http://obesityinformation.wordpress.com for Obesity information and treatment latest news. More information on quit smoking medication champix visit http://champix4u.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jwesly_Stifen
Scientists at Yale University found that after listening to a stressful story women reported more sadness and anxiety than men.
But for men the emotional arousal was linked to increases in alcohol craving.
The researchers say that the men studied drank more alcohol than the women on average, resulting in men having more experience with alcoholic drinks and potentially leading to them using alcohol as a way of coping with distress.
They studied the reactions of 54 healthy adult social drinks to three types of imaginary scripts: stressful; alcohol-related; and neutral/relaxing.
Emotions, behavioral/bodily responses, cardiovascular arousal and self-reported alcohol craving were analyzed.
Researcher Tara Chaplin said the fact men drink more alcohol when upset could be a 'learned behavior' or could be 'related to known gender differences in reward pathways in the brain'.
'Women are more likely than men to focus on negative emotional aspects of stressful circumstances, for example, they tend to 'ruminate' or think over and over again about their negative emotional state,' she said.
'Men, in contrast, are more likely to distract themselves from negative emotions, to try not to think about these emotions.
'Our finding that men had greater blood pressure response to stress, but did not report greater sadness and anxiety, may reflect that they are more likely to try to distract themselves from their physiological arousal, possibly through the use of alcohol.'
The study is published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
Visit http://obesityinformation.wordpress.com for Obesity information and treatment latest news. More information on quit smoking medication champix visit http://champix4u.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jwesly_Stifen
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