Sure, you can find out what is going on:
There are ways to recognize people who have alcohol problems. If you are concerned about your drinking habits or those of someone close to you, here are a few ways to determine if alcohol is indeed a problem:
If you are a woman who has more than seven drinks a week or more than three drinks at a party, bar or celebration, you may be drinking too much.
The same is true for a man who has more than 14 drinks a week or more than four drinks at a party, bar or celebration. For those over 65, more than seven drinks a week or three drinks per occasion could mean you are drinking too much.
Think that you or a loved one or friend may be in the drinking heavily category?
If you are a woman who is drinking more than three drinks every day or 21 drinks per week, the answer is, "yes." Men who consume more than five drinks a day or thirty-five a week also fit into the drinking heavily category.
Maybe you are concerned about the risks you or someone who is close to you is taking when you drink. Those who drink and drive are taking risks with the consumption of alcohol.
If you operate heavy machinery or mix alcohol with medications, either over-the-counter or prescription medicines, you are putting yourself and others at risk.
When you don't tell your pharmacist, doctor, or surgeon that you are a regular drinker, you are taking risks with alcohol. Did you know that even small amounts of alcohol can be dangerous for an unborn child?
If you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant, you are taking risks every time you drink and even if you are not putting yourself at risk, you are putting your baby in a precarious and dangerous situation.
Drinking has become a habit when you or a loved one uses alcohol to relieve anxiety, relax or to get to sleep. The use of alcohol has become a habit if you consistently drink so that you will feel more comfortable in social situations.
When drinking is used as a way to avoid thinking about unpleasant or sad situations, it may have become a habit. The same is true if you spend quite a bit of time socializing with other drinkers.
There may come a time when the consumption of alcohol begins to take over your life. One sign that this is happening is if you worry about having enough alcohol for the evening or the weekend.
If you hide alcohol or purchase it at various stores so that people won't know how much alcohol you are consuming you may have reached the point of having alcohol take over your life.
When you are at a social gathering do you try to avoid letting others know how much alcohol you are drinking? Do you attempt to get extra drinks and hope that others will not see you doing it?
If you fit into any of the above categories, it may be time to talk to a doctor or other professional about your alcohol consumption.
There are also self-help and support groups that can offer assistance. Do not feel that you are alone or that you can not stop drinking. The misuse of alcohol can lead to ruined health, the end of relationships and other serious consequences for you and for others.
Many people choose to stay in relationships with alcoholics. It is like living in a love triangle. There is you, the alcoholic and the addiction. You will feel that you really are part of a love triangle. His/her addiction takes money, time and attention away from you and from any family you may have.
You may think of an alcoholic as a person who stumbles around the street, drunk, with a bottle in one hand and money for the next bottle in the other hand.
This is not often not the case. Many alcoholics lead fairly normal lives, at least for awhile. They are usually able to hold a job for a time and may just begin by drinking a little too much, too often.
When the addiction truly takes hold the person will absolutely deny there is a problem. Emotional closeness is no longer possible and there are many other problems as well.
There are several things that may happen in your relationship and none of them are good.
You will notice inconsistent behavior and fits of violence and fury are possible. The alcoholic is often irresponsible and can not be depended upon.
Sexual activity is usually diminished and the alcoholic may experience constant irritability. You will probably have to deal with depression and your relationship will never be stable.
If you decide to try to ignore the fact that your partner is an alcoholic you will be enabling all of these behaviors to continue. The person you love is very ill and needs help. All the understanding, love and patience in the world will not cure someone who is addicted to alcohol.
When you indulge an alcoholic the person will have no reason to change. Why would a person who is addicted to alcohol make any changes when they have someone who continues to be loving and understanding.
The alcoholic who has someone to make excuses for him/her, forgive and solve his/her problems has absolutely no motivation to stop drinking and seek help.
An alcoholic who has someone taking care of all the problems caused by the addition may tell himself/herself that he/she will wait until an appropriate moment comes along. He/she will be able to ignore the illness if a partner is covering all the bases for the addictive behaviors.
If children are part of the family the situation is even more difficult and complicated.
The children often take the back seat in the family and they do not always receive the love and attention they needed. They may grow up feeling guilty, angry, and afraid.
There are many things you can do if you are living with an alcoholic. The first part of this series gave you some ideas of things not to do and Part Two will focus on steps you can take to improve the situation.
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Some people don't know for sure how much they can drink.
Here is the most unbelievable examples of how people can get drunk to death.
It's considered usually that 5 parts of pure alcohol per thousand parts of blood cause strong intoxication and death. Some of them were not lucky...
Pro mil is 0.1% (1 part per thousand)
I had my first drink when I was only six. My parents liked to party a lot but after to much to drink they needed a bar tender and of course they asked me. I could not say no. In my home no was a non existent word.
I wanted to see what it had tasted like, thinking that if it made this much fun then maybe it tastes good so I tried. I loved it. Every time I made the drinks I needed the taste of it like I needed nothing more.
At the age of eleven my parents decided that I had to do my homework and did everything my parents told me to do. After my parents decided to ruin my life (I think so) I found so called friends and they gave me everything I needed. At 13 drugs and sex were introduced into my new life. Then life definitely couldn't get better, my parents couldn't stand me around, my school work suffered I started to lie cheat steal anything it took to get any fixes I needed.
At the age of 15 I got kicked out of school and home and went to the foster care system and of course that is not the best place for a kid to be with the difficulties any kid was having if anything thing it went from bad to worse. The drug of choice changed the liquor intake increased and sex well I don't need to go further with that...
And then I came to my first suicide attempt...
That is how my childhood looked like. I'll be back soon and go on.
Sure, I must to be reflexive. Every day I must remind myself how wonderful my life today and how terrible it was at the bottom of glass.
I love movies about alcoholics. Some of them are very sad but it is a light sadness. It's like recollections of my life...
You'll never be sorry for watching the following films.
28 Days
Starring Sandra BullockAs played by Bullock, Gwen is an alcoholic in denial whose latest bender with boozer boyfriend Jasper (Dominic West) ruins the wedding of her sister (Elizabeth Perkins) and lands her in a month-long rehab program with the requisite gang of struggling drunks and junkies. Newcomer Alan Tudyk steals his scenes as a gay German rehabber who might've dropped in from a Berlin performance-art exhibit, and Steve Buscemi aptly conveys the weary commitment of a counselor who's seen it all. Thomas has surrounded Bullock with a sharp ensemble, and the addition of singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III (as a kind of Greek chorus crooner) is sublimely inspired. Certainly no surprises here — the warring sisters will reconcile, and at least one rehabber will fail to recover — but there's ample pleasure to be found in Bullock's finely tuned performance, and in Thomas's inclusion of flashbacks and tangents that add depth and laughter in just the right dosage.
The Lost Weekend
Starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman
The Best Picture of 1945 has lost none of its bite or power in this uncompromising look at the devastating effects of alcoholism. Ironically, this brilliant Billy Wilder film was almost never released because of poor reaction by preview audiences unaccustomed to such stark realism from Hoollywood, but the film has since gone on to be regarded as one of the all-time great dramas in movie history.Ray Milland's haunting portrayal of a would-be writer's dissatisfaction with his life leads him on a self-destructive three-day binge. Filled with riveting imagery, the multiple Academy Award-winner offers an unforgettable view of life on the edge.
When a Man Loves a WomanTwo of Hollywood's most popular stars, Meg Ryan (You've Got Mail) and AndyGarcia (Desperate Measures, The Godfather Part III), deliver crtically acclaimed performances in this inspiring mootioon picture hit. As Alice and Michael, Ryan and Garcia are a passinate coouple whose once-stable marriage is rocked by Alice's increasing dependence on alcohol. As theystrive to overcome this challenge, they discover a renewed sense of love and commitment . Infused with hope and riveting star performances, When a Man Loves A Woman is a must-see story of fiery passion — and the enduring power of love.
Clean and SoberWhen the comic star of Night Shift and Beetlejuice tackled his first dramatic role, the result was one of Michael Keaton's best performances ever, earning the Natinal Society of Film Critics Best Actor Award.
Keaton plays real-estate broker Daryl Poytner, whse occaine haibt nearly consumes him until he enters a local detox program promising discretion and privacy. It also guarantees one thing more: the toughest battle of his life. Powerfully directed by Glenn Gordon Caron and boasting other great work from Kathy Baker, Morgan Freeman and M. Emmet Walsh, Clean and Sober is a hard-hitting study of besting personal demons... one day a t a time.
My name Is Bill W. (1989)Here's another example of TV giving James Woods the chance to stretch out from the intense-psycho roles he seems restricted to in too many of his movies. In My Name Is Bill W. he plays Bill Wilson, the overreaching businessman from the Roaring '20s who went on to found Alcoholics Anonymous. Woods gets plenty of chances to stretch out here in Bill's headlong slide to the bottom, through the terrors of the Wall Street crash (which amplifies a two-fisted drinking problem) and into the loss of everything he holds dear. Yet Woods also is convincing as the man who understands just how insidious his disease is and learns to try to take everything one day at a time. He receives strong support from James Garner as the alcoholic physician who teams with Bill to make AA a viable proposition.
Days of Wines and RosesStarring Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick When Blake Edwards' powerful film of J.P. Miller's heartrendering teleplay Days of Wine and Roses hit movie screens, it won critical raves, box-office success and shone brightly as a career highlight for its two Oscar-nominated stars, Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick, playing a couple caught in alcoholism's web. A San Francisco public-relations hotshot is a "social" drinker... who never stops socializing. His vivacious wife starts drinking to keep him company. They live for good times. But eventually good times turn bad.
Days of Wine and Roses earned a total five Academy Award nominations and a Best Song Oscarfoor its haunting Henry Mancini/Johny Mercer title tune. A poignant, harrowing portrait of human lives at their lowerst, it also reflects filmmaking at its height.
These films will make you wise.