Work was starting to be too frantic for a young police officer named Gary. Although he had only been on the police force for four-and-a-half years, he was already known as a hard worker who almost never refused working overtime. Actually, he was now working twenty to twenty-five hours of overtime each week and, as a consequence, he felt like he was losing his handle on his personal life. What made the situation more complicated, however, was the fact that Gary started going out drinking with a gang of fellow officers after work.

What Began as Fun With The Guys Soon Became Excessive and Irresponsible Drinking

What began as a good time very soon turned into unhealthy and excessive drinking and then into a negative cycle of feeling tired each morning when he awakened for work, working more long hours, and then going drinking with his pals after work.

Plainly Gary was in a health related and emotional rut and experiencing some negative alcohol effects on the body. Where Gary really experienced drinking related problems and alcohol short term effects, however, was in his marriage and in his family life. His wife wasn’t really a nag, but she commonly encouraged him to stay at home more with the family instead of going out and wasting money while drinking with his buddies.

Gary’s Unhealthy and Abusive Drinking Adversely Affects His Personality

In a similar manner, Gary’s unhealthy and excessive drinking also adversely affected his personality. More to the point, the more he drank, the less patience he had with any problems or issues that came up regarding his children or his wife.

It Was Obvious to Gary That His Excessive and Careless Drinking Was Adversely Affecting His Work, Health, Relationship With His Family, and His Pocketbook

In his heart of hearts, it was obvious to Gary that his unhealthy drinking was negatively affecting his work, pocketbook, relationship with his family, and his health. So one Wednesday morning Gary came to a decision to talk to Jerry, a trusted old police officer buddy that he greatly admired.

Gary told Jerry how abusive and hazardous drinking was negatively affecting his relationship with his family, work, pocketbook, and his health. Jerry told Gary that he completely understood because approximately ten years ago, he too involved himself with hazardous and irresponsible drinking. If truth be known, Jerry told Gary that abusive and careless drinking can cause so many difficulties in an individual’s life that just about everything of significance can be ruined. And lastly, Jerry suggested that Gary make an appointment with an alcohol counselor at the work-affiliated alcohol abuse center.

Since his employee’s assistance program was affiliated with this treatment clinic, it was not only very affordable but also quite convenient to seek rehab about his irresponsible and unhealthy drinking. And since the personnel at the chemical dependency rehab clinic was non-judgmental, competent, and supportive, Gary would be able to get alcohol treatment that made sense to him and something he could follow through on.

After talking to his counselor about how his drinking was ruining his relationship with his family, health, pocketbook, and his work, Gary comprehended the fact that he was burning the candle at both ends with his extreme work hours and his abusive and excessive drinking. Once he grasped the fact that he was digging himself into a rut, with the assistance his counselor, and after fifteen weeks in counseling, he was at long last able to stop drinking and quit working overtime.

Due to His Alcohol Rehab Gary Felt Better and More Healthy

The result was that Gary viewed life differently now that he was in alcohol recovery. More to the point, due to his alcohol counseling he not only was more patient when interacting with his wife and his children, but he actually had more money now even though he was working far fewer hours each week, he had more quality time to spend with his family, and he felt better and more healthy. Ironically, now that he stopped drinking, Gary and his wife were not only beginning to save some money for a different house but he also felt more energized and alert than anytime since he and his wife were married.

Diane drank quite heavily every weekend with her buddies. One Monday after all of her classes were finished, she began thinking about the amount of alcohol she consumed and the irresponsible and abusive drinking of her friends. As a consequence of this, she courteously asked all of her pals the following question: “what do we really know about binge drinking, alcohol poisoning, alcoholism, and alcohol abuse? Stated another way, how much alcoholism and alcohol abuse information do we really know? For our young age, we surely drink in an excessive manner and I am really starting to wonder if we are headed for a life filled with alcohol-associated issues when we become older.

I think that we should go on the Internet and find out all that is possible about alcohol poisoning, alcoholism, binge drinking, and alcohol abuse. And then if we have any relevant issues that we can’t comprehend after we do our web research, we can walk to the student health center at the college and ask Nurse Richardson to help us understand what we don’t know.”

It Shouldn’t Come as a Complete Surprise That What Diane Discussed Would Lead to a Heated Discussion

It shouldn’t come as a complete surprise that what Diane mentioned would set off a heated discussion. As a case in point, her best friend since her junior year in high school, Teresa, stated that they are too young and too healthy to be concerned about drinking to an excess. Another drinking buddy named Douglas reasoned that since most teenagers drink there’s no valid reason why they should be any different. Another drinking friend named Carol said that all she wants to do is to have fun drinking with her friends. And still another buddy named Theodore in fact agreed with Diane basically because his parents were both alcohol abusers and both of his parents had a history of alcohol related problems.

Diane openly told her friends that she understood everything that they had articulated but that engaging in unhealthy drinking at such a risky age in truth can’t be very healthy or something that contributes toward establishing a meaningful life. When a couple of her drinking buddies asked what kind of alcohol issues Diane was talking about, Diane articulated the following: alcohol-related problems like alcohol-related traffic accidents and fatalities, alcoholism, and alcohol poisoning (which can be fatal in some instances) and alcohol-related diseases such as cirrhosis of the liver, cancer, and heart disease.

Excessive Drinking Commonly Results in Alcohol-Related Problems

When Diane then underscored the fact that hazardous and abusive drinking regularly results in school, legal, relationship, and financial problems, some of her buddies finally began to understand how wide-ranging and how damaging careless and irresponsible drinking can be. Without a doubt some of her drinking friends opened up and began to explain how these alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse effects had negatively affected their parents and some of their friends.

After discussing some of the alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse problems that are related to hazardous and careless drinking, most of her drinking buddies liked the idea about getting information online. They were, on the other hand, cautious about discussing their drinking circumstances with any of the teachers at school. As Diane heard this she thought to herself, “at least they are somewhat excited about leaning more about their abusive and irresponsible drinking. This is a fantastic start.”