Alcohol & Hepatitis

Children live what they learn

One of the rewards of staying sober is to see your children emotionally mature and become healthy young adults instead of adolescents with a chip on their shoulder. Bullying, erratic behavior, out-of-control teenagers are often the product of an alcoholic environment with one or both parents addicted to alcohol and/or drugs.

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Alcohol & Hepatitis

Three mechanisms used by the alcoholic to conceal his or her alcoholism

These mechanisms must be recognised by the alcoholic during recovery or they will fail and revert to concealing their alcoholism from themselves and the rest of the world. The first is rationalisation, which is concerned with finding, using and believing reasons for excessive drinking. This process is part of the disease and is a symptom shown by all alcoholics. For alcoholics whose drinking has got out of control, or is beginning to do so, it is essential to protect the ego, the sense of identity, the self-esteem from the knowledge that the evident chaos can be attributed to the alcoholic intake. Blame is placed upon the partner, on financial loss, on problems at work and the stupidity of other people for the problems that begin to crowd in upon him or her. This rationalisation process is unconscious, an automatic defence mechanism of which the alcoholic is unaware. It cuts in when the drinking has got out of control and there is a need to erect a wall between the self and the reality that is too threatening to be recognised.

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Alcohol & Hepatitis

Is Alcoholism fatal?

Alcoholism is a fatal disease for anyone who allows it to go unchecked. With the assistance of supplements, counselling, exercise and good nutrition, alcoholism can be put into remission, but never cured. Total abstinence is required to start the journey of recovery followed by counselling.

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Alcohol & Hepatitis

Is Social Drinking a Possibility?

People constantly ask me why they can’t go back to social drinking after their liver has healed and their brain chemistry has been unscrambled. It’s an addiction and a disease of the emotions and a physical allergy to alcohol. If you broke out in boils all over your face after you ate some strawberries, would you still eat strawberries?

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Alcohol & Hepatitis

The alcoholic’s frustration, self-pity, envy and jealousy

Frustration occurs when we have set our sight on an objective or a goal and someone or something blocks or appears to block our progress.The common reaction to frustration is anger. Now alcoholics are impatient, and wish to solve all their problems quickly, so they tend to get frustrated easily. Problems that took years to develop are unlikely to be solved in a few days. Learn to be patient.

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Alcohol & Hepatitis

How can an alcoholic stay sober, one day at a time?

Don’t live in the future – try to live in the present. Living just for the moment, in the present, is a very difficult habit to acquire, but the rewards are enormous.

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Alcohol & Hepatitis

Physical Effects of Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a serious problem all over the world and the harmful physical effects of this disease are well documented and include liver disease, lung disease, compromised immune system, endocrine disorders and changes to the brain. In adolescents, particularly those who begin drinking at an early age and continue to drink heavily, harm can result to the liver, bones, endocrine system and interfere with brain growth. It is important to note that adolescents’ brains are still in the process of developing during the teenage years.

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Alcohol & Hepatitis

Recovering alcoholics need to set boundaries

Alcoholics have identity issues and suffer with co-dependency which is a pattern of abnormal dependency on approval from others in an attempt to find self-worth, self-esteem and identity. People with alcohol dependency and emotional problems would probably identify with the words “people pleasing” and it is a serious psychological problem. Co-dependency is also the extreme exaggeration of natural and normal behavior with work, eating and alcohol abuse, requiring moderation by changing belief systems.

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Alcohol & Hepatitis Case Studies

Alcoholics and the need for approval

The paradox of trying to please other people is that the harder we try, the less it works. On the other hand, if we concentrate on the problem, think through the various options that are available and protect our rights and feelings by being assertive, the chances of dealing with the problem effectively increase enormously.

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Alcohol & Hepatitis

The Need to Change

Early in an alcoholic’s drinking history he or she may drink to alleviate anxiety before going to a party or before an important business deal. The second half of an alcoholic’s life is when the physiological takes over and they need to drink because they wake up with a hangover, the shakes, sweats and no memory of the night before.

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