Drug and Alcohol Rehab in Handling Socioeconomic Factors of Alcoholism

June 13th, 2011 by

Alcoholism and Drug Addiction:

Although alcoholism or drug abuse is difficult to be defined within a set pattern of description the issue of addiction or alcoholism is different individual for different individuals. It is for this reason that the drug and alcohol rehab centers are unable to follow a fixed pattern of therapy for all types of alcoholics and addicts. The general idea will somewhat be of the same kind for any type of approach. The effect of alcohol varies from one person to another. While in some the level of alcohol and drug addiction takes dangerous proportions on the other hand in other cases the effect is not so prominent.

Effects of Socio-economic Circumstances

All drug and alcohol rehab centers try in a superlative way to look for the fundamental reason at the back of the habit of alcohol and drug dependence. It has been emphasized already that one reason cannot be named for the actual cause and spread of the signs of alcoholism and addiction. Social and economic factors play a huge role in this scenario. Following is an enlistment of the same:

Social factors: The appetite in each and every person to achieve something better than their present condition moves the human being to reach extraordinary heights in their personal and professional lives. When appreciation is not adequately provided to these hard working and sincere individuals then the darkness of addiction and alcoholism surround them. Rejection from a project or by someone dear to the person may trigger emotions of getting addicted and alcoholic within the person. Emotional people get hurt seriously, so much so that they try to run away from the actual facts of life and they take solace in a sniff of drugs or in a bottle of alcohol. This poisonous liquid takes over their nervous system before they can even understand. Sometimes the people of the society refuse to act properly with certain individuals due to their family background or low social standing. Reasons like these can also push people to drugs or alcohol.

Economic factors: It is common to come across people from the lower financial bracket of the society to be more akin to addictions of any sort, mainly alcohol rather than those who come from a higher financial bracket of the society. The lack of money to meet the everyday expenses and the need to save more money to feed their hungry children makes them want to do more physical work. Then finally as a result of utter physical pain and mental dissatisfaction they resort to alcohol or drugs. Soon this becomes a habit. Post intoxication there follows a chain reaction of domestic violence carried on by them on the children and wives of these addicts and alcoholics. The drug and alcohol rehab centers need to work very hard to relieve the ailments ailing these kind of people.

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Drug and Alcohol Policies in the Workplace

January 13th, 2011 by

Drug and alcohol abuse can affect a workplace by causing a range of different problems. An employee suffering from substance abuse has a higher risk of causing injury to themselves or others, are more likely to claim workers compensation, are more likely to be absent frequently and can cause a decrease in productivity. Drug and alcohol abuse can directly affect a workplace and cost the company a lot of money. It can also be difficult identifying someone who is suffering from substance abuse, and although drug testing kits could prove whether or not an employee has a problem, policies must be put into place within a workplace before an employee can be approached and something done to help them.

Duty of Care

Employers have a duty of care to their employees, just as employees need to take reasonable care of the health and safety of others. Employees duty of care includes that the use of drugs or alcohol are not involved within the workplace or places them in a state where their safety, or the safety of others, is jeopardised. This duty of care for employers extends to putting into place a policy that has a method of approach for staff members that are suspected of substance abuse, and outlines the necessary steps to helping that employee. By having a drug and alcohol policy within your company you are taking positive steps towards dealing with the problem of substance abuse constructively.

Workplace Drug and Alcohol Policy

The policy should be a written policy which applies to all workers. It should be formulated together by management, employees or their representatives, such as the union. The Occupational Health and Safety committee within the company need to make sure the policy is implemented and updated as needed.

Policy Aim

The aim of a drug and alcohol policy within your workplace should be to firstly prevent substance abuse within the ranks of your staff, and also provide education, counselling and rehabilitation if needed. The policy should be a part of your companies general occupational health and safety strategy and look to eliminating the risks of drug and alcohol use within your workplace.

Training

Training and education is important, and it is a positive step for any workplace, to provide the right information to staff. This training should cover things like what is harmful substance use, what the effects of alcohol and drug use does to safety and performance within the workplace and what the consequences may be for employees who fail to follow the rules set out by the policy. Employees also need to know how to deal with harmful drug and alcohol use and how to recognise possible substance abuse in other employees. They need to know who to approach if they think someone is under the effects of drugs or alcohol and also what services are available to them if they need help. Occupational Health and Safety representatives or managers need the skills to identify an employee with an addiction and how to manage the issue.

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The Effects of Alcohol and Chronic Alcoholism

May 19th, 2011 by

Often when I teach alcohol awareness classes clients ask, “What are the actual effects of alcohol on our bodies” and, “What is chronic alcoholism?” This article will address both the physiological effects of alcohol and the human body as well as describe chronic alcoholism and the body of a chronic alcoholic.

Either it’s Cold Outside or You Like Your Vodka

Alcohol is a vasodilator, meaning the blood vessels dilate or enlarge. Chronically dilated veins are often associated with liver disease, and the “enlarged red nose” of the chronic alcoholic is usually the result of permanently dilated blood vessels. Dilation of the veins of the esophagus can cause one to vomit blood. Late-stage alcoholics have been known to drown in their own blood because of ruptured esophageal blood vessels.

Edema, the accumulation of tissue fluid, also known as swelling, occurs with alcohol consumption because alcohol causes the blood vessels to expand, whereby the proteins and fluids within the capillaries leak into the interstitial space. This accumulation between the cells leads to tissue swelling. Because the fluid is not within the blood vessels, apparent dehydration exists. So you’re full of liquid but still thirsty.

How You Make Yellow Snow?

Drinking too much can lead to a buildup of bilirubin, the yellow breakdown product of normal heme catabolism. Heme is found in hemoglobin, a principal component of red blood cells. Bilirubin is excreted in bile and urine, and elevated levels may indicate certain diseases. Bilirubin is responsible for the yellow color of bruises, urine, and the yellow discoloration in jaundice whose presence may indicate liver disease.

How Come Drunks Like to Fight? Maybe Here’s a Couple of Reasons

Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, meaning alcohol decreases the efficiency of your nervous system. That’s why you can’t walk the white line when you get pulled over for a DUI. Alcohol depresses all of the major systems in the body. High quantities of alcohol function as an anesthetic.

Alcohol also depresses psychological inhibition, which sometimes causes some to confuse it as a stimulant. Because of this apparent stimulation of certain behaviors, psychologists call alcohol a biphasic drug. The combination of Central Nervous System depression and inhibition release leads to the symptoms of drunkenness. Drunkenness, a term for which there is no precise definition, varies with body size, metabolic rate, individual absorption, and individual tolerance.

Convulsions, Seizures and Possibly Pink Elephants

Prolonged and chronic use of alcohol can lead to the body to compensate for the depressed normal nervous system activity. The nervous system tends to “work harder” to maintain equilibrium and when the alcohol is taken away the nervous system may experience excessive excitement, leading to convulsions, seizures, and ultimately delirium tremens (the DT’s), a state of restlessness, disorientation, and possible hallucination.

Mental impairment in chronic alcohol use is difficult to quantify because some impairment is reparable either by itself or by the construction of alternate nervous routes in the brain. Perhaps the most noticeable of the reparable impairments is personality loss.

The major nutritional problem with alcohol is poor diet. Also, excessive alcohol ingestion often leads to gastrointestinal irritation, and this can lead to ulcers, colitis (inflamed colon), and other chronic ailments.

Grandpappy is Always Drunk. Is That bad?

Maybe 10 percent of the population is addicted to alcohol. Probably no single cause of alcohol addiction exists, maybe there are many. We’ve found some genetic markers, and the genetic component of alcoholism is well documented. Nevertheless, genetics alone does not explain all alcohol addiction. Psychological components to alcohol addiction have also been identified. For most alcohol addicts, the only treatment is total abstinence from alcohol.

Participation in a program such as Alcoholics Anonymous can be a huge help in an addict beginning and maintaining abstinence from alcohol. There are also online alcohol classes and alcohol awareness classes that can be taken from home that can be of help. The alcoholic’s body does not “forget” alcohol, and the induced enzymes mentioned earlier remain ready to continue their metabolic actions if alcohol use resumes.

Despite its legal status, it is important to be aware that alcohol is a drug and its use must be controlled. If you or anyone you know may be suffering from alcohol dependence, please have them seek help immediately. There are online options to take voluntary and involuntary courses on alcohol rehabilitation.

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