Sharon was a problem drinker who had just received her third “driving under the influence” arrest.  When Sharon went before the court, the Judge told her that her drinking behavior was unpardonable and as a consequence, he was going to sentence her to serve four months in jail.

While in jail, Sharon would be required to get alcohol treatment and learn more about alcohol abuse and alcoholism, binge drinking, and the adverse outcomes of abusive and excessive drinking.

The judge highlighted the fact that unless Sharon gets professional alcohol rehab and learns how to live in an alcohol-free manner, she would be spending a considerable amount of time in jail.  Sharon seemed to understand but told the judge that she still believed that jail was not the proper punishment.  The judge disagreed, saying that it was his responsibility to keep drinkers who receive multiple DUIs off the roads.

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Some individuals do not comprehend that alcoholism is a disease and needs to be treated by trained professionals.  Getting alcohol treatment that a person can believe in and can “follow” is critical to a problem drinker’s successful alcohol recovery.

There are many alcoholism symptoms or signs to look for that help identify whether or not an individual is an alcoholic.  Some of these signs or symptoms include the following:  a strong urge to drink, alcohol withdrawal symptoms when the person stops drinking, an inability to stop drinking, and an increase in the amount of alcohol the person consumes.

If at any time, you begin to notice any of these symptoms or signs in your loved one’s behavior, try to get the problem drinker professional help immediately.  Remember, help is only a phone call away and in many instances may be available in your local community.

If you are a “problem drinker,” what would it take before you realize that your drinking is causing problems that you either cannot solve or refuse to solve?  What would it take to make you get alcohol treatment?  Stated differently, how far would you let your drinking problems go before you did something constructive about them?  Would a 2nd or a 3rd DUI motivate you to get alcohol rehab?  Would losing all of your money to drinking inspire you to call your family doctor about your drinking behavior?  Would the threat of losing your spouse motivate you to get the alcohol counseling you need?

Just imagine how many lives are affected by chronic alcohol abuse and alcoholism.  Although a lot of people focus on the ill fortune of the problem drinker, just think of the sons, daughters, grand children, spouses, brothers, sisters, friends, and relatives whose lives are adversely affected by the excessive and abusive drinking behavior of the problem drinker.

I know that the drinker’s logic doesn’t work this way, but if there was a way for the alcohol abuser or alcoholic to know precisely how much suffering and pain his or her drinking causes other people, he or she just might decide to seek alcohol treatment.  The reality of the situation, however, is that the problem drinker has to want to quit drinking and get treatment for himself or herself rather than for other people.

One of the drinking problems associated with chronic alcohol abuse and alcoholism is that many people who drink excessively and abusively do not live their lives according to the truth or according to the facts.  In short, since these individuals run fast and loose with the truth, they do not “see” the damage that their excessive drinking is causing in their lives.

It’s one thing for alcohol abusers and alcoholics to get alcohol treatment for their abusive drinking but it is entirely another thing for problem drinkers to stop their dishonesty and start living their lives according to the facts and according to the truth. There are probably many variables that go into alcohol abuse and alcoholism, but one of the main variables is the level of dishonesty that is often exhibited by the problem drinker.

Alcohol tolerance means that the problem drinker needs increasing amounts of alcohol to achieve the same level of intoxication.  Alcohol tolerance is one of the key reasons why alcoholism is so terribly “wrong” because the person’s wish to achieve the early euphoria he or she once experienced is next to impossible to accomplish.

So while the person is trying to recapture the “buzz” he or she once experienced, he or she quickly finds out that drinking more every day does not result in the wished for “high” but rather in a hope to simply “function” on a daily basis.

In some states, a key component of the DUI school curriculum puts offenders face-to-face with victims who tell their heartrending stories of how a person arrested for “driving under the influence” forever changed their lives.

The rationale for this kind of interaction is this:  personalizing the suffering and anguish that drinking and driving can cause just may convince the offender to stop and think before getting behind the wheel after drinking.

This is obviously one creative way to address abusive drinking and the damage that results from the thoughtless and hazardous drinking behavior of a problem drinker.

Have you failed to inform your physician or healthcare provider that you are a regular drinker? Do you mix alcohol with prescription or over the counter medicine?  Do you drink before or while you operate machinery?  Are you trying to become pregnant and drink?  Do you drink and drive? Do you drink alcohol while you are in charge of the lives of other individuals such as young children?  Are you pregnant and do you drink?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions you are taking risks with alcohol and you are probably a problem drinker.  And if you are a problem drinker you are not only an alcohol abuser, but you also need to get professional alcohol treatment.