With the many different opportunities for alcohol abuse and alcoholism treatment that are available today, why is it that so many individuals fail to get alcohol rehab for their drinking problems?

One important reason for this is that many people with drinking issues do not realize or admit that they have a drinking problem. Indeed, why fix what isn’t broke?

People who engage in chronic alcohol abuse or alcoholism are also notorious for establishing a sophisticated denial system. For instance, some long-term heavy drinkers, when asked about their drinking problem, respond with “what alcohol problem? I don’t have an alcohol problem.”

In a similar manner, other chronic alcoholics stick their heads in the sand and refuse to honestly deal with the truth. Whatever the reasons, millions of people in our country are alcohol abusers or alcohol dependent and fail to get the professional alcohol treatment that they require.

Miss Clayborn was the ninth grade science teacher at the local junior high school.  Due to her great personality and excellent teaching methods, Miss Clayborn was loved by all of her students.  One morning during the middle of the school year, Miss Clayborn told her students that she was taking a leave of absence for six months and that Mr. Cruise would be taking over for her while she was absent.

As soon as they heard this information the students started to wonder what could be wrong with Miss Clayborn that would require her to leave teaching for six months.

Some of the students heard rumors that Miss Clayborn had a drinking problem.  So almost immediately several students began thinking about Miss Clayborn’s behavior the past few months.  In a word, they were looking for signs of alcoholism.

Unfortunately, the rumors turned out to be true.  Miss Clayborn did in fact have an alcohol problem and so she decided to take a temporary leave of absence for six months so she could receive inpatient alcohol treatment.

Sandi had been able to drink excessively for more than five years without any noticeable adverse alcohol effects.  She maintained her relatively high-paying job, continued dating her boyfriend, and all things considered, was living the American dream.

Things changed, however, the day she went to see her doctor for her yearly physical examination.  The first indication the doctor had that Sandi might have an alcohol problem was that he could smell alcohol on Sandi’s breath.  Not one to sweep things under the carpet, the physician asked Sandi the following question:  “tell me more about your drinking behavior.”

When Sandi explained that she frequently let her drinking get out of control, the doctor ran Sandi through a number of tests.  One of the tests revealed that Sandi had cirrhosis, a serious liver disease that could lead to a premature death if she didn’t stop drinking.

While Sandi was stunned with the news about her health, she took prompt action and asked the doctor to refer her to an alcohol specialist for alcohol treatment.  This is clearly one time when a routine physical examination may have saved an individual’s life.