Dry January 11, 2014

"Rather than moving forward to recovery, a Dry Drunk chooses the power of anger over feeling like the ornament at the bottom of the Christmas storage box.  They are usually a bigger pain in the ass than when they were drinking."

Dry January is an important initiative to stay alcohol-free and reduce the risks of harm caused by alcohol.  Each day's calendar page can be found on the Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud Facebook page and on Twitter @AlcoholAuthor. See more about quitting in 2014 on a feature at All That's Written.

Sometimes, about a week or two in, the idea of a lifestyle change like Dry January loses the sheen of newness. Why keep up the effort? The Parent Herald explains some of the health benefits of sticking to the change. (http://www.parentherald.com/articles/3523/20140105/janopause-act-quitting-alcohol-january-make-healthier.htm)

www.alcohologist.com

Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud, plus the new radio interview replay is available at alcohologist.com... and please read the new interview with Scott Stevens at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international historical fiction novelist from the UK

Dry January 10, 2014

"Alcohol is like an old girlfriend who winks at you or sends an email out of the blue.  You KNOW better.  You know to keep walking or hit delete.  Relapse is when you fail and strike up the conversation again."

Dry January is an important initiative to stay alcohol-free and reduce the risks of harm caused by alcohol.  Each day's calendar page can be found on the Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud Facebook page and on Twitter @AlcoholAuthor. See more about quitting in 2014 on a feature at All That's Written.

Sometimes, about a week or two in, the idea of a lifestyle change like Dry January loses the sheen of newness. Why keep up the effort? The Parent Herald explains some of the health benefits of sticking to the change. (http://www.parentherald.com/articles/3523/20140105/janopause-act-quitting-alcohol-january-make-healthier.htm)

www.alcohologist.com

Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud, plus the new radio interview replay is available at alcohologist.com... and please read the new interview with Scott Stevens at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international historical fiction novelist from the UK

Dry January 9, 2014

"Once you're labeled as an alcoholic, some will use that as the yardstick by which your future performance is measured. Shamers look at you as if you were something they'd scrape from a shoe after a dog show."

Dry January is an important initiative to stay alcohol-free and reduce the risks of harm caused by alcohol.  Each day's calendar page can be found on the Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud Facebook page and on Twitter @AlcoholAuthor. See more about quitting in 2014 on a feature at All That's Written.

Sometimes, about a week or two in, the idea of a lifestyle change like Dry January loses the sheen of newness. Why keep up the effort? The Parent Herald explains some of the health benefits of sticking to the change. (http://www.parentherald.com/articles/3523/20140105/janopause-act-quitting-alcohol-january-make-healthier.htm)

www.alcohologist.com

Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud, plus the new radio interview replay is available at alcohologist.com... and please read the new interview with Scott Stevens at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international historical fiction novelist from the UK

Dry January 8, 2014

"Alcohol is a mass killer and is the defining public health issue for the 21st century. Driving under the influence, while tragic, has statistically little to do with that conclusion."

Dry January is an important initiative to stay alcohol-free and reduce the risks of harm caused by alcohol.  Each day's calendar page can be found on the Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud Facebook page and on Twitter @AlcoholAuthor. See more about quitting in 2014 on a feature at All That's Written.

Sometimes, about a week or two in, the idea of a lifestyle change like Dry January loses the sheen of newness. Why keep up the effort? The Parent Herald explains some of the health benefits of sticking to the change. (http://www.parentherald.com/articles/3523/20140105/janopause-act-quitting-alcohol-january-make-healthier.htm)

www.alcohologist.com

Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud, plus the new radio interview replay is available at alcohologist.com... and please read the new interview with Scott Stevens at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international historical fiction novelist from the UK

CDC: Health pros don't screen for alcohol problems, even in risky patients

Only one in six adults – and only one in four binge drinkers – say a health professional has ever discussed alcohol use with them according to a Jan. 7 Vital Signs report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Even among adults who binge drink 10 or more times a month, only one in three have ever had a health professional talk with them about alcohol abuse or the disease of alcoholism.

Talking with a patient about their alcohol use is an important first step in screening and counseling, which has been proven effective in helping people who drink too much. Alcohol use can lead to many health and social problems, including heart disease, breast cancer, sexually transmitted diseases, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, traffic crashes and violence and ranks as the third-leading cause of illness worldwide. (See related article)

“Drinking too much alcohol has many more health risks than most people realize,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D. “Alcohol screening and brief counseling can help people set realistic goals for themselves and achieve those goals. Healthcare workers can provide this service to more patients and involve communities to help people avoid dangerous levels of drinking.” But it's just not done often according to the study.

The CDC says if the screening is recommended for all adults and it can reduce the amount of alcohol consumed on an occasion by 25 percent among those who drink too much. As with other prevention measures like blood pressure, cholesterol and breast cancer screening and flu vaccination, it has also been shown to improve health and save money.

The CDC report echoes concerns raised in a similar report a year ago in the Annals of Family Medicine. That study concluded that doctor’s intuition misses most patients with alcohol abuse or the disease of alcoholism in all but a quarter of the cases. (See “Journal: Doctors not catching alcohol-use disorders”)

Through the Affordable Care Act (or Obamacare), alcohol screening and brief counseling can be covered by most health insurance plans without co-pay and addiction-related treatment is covered to the same level as other medical/surgical procedures.
(from examiner.com, see full article)

www.alcohologist.com

Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud, plus the new radio interview replay is available at alcohologist.com... and please read the new interview with Scott Stevens at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international historical fiction novelist from the UK

Economy's downturn five years ago impacting alcohol use today

The recession of 2008-2009 has a long reach when it comes to alcohol use disorders, aka alcohol abuse and the disease of alcoholism. New research in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research indicates some Americans still struggle to make ends meet and those who turned to alcohol because of it are suffering from alcohol use disorders today.

 

The study examines the relationship between economic loss and alcohol problems, finding that men and middle-aged Americans are at higher risk for “multiple, adverse alcohol outcomes.” The research team notes that despite higher taxation in many states, the price of alcohol has gone down in recent years and this may make it easier for economically challenged people stressed out by the recession to buy alcohol. “It’s understandable when a person is in such a terrible place, fearing for his economic future, and feeling responsible for his family,” the researchers conclude.

 

“Research suggests that economic downturns can have severe impacts on stress and mental health,” said Nina Mulia, of the Alcohol Research Group of the Public Health Institute. “A 2009 study of 26 European Union (EU) countries found a rise in unemployment led to significantly higher suicide rates among people under age 65. Additionally, a 2011 longitudinal study using U.S. data showed that increased unemployment was linked to declining psychological health. Furthermore, a recent review of many individual-level studies concluded that job loss is associated with a greater risk for depression and anxiety symptoms.” 

 

Drinking – for alcoholics and non-alcoholics alike – is a common response to stress, depression and anxiety. Ironically, a separate 2013 study found self-medicating depression with alcohol, a depressant, causes more depression. "I don't know that the average person realizes that heavy drinking can induce mood problems," said lead researcher Marc A. Schuckit, M.D., of the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. A third of depression episodes are tied to alcohol consumption. (See “Journal: Alcohol causes depression rather than curing it”)

 

“This new study brings us a long way towards confirming how much economic shocks impact peoples’ health,” adds Laura Schmidt, of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. “It emphasizes the role of economic stress – what it’s like to lose a job, a house, a retirement ‘nest egg’—and how much that impacts a person’s state of mind and leads to problems with drinking.”

(from examiner.com, see full article)

 

www.alcohologist.com

 

Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud, plus the new radio interview replay is available at alcohologist.com... and please read the new interview with Scott Stevens at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international historical fiction novelist from the UK

Dry January 7, 2014

"The value of counseling is unquestioned in recovery just like it is for people with cancer. Not for answers why we have the disease but for how to live with it and communicated through it."

Dry January is an important initiative to stay alcohol-free and reduce the risks of harm caused by alcohol.  Each day's calendar page can be found on the Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud Facebook page and on Twitter @AlcoholAuthor. See more about quitting in 2014 on a feature at All That's Written.

Sometimes, about a week or two in, the idea of a lifestyle change like Dry January loses the sheen of newness. Why keep up the effort? The Parent Herald explains some of the health benefits of sticking to the change. (http://www.parentherald.com/articles/3523/20140105/janopause-act-quitting-alcohol-january-make-healthier.htm)

www.alcohologist.com

Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud, plus the new radio interview replay is available at alcohologist.com... and please read the new interview with Scott Stevens at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international historical fiction novelist from the UK