Online Alcohol Awareness Classes: November 2010

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Finding a California Minor in Possession Class

Often students need to find a local minor in possession class. Here's a list of resources for California Minor in Possession Classes:

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

New York Minor In Possession Classes

Lots of people look for New York Minor In Possession Classes. Here's a list of useful resources:

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Five Myths About Drinking Problems

Getting to the truth behind your justifications for your drinking problem is important to breaking down the wall of denial. These are often asked by my alcohol class students when they take my alcohol awareness classes.

Myth #1: I can quit drinking anytime I want to.

Maybe you can; unfortunately it's more likely you can’t. Regardless it’s only an excuse to continue drinking. The reality is, you don’t want to stop. Telling yourself you can quit makes you feel in control, despite all evidence you have and in spite of the damage you're doing to yourself.

Myth #2: My drinking is my problem. I’m the one it hurts, so no one has the right to tell me to stop.

It’s true that the decision to quit drinking is ultimately up to you. But you are deceiving yourself if you think that your drinking hurts no one else but you. Alcoholism affects everyone around you—especially the people closest to you. Your problem is their problem.

Myth #3: I don’t consume on a daily basis, so I certainly am not a person with a drinking problem OR I limit my drinking to wine or beer, so I can’t be an alcoholic.

Alcoholism is not defined by what you drink, when you choose to drink, or the quantity you drink. It’s the effects of your drinking that define a issue. If your drinking alcohol is leading to troubles in your home or work life, you are a problem drinking and most likely are an alcoholic—whether you drink everyday or only on Saturdays and Sundays down shots of tequila or stick to wine, drink three cans of beer a day or three fifths of Jim Beam.

Myth #4: I am not an alcoholic because I have a job and I'm doing OK

You do not need to be a bum and drinking out of a brown paper bag to be an alcoholic. Many alcoholics are able to hold down jobs, get through school, and provide for their families. Some people are even able to excel. But just because you’re a high-functioning drinker this doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re not putting yourself or others at risk. Eventually, the effects will mean you have to pay the piper.

Myth #5: Drinking is not a “real” addiction like being a drug addict

Alcohol is a drug, and alcoholism is every bit as damaging as drug addiction. Alcoholism causes changes in the body and mind , and long-term alcohol abuse can have devastating effects on your body, your career, and your relationships. Alcoholics go through physical withdrawal when they stop drinking, just like drug addicts do when they stop.

Admitting that there’s a big issue can be painful for everybody in the family not just the alcohol abuser. But don’t be ashamed. You're not the only person dealing with this Alcoholism affects numerous families, from every social class, race, and culture. But you can find support accessible for your and your loved one. You can educate yourself about drinking by taking an online alcohol class.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

When Someone You Love Has a Drinking Problem

Often when I teach my alcohol awareness classes, I am asked by pupils what to do when someone you live is an alcoholic.

If you are having this experience you may be having difficulties with a number of agonizing emotions, including shame, worry, rage, and self-blame. The dilemma may be so overpowering that it may seem easier to ignore it and pretend that nothing is wrong. But you realize that something is wrong, and eventually, denying it will be more harmful to you, other family members, and the person who can't stop drinking.

What You Should Not Do

Don't try to punish, threaten, bribe, or preach.
Don't attempt to be a martyr. Avoid emotional appeals that might just boost feelings of guilt and the desire to consume or use other drugs.
Don't permit yourself to hide or make excuses for problem drinker or shield them from the deserved penalties of their behavior.
Don't do their work for them, leaving them with no feeling of importance or dignity.
Don't hide or throw away liquor bottles, flush down the toilet drugs, or keep them away from situations where drinking is present.
Don't argue with the user when they are drunk or high.
Don't try to drink along with the alcoholic or use drugs with the drug user.
Above all, don't feel guilty or responsible for another's actions.

Handling a loved one’s alcohol problem can be an a trying experience. It’s vital that you take care of yourself and get the support you need. It’s also critical to have people you can speak truthfully and openly with regarding what you’re going through.

A excellent place to start off is by entering a group such as Al-Anon, a nationally recognized group for families coping with an alcoholic. Hearing others with the same problems can be a tremendous source of comfort and support. You can also turn to trusted friends, a therapist, or people in your faith community. You can find out about drinking problems by taking an alcohol awareness class.

You can't force a person you love to stop abusing alcohol. As bad as your want, and as hard as it is to watch, you can't force a person to stop drinking. The decision is up to them and only them. Don’t expect the person to stop drinking and remain sober without assistance. they will need treatment, support, and new coping skills to overcome their alcoholism. Recovery is an long-term process.
Stopping drinking is a bumpy road, requiring time and patience. An alcoholic will not all of a sudden become a different person once sober. And the problems that led to the alcohol abuse in the first place will have to be faced.

Admitting that there’s a big problem can be agonizing for the whole family, not just the alcoholic. But don’t feel shame. You're not the only person dealing with this Alcoholism affects millions of families, from every social class, race, and culture. But there is support readily available for both you and your loved one. You can learn more about drinking by taking an online alcohol class.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

How to tell if you are Dependent on Alcohol

Alcoholism is the most severe type of problem drinking. Often when people come to one of my alcohol awareness classes, my alcohol class students wonder how to spot the signs and symptoms of alcoholism.

Alcohol dependence entails all the signs or symptoms of alcohol abuse,but it also entails another element: physical dependence on alcohol. There’s a fine line between alcohol misuse and alcoholism, but if you rely on drinking to function or experience physically compelled to drink, you’ve crossed it.

Tolerance: The 1st important warning indicator of alcohol dependence.

Do you have to drinkconsumea lot more than you used to in order to get buzzed or to really feel relaxed? Can you drink a lot more than other men and women without getting drunk? These are indicators of tolerance, which can be an early forewarning sign of alcohol dependence. Tolerance means that, over time, you need more booze to really feel the very same effects you used to with smaller amounts.

Withdrawal: The 2nd main warning indicator of alcohol dependence.

Do you require a drink to steady the shakes in the morning? Drinking to ease or avoid withdrawal signs or symptoms is an indicator of alcohol depdendence and a huge red flag. When you drink heavily, your body will get used to the alcohol and experiences withdrawal signs and symptoms if it’s taken away. Alcohol withdrawal symptoms include:

Nervousness or jumpiness
Shakiness or trembling
Sweating
Nausea and vomiting
Sleeplessness
Despression symptoms
Irritability
Fatigue
Damage of appetite
Aggravation

In extreme cases, withdrawal from alcohol can also include hallucinations, confusion, seizures, fever, and agitation. These signs can be dangerous, so talk to your medical doctor if you are a major drinker and want to stop.
Other signs of alcoholism:

You’ve lost control over your drinking.
You frequently drink much more alcohol than you wanted to, for longer than you intended, or in spite of telling yourself you wouldn’t.
You want to give up drinking, but you can’t. You have a persistent desire to cut lower or quit your booze use, but your projects to give up have been unsuccessful.
You have given up other actions simply because of alcohol.
You’re spending much less time on activities that used to be essential to you (hanging out with loved ones and friends, heading to the gym, pursuing your hobbies) because of your booze use.
Booze will take up a great deal of your energy and attention. You invest a lot of time drinking, pondering about it, or recovering from its results.
You have few if any pursuits or sociable involvements that don’t revolve around drinking.
You drink although you know it’s leading to problems. For instance, you recognize that your booze use is harmful your marriage, creating your depression worse, or inflicting well being problems, but you carry on to drink anyway.

If you or somebody you know have these symptoms, seek professional help. Also know that there are online alcohol class options to take voluntary and involuntary courses on alcohol rehabilitation.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Medical Marijuana Overruns Our State

What did I run into that almost made me crash my car in my little suburban town, you might wonder You know those annoying folks who position themselves on street corners frantically gesturing for you to pull in to McDonalds or Arby's? maybe you have seen the person dressed up like a chicken waving you into KFC, or maybe someone with a sign for Verizon or new model homes. Well, here's a new one for you. I saw a guy dressed in a marijuana leaf costume pointing me toward "Cannamart". This cute little moniker borrowing from the King Kong of all megastores, WalMart, is of course medicinal marijuana "dispensary".

In our little town of sixty thouand, there are currently nine medicinal marijuana dispensary outlets. I can tell you that our little town is certainly on the conservative side, yet for some reason we need half a dozen marijuana stores. God forbid one would need to drive one town over where a population of 50,000 is serviced by 60 dispensaries. That was not a typo my friends, indeed there are sixty
In Los Angeles, California in mid-2010 there were 186 "pot shops" operating within the city limits. It is estimated that due to market over-saturation, more than fifty cannabis shops had closed in the past 90 days. Those numbers sure didn't scare those Southern California business owners who had more than 400 approved applications for dispensaries within the city limits that were planning to open at the same time the fifty were going out of business.

For sure I am confident almost all of these wanna be pot shop owners have an MBA and drew up a solid marketing plan as part of a detailed business plan. A late-night comedian joked that there were more pot shops within the Los Angeles city limits than public schools, and even more incredibly Starbucks. Who knew how critical this medicine was and how many possible ailments it could remedy?
Why didn't the FDA approve its use years ago? I mean, you can get a recommendation for its medicinal use for just about any ailment. Loss of appetite-check, sleep problems-check, stress-check, back pain-check.  It would seem the only ailment left out is the only true one - the psychological and physical problem that you just ran out of marijuana!

Don't misunderstand me. I am open to the idea there are medicinal qualities for marijuana. It is scientifically proven to help with glaucoma and pain management. And there is no reason for arguing the actuality that for most men and women, marijuana does stimulate your appetite.

I have yet to see any proven study on what percent of buyers have a legitimate reason for using marijuana. The above-mentioned real-life conditions where THC would ease the suffering, usually applies to an older group of clientele. How many people in their 20s have glaucoma? Yet according to one study, in the state of Nevada, the mean age of a patient with a recommendation for medicinal marijuana was 40. There are a lot more minors with recommendation - 17, than octogenarians - only seven.

Getting a prescription should be much harder which will be a subject for another article. There are stores,  pot shops, where you can walk in one door, see a doctor who has no file of your medical history, complain about chronic pain or loss of appetite, and bam, you have a recommendation.

According to a local news channel, the state was receiving more than 1,000 applications to open a marijuana dispensary every day. According to the report, as of August 26, 2010 Nevada had a backlog of between 60,000 and 70,000 applications. You thought your job was hard imagine looking at your inbox with 70,000 applications still to go through. Think you can work hard and you can bust them out by Friday. Holy smoke, another thousand every day!

Marijuana is attempting to join alcohol and tobacco among "accepted" drugs. States legalized marijuana for medical purposes through votes of the general public. The problem - no regulations were in place when those laws were voted in. Should marijuana be legalized for recreational purposes? Is it truly medicinal? Those are topics for future discussion.

This is absolutely a very serious topic.   It is important to observe that like alcohol and tobacco, marijuana is a drug. If you or another person you know may be addicted to marijuana or other drugs, it is vital to seek help. There are many alcohol and drug awareness courses one can attend, as well as a variety of support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). For people who would prefer to take a course in the privacy of their own home there are also online alcohol classes and alcohol and drug courses.