Alcoholism
While there are many definitions of alcoholism, the most common is a dependency on alcohol that results in increased usage and negative consequences due to its misuse. Alcoholism can range from mild (high-functioning alcoholic) to end-state (severe dysfunction including liver failure and brain damage).
Posted under Addiction & Society
Mothers Under Pressure To Be ‘Perfect’ Turn to Alcohol
Parenting is a tough job, and one that no one performs perfectly. What happens when one parent, often mom, feels that giving their best effort just isn’t enough? What happens when mom is caught up in the cycle of endless comparisons with other mothers who seem to be leading a charmed life and doing everything just right? Continue Reading
Posted under Celebrity Addiction
Kristin Davis Overcomes Alcohol Addiction
Kristin Davis, the lovely 43-year-old actress best known for her six-year role as Charlotte on "Sex and the City," says that she is a recovering alcoholic who never tastes the many Cosmopolitans sent her way by star-struck fans. On the show, her character favored the drink, but for Kristin Davis it is a risk just not worth taking. Continue Reading
Posted under Celebrity Addiction
Actor Johathan Rhys Meyers’ Repeats Struggles With Alcohol Abuse
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who gained fame on the popular television series The Tudors, is reported to have checked into a treatment center for alcohol addiction for a second time during spring 2011. Continue Reading
Posted under Celebrity Addiction
Twilight Actor Opens Up About Alcohol Abuse Among Native Americans and His Own Experience with Addiction
Actor Chaske Spencer, who plays Sam Uley in the “Twilight” movie series, opened up to students at the University of Illinois about alcoholism and addiction. The talk was sponsored by the Illini Union Board and the Native American House.
Posted under Science & Research
Study Provides First Direct Evidence of the Link between Genetics and Vulnerability to Addiction
Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory provide the first experimental evidence to directly support the idea that genetic differences make some people more susceptible to the addictive effects of alcohol and drugs.
Posted under Alcohol
Scientists Identify Gene Linked to Alcoholism
A new gene has been found to be associated with an individual’s sensitivity to alcohol, according to new research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine (UNC). The gene may actually have the ability to protect individuals from risk of alcoholism.
Posted under Alcoholism
Drug Found to Help Prevent Alcohol Relapse
Acamprosate is a drug that is used to help prevent relapse in people who are trying to stop drinking. A new study has found that the drug showed moderate benefits in trials when combined with psychosocial methods such as therapy.
Posted under Celebrity Addiction
Charlie Wilson: From Addiction and Homelessness to a Grammy Nomination
If R&B singer Charlie Wilson wins either of the awards he’s up for at this Sunday’s Grammys, his will be yet another great comeback story. "People really don’t know how I laid in the streets," Wilson said. "From that to this, I cried when they told me I had a Grammy nomination. It still doesn’t seem real to me, because so many doors have been shut on me so many times…Everything was derailed."
Posted under Recovery
How and When to Tell a Love Interest You’re an Alcoholic
You’ve started seeing someone, first just for companionship, not looking for any long-term entanglement. But now it feels like there could be something there and you want more. What you’re experiencing is a need to share and interact with another human being on a more intimate level. That’s all fine and good, healthy, in fact. But you harbor a secret: you’re an alcoholic. You really don’t want to tell this person your whole story. Maybe if you keep it hidden things will work out okay. Don’t delude yourself. You have to be truthful. If you don’t, somewhere down the line it will come out anyway, and you’ll likely lose the relationship. But how and when should you come clean? How do you tell someone you care about that you’re an alcoholic?
Where Are You in Recovery?
If you are new to recovery, this may be the first time in a long time that you’ve been in a frame of mind to even have a relationship on a deeper level with another individual. This may not be something you want to hear, but now may not be the time to actively pursue a romantic involvement. You may need to give yourself more time to work on your coping skills, give and receive support from your 12-step friends, and work on charting your short-term and long-term goals. Why? The answer is simple. You want to be in a position to freely give and receive love and affection, and not have things clouded by your ongoing work to remain clean and sober. In other words, your focus right now should be on your recovery, as well as envisioning a future that encompasses everything you want – including sharing your life with another. Continue Reading
Posted under The Family
Single Fathers: How Substance Abuse Perpetuates the Stereotype of Deadbeat Dads
By LeAnne Bagnall
Too often, the media relays images of today’s American father in a rather dishonorable, scornful, and offensive light, which may seem out of tune with a customarily prideful and patriotically minded nation. In the news, we hear of irresponsible dads who are absent from the picture, unwilling to support their families, and who choose to carouse in their drunken revelry instead of behaving like a good father should.
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The Addiction Primer
Everything you need to know to help a loved one struggling with addiction, from the writers and editors of Everything Addiction.
