Teresa was a forty-nine-year-old graphic designer who knew that she had a drinking problem. For instance, within the past four months she has experienced the need to have three or four drinks before going to work, three months ago she failed to pass a random hair alcohol test at her place of employment, three months ago she got stopped by the state highway patrol for “driving under the influence,” and finally, for almost five months she has begun to forget what she does and says when she drinks with her friends.
Like hosts of other drinkers, Teresa’s experiences with alcohol started out at a “snail’s pace” and stayed at this level for quite a long time due to the fact every so often she engaged in intermittent social drinking. If truth be told, for roughly a year, every time she went out with her friends to drink, she made sure to drink in a responsible manner. Something about her drinking circumstances, nonetheless, seemed to drastically change when she got divorced.
In Order To Endure the Breakup of Her Husband More Painlessly, Teresa Made Up Her Mind To Start Associating More Frequently With Some of Her Pals Who Love to Party
Teresa got dreadfully depressed about the loss of her husband, and as a way to stop fixating on her dismal feelings she made up her mind that she would begin hanging out more often with some of her friends who love to ”get down” and drink.
Quite honestly, Teresa reasoned that having fun almost every day by getting “mellow” and drinking with her friends would help her rise above the loss of her husband more painlessly.
Anger, Stress, and Time Management Difficulties
Teresa also thought that partying and drinking with her pals would help her stay away from her time, stress, and anger management difficulties.
Teresa’s Drinking Escalates Considerably the More Routinely She Goes to Private Parties, Sporting Events, Happy Hours, Family Get-Togethers, and Dinner Dates With Her Pals
It didn’t take long, nonetheless, before her drinking escalated substantially the more habitually she went to and drank at family get-togethers, private parties, sporting events, happy hours, and dinner dates with her pals. Not only this, but the fact that her drinking buddies were all quite a few years younger than she was and therefore able to drink and party more recklessly was one of the reasons why she didn’t allocate more of her attention to her increased drinking. In short, she was having fun drinking just like everyone else in her group of pals without giving much thought to the outcome of her drinking behavior.
Yet somewhere in her mind she realized that she most likely required alcohol counseling but avoided the thought as much as she could.
Teresa Gets a Physical Exam, Owns up to the Truth About Her Hazardous and Irresponsible Drinking to Her Healthcare Practitioner, and Owns Up to the Truth About Her Depression
One afternoon during her twelve month physical, her healthcare practitioner asked her if she drank alcohol. Not wanting to tell “stories” to her physician, Teresa owned up to the truth that she commonly drinks more than she should. In point of fact, she said that she commonly drinks in a hazardous and abusive manner. Then Teresa informed her healthcare practitioner about her constant negativity. More precisely, she mentioned that wrecked relationships usually elicited a dismal sequence of events characterized by increased drinking which further resulted in more dismal feelings that, in turn, resulted in more drinking. And this is explicitly what took place when she and her husband got divorced two years ago.
When her healthcare professional heard this, he told Teresa that according to various alcoholism facts and statistics on alcoholism he was examining, alcoholism and depression many times come about in the same individual. He then informed her that some of the alcohol statistics, facts, and research investigations he has been looking into also point out that people who drink in an excessive manner and who also suffer from depression need to obtain treatment for both medical circumstances.
Teresa’s Healthcare Practitioner Makes an Appointment for a Psychological Appraisal and For an Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse Appraisal
Teresa’s healthcare practitioner then articulated the following: “I am not trying to make an unprofessional judgment, but with your medical circumstances we may be working with two separate problems. Consequently, I think we probably need to schedule an appointment for you to get an alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse appraisal from my partner, Dr. Cerny, who is a drug and alcohol abuse specialist. Keep in mind that you may need alcohol detoxification. Whether your drinking situation is more related to alcohol abuse or alcoholism is unclear, but I think that further assessment is warranted. Then I feel we ought to make an appointment for you to get a psychological examination from another one of my partners, Dr. Davis, who is a clinical psychologist. I want to get a better grip on your depression and see how much your drinking and depression are interrelated.” Teresa showed her satisfaction with her healthcare practitioner’s “game plan” and thanked him for his time and assistance.
Teresa Addresses the Conflict and the Sexuality Issues When She Was Married
In truth, Teresa now felt a sense of personal happiness and self esteem because she finally got inspired to do something positive about her drinking problems and her depression. Not only this, but Teresa also knew that after alcohol rehab she would be better able to deal with the sexuality difficulties and the conflict when she was married. Now all she had to do was to try to reduce her drinking and get ready for her appointments.
