Personal impact of substance abuse

Personal Impact of Substance Abuse Personal Impact of Substance Abuse In our last session, you told me about your alcohol abuse and how you were led to this position. You said that due to your financial crisis and the death of your wife pushed you to started taking alcohol. Before that you did not indulge in drinking and because of the emotional upheaval, you are going through, this was a sudden step. That is why you started having those panic attacks, you started to skip your work, did not talk to your children for a long period of time and you neglected them more than you neglected your other responsibilities (Benton, 2009). You came light at night and that is what made your eldest son to bring you over here. You need to see the fact that your kids need you right now. They are also going through the same phase as you are but they are trying to cope with it. They have already lost their mother and they do not want to lose their father as well. If you will go on to take alcohol like this, you won’t only destroy your life but you will also be responsible for snatching away the future of your kids. Instead of being calm and patient with them, you shout at them and indulge in arguments with your loved ones (Wolfenden, 2010).
Whenever you drive with alcohol in your body and mind, you are risking your life. You exhaust yourself, you make yourself numb through alcohol and thus you do not have the energy to talk to your kids. It is necessary that you communicate with them. In this way, not only you will feel better but your kids will also feel better. If you will keep on taking alcohol, you will be subjecting yourself to heart diseases (Wolfenden, 2010). Moreover, these habits also lead to high blood pressure which in turn leads to strokes, acute kidney failures and in many sever cases, cancer.
When you said that you have tried to stop, but could not, it is because you cannot get rid of this problem in a day. You need medical supervision when you withdraw from this alcohol abuse. The symptoms are direr when you stop taking it after a period of over dose. You will suffer from headache, nausea; increase in the heart beat level, decrease in appetite, tremors, exhaustion and sometimes insomnia (Wolfenden, 2010). But you should not worry because this all is normal when you withdraw from alcohol. After a month or two you start to feel immensely better. You will also be given some medicines to curb the urge of drinking alcohol. These medicines will be temporary and will be stopped after a certain time period.
You need to organize your life once again, and I understand that it is easier said than done. But you need to do it, you have to motivate your own self, otherwise you kids will also get addicted to this unfortunate habit. Therefore you are the key of this whole cycle. You have to take the first step and after wards you will feel better and fresh for taking this step.
References
Benton, S. A. (2009). Understanding the high-functioning alcoholic: Professional views and personal insights. Westport, Conn: Praeger.
Wolfenden, E. (2010, April 14). Effects of alcohol abuse. LIVESTRONG. Retrieved from http://www. livestrong. com/article/106621-effects-alcohol-abuse/