Do you ever wonder how your level of alcohol consumption measures up to that of the rest of the U.S.? Would you be considered an abuser or even an alcoholic in our society? First of all, it’s helpful to define what exactly a standard drink is. According to the CDC, a standard drink is equal to 6 ounces of pure alcohol. This is generally equivalent to a 12 ounce beer, 5 ounces of wine or a 1.5 ounce shot of 80 proof distilled spirits like vodka, gin or rum. Many people find this fact shocking because of the myth that drinking a glass of wine isn’t as strong as say, drinking a whiskey sour. So, if you are trying to stay somewhat sober, it’s not which beverage you choose, but instead the amount you consume.

When someone starts to drink, the body usually begins to feel the effects within a half hour. It is quickly absorbed from the stomach and small intestines into your bloodstream and proceeds to depress the central nervous system. It slows down your breathing, impairs judgment and relaxes the muscles causing lack of coordination and slurred speech. This is something to consider when out drinking so you don’t ruin your evening. Furthermore, everyone responds differently to alcohol depending on factors like your age, weight, use of other medications, gender and the amount of food you ate prior to drinking. Studies also show that women process alcohol more quickly than men because of their higher fat to muscle content. In other words, a larger man with lots of lean muscle can better metabolize alcohol than a small woman with average body fat, so women shouldn’t ever consider trying to keep up with their date.

Even a little bit of alcohol consumption comes with some risk. Many people think of themselves as low or moderate alcohol users and don’t think it plays a negative role in their lives, but instead enhances it. About 70% of adults in the U.S. who drink, consider themselves in this bracket. These users are able to limit the amount of alcohol they drink and control the spacing over a longer period of time so that their BAC levels never get too high.

According to the CDC, alcohol use is termed “heavy drinking” for men when they drink more than 2 drinks a day or more than 14 per week. For women, it’s more than 1 drink a day or more than 7 per week. The average alcohol abuser has trouble meeting his commitments, takes risks like drinking and driving, and the drinking negatively impacts his or her close relationships. This behavior becomes alcoholic when the individual no longer has control over the amount he drinks, craves a drink throughout the day, and can’t stop even though the usage is hurting his work, friends or family life.

Alcohol addiction can become an overpowering force in a person’s life. Don’t let it get too far. If you are interested in learning more about alcohol use, abuse and addiction, online alcohol awareness classes make it easy to gain new knowledge and learn specialized skills to overcome the behavior, while in the privacy of your own home. It’s never too late to educate yourself and redirect towards a healthier, safer and more peaceful lifestyle.

Dealing with and overcoming an alcohol or drug addiction can be a long and winding road. There is no single treatment program that works for everyone and at times it might feel like an overwhelming and impossible task. For some, the hardest part can just be admitting that you have a problem. It may not be an extreme situation that leaves you hung over and late for work each day. Many people have difficulty on a less frequent scale, but just as troubling. For example, it might just be that on the rare occasion that you do drink, you can’t stop and it becomes excessive and embarrassing. The good news is that however the level of abuse presents, with perseverance and desire you can recover from alcohol and/or drug abuse and addiction.

Some people decide to go cold turkey and completely abstain from the substance while others choose to slowly cut back. Either way, once you’ve made the decision to make this life change, there are certain things you can do right from the start to support yourself in sobriety.

1. Tell your goal to loved ones and friends. This gives you ownership and let’s others around you know that they shouldn’t offer you alcohol or drugs. It explains your behavior and your desire for their support.

2. Set limits. Let people know that they can’t drink in your house and that you may not be able to attend all the events that you did in the past if they revolved around drinking.

3. Eliminate all the alcohol and drugs from your home and office.

4. Stop hanging out with your “drinking buddies”. This might mean changing your social network to surround yourself with people who are supportive in your endeavor.

Once you have your house cleaned out and the support group you need, it will be important to also change the way you’ve been leading your life. Utilize this time of your life to focus on taking care of yourself. The hours you previously spent in the bar or at home drinking should be filled with new hobbies, volunteer activities that you enjoy and exercise to help you relieve stress in a healthy way.

One increasingly popular way of getting the ball rolling is to take an online alcohol and drug awareness class. A high quality program can often be used to fulfill court requirements as well as for self-improvement purposes. These courses are designed with the intent to change your thinking and approach to drinking or taking drugs. Clients are taught the differences between use, abuse and dependence and how these patterns affect those around them. They also learn the short and long-term risks and repercussions to physical and emotional health. Skills are taught in stress management, increased social awareness and empathy, as well as ways to effectively and successfully communicate with others. The end game is to develop a plan for realistic and sustainable positive change.

The benefit of learning this material online is that the client has complete flexibility. Once enrolled in a class, it is available on any Internet computer 24/7. This alleviates the additional stress of trying to get to a weekly class. We have many clients who don’t want to share their story with a crowd they don’t know, or are shy. They tell us that they love the privacy of learning from home.

In the end, your commitment, your support network and a strong alcohol and drug program will encourage and support you on this possibly bumpy road. Try an online alcohol and drug awareness class today!

Most colleges have started the 2013-2014 session or are about to in the next couple of weeks. Parents across the country have spent the past 18 years doing everything possible to help their kids succeed, and now these teenagers are out the door and on to independence. If you haven’t already, this is a good time to have the alcohol and drug conversation with your young adult. Even if he or she doesn’t drink, there is no question that they will be exposed to the college drinking environment during their first semester away. In fact, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, about 4 out of 5 college students drink alcohol and about ½ that drink, end up binge drinking. The statistics get even more frightening with about 1,825 deaths in the 18 – 24 age range due to alcohol-related unintentional injuries. These are the ones we read about in the paper like alcohol poisoning due to hazing, falls from balconies, car accidents, etc. It’s definitely worth relaying these numbers to your child to get their attention.

So they’ve worked really, really hard to get into a good university and it’s the first time that they are spreading their wings out from under mom and dad’s watchful eye. It looks like everyone is having so much fun at these parties, but the reality is that alcohol consumption will have a negative affect on their grades, something to seriously keep in mind. Numerous studies show that binge drinkers are more likely to miss class and that the number of drinks they consume correlates to the number of classes missed! Also, there is a direct correlation to GPA and the amount a student drinks. The more alcohol the student consumes, the lower the GPA.

With these results, the question remains what is the attraction? Just like some parents, some students think that drug or alcohol use will help them relax and escape their worries. For others, it’s a way to gain confidence and overcome their shyness. And then there are always the ones that do it just because everyone else is doing it. Nothing new here. Alcohol has actually played a central role as a social activity in many cultures for centuries. In America today, a large majority of people believe that it’s a normal and acceptable part of life. Our children see adults drinking at parties all the time, and then often driving home later that night. It’s up to us as parents, however, to arm our kids with the information they need to understand the risks and repercussions of this behavior so he or she can make an educated decision.

Alcoholdrugclass.com is an online educational resource to help our high school and college-aged kids learn about alcohol and drug awareness. It is also available to fulfill court or school mandates for those who have been cited with MIP, MIC, or possession of drugs or paraphernalia. Students can enroll and take the class on any computer device and from any WIFI hotspot. This means that you can sit through and take the program alongside your child at your home, or they can take it from a dorm room, library, coffee shop, etc. It’s meant to be convenient, easy to use, engaging and highly informative. There is no question that putting the time in now can help your child more confidently navigate through the next four years!

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about 51.5% of Americans 18 or older are current or regular drinkers of beverages containing alcohol. This verifies that drinking is fairly commonplace in our society. Having a drink of wine or a beer once in a while can be relaxing and enjoyable, however, drinking too much can have adverse affects on your body and mind. Research shows that alcohol consumption changes the way the brain works. It enters your bloodstream and can begin to show its effects within 10 minutes. The more you drink, the higher your blood alcohol level (BAC) becomes. Short-term results are as follows:

• Poor decision making skills
• Slowing down the central nervous system
• Loss of inhibition
• Slurred speech
• Loss of memory
• Confusion
• Poor motor skills, decrease in balance and coordination
• Vomiting
• Drowsiness
• Headache

Over time, chronic alcohol use can take a toll on you physically. First of all, it contributes to weight gain because it’s high in sugar content. If you are trying to lose or maintain your weight, going out after work for a couple of drinks can be undoing all your efforts at dieting and exercise. In fact, one glass of wine can have the same calories as a slice of cake, one pint of beer can be as much as a slice of pizza! Other long-term physical ailments include:

• Heart damage including arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy and high blood pressure
• Pancreatitis
• Weakened immune system
• Liver disease
• An increase in chances for certain types of cancers like esophagus, throat, liver and breast
• Ulcers
• Malnutrition
• Unintentional accidents like car crashes, falls, and burns
• Depression

If you suspect that you or a loved one is abusing alcohol, an easy way to start to get help is to take an alcohol awareness class. You might be reluctant to take charge of the situation because you are shy, don’t want to go public or are worried about what others might say. An online alcohol education class can be the motivation you need to kick the habit or continue to seek more intense therapy. Clients can enroll from the private and relaxed atmosphere of their own home from any web-based computer device. The course then becomes immediately available to take whenever you have free time. This alleviates the stress of trying to drive to a weekly in-person class across town and of having to explain to everyone where you are going and what you are doing.

An online alcohol drug class can satisfy court requirements as well as fulfill self-improvement goals. Clients learn all about the risk factors, how their dependency hurts those around them, how an increase in BAC levels is detrimental to driving and functioning, and how to overcome the abusive behavior through stress management, increased awareness and communication skills. Classes are designed by a licensed and practicing psychotherapist and utilize the most cutting edge research. It doesn’t have to be a completely solitary experience either. Participants can learn and gain educational support on their own time with a loved one and can also be in direct contact with Dr. Ari Novick if any questions develop while taking the course. It’s an ideal way to begin the journey back to a healthier life.

Excessive alcohol abuse is an ongoing problem in American culture. According to the CDC, there are about 80,000 deaths a year that can be attributed to alcohol use and approximately 1.2 million emergency room visits. Interestingly, in a recent study done in the ER department of an East Baltimore hospital, researchers found that between April 2010 and June 2011, 105 patients had been consuming alcohol within the previous 6 hours prior to their ER visit. Out of these 105 who admitted to it, 69% were male and had been consuming beer. In another study from the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Zurich and Lausanne University Hospital, researchers found that men who drink beer have riskier behavior than those that drink other alcoholic drinks. Some thoughts on this are that instead of drinking a glass of wine, or a distilled beverage in moderation, these men tend to binge drink more often.

The definition of binge drinking is 4 or more drinks in a single sitting for women and 5 or more for men. Many people think that drinking beer is a more moderate approach to drinking alcohol because it has less alcohol than a typical drink containing hard alcohol. This belief most likely contributes to an individual’s beverage choice when out drinking and why beer use contributes to so many ER visits. This is actually a myth. In reality a bottle of beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine and 1-½ ounces of hard alcohol included in most mixed drinks contain equivalent amounts of alcohol.

There are a number of health risks that alcohol users should be aware of before picking up that first bottle of beer. You may not consider yourself a heavy drinker, or an alcoholic, but one night of binge drinking can lead to:

· Unintentional injuries like traffic accidents, falls and drowning – according to the CDC almost 30 people in the U.S. die in car accidents that involve alcohol each day.

· Violence like domestic and child abuse – about 1/3 of all victims’ report that the abuser was under the influence of alcohol.

· Risky sexual behavior – this includes assault, obtaining a STD, increased chances of pregnancy.

· Alcohol poisoning – this is an issue we hear about every year when college starts in Fall and young adults have their first freedom away from home.

If you know someone exhibiting this risky behavior or recognize the signs in your own life, seek support before it’s too late! Many people find AA meetings, group therapy or individual psychotherapy helpful. Another leading resource is to take an alcohol education class online. This format of learning allows the individual to stay in the privacy and quiet of his or her own home and gain knowledge at their own pace.

Online alcohol education classes are available to fulfill legal requirements and to proactively take control of your life. Many of our clients encourage their young adults who are getting ready to leave for college for the first time, to take an 8-hour class. The time is well spent learning the facts, risks and repercussions of drug and alcohol use. Participants learn the skills they need to walk away from peer pressure and uncomfortable situations. The fact is that alcohol is part our culture, but learning the unbiased truth about intoxication can help us all to reduce intake, or commit to abstinence and ultimately improve our lives.