The Center for Alcohol and Disease Control classifies heavy drinkers as men who have more than two drinks per day and women who have more than one drink a day. With four years of a weak economy, high unemployment rates, high gasoline prices, and high foreclosure rates, alcoholism continues to be a serious issue in the U.S. It’s a problem that affects not only the individual who is overindulging, but society around him. Families are scarred by the unstable and reliable behavior and our streets are unsafe when they get behind the wheel. Each year various organizations take polls to see where the highest rates of alcoholism are and why. Although the numbers vary from year to year, it’s interesting to take a look at which cities in the country generally have the biggest problems with high rates of alcoholism. Is heavy drinking an issue where you live?

According to the 2007 Behavioral Risk Surveillance System Survey by CDC, Austin, Texas came in on top among the cities in the US with highest rates of alcoholism. The survey further revealed that at least 61.5% of adults who reside within Austin had a drink within the last 30 days, and a whopping 20.6% of the residents of Austin admitted to have participated in binge drinking or having had more than 5 drinks in a single occasion! This has mostly been attributed to the sizable number of college students that reside within the city. Austin boasts a number of different universities, including The University of Texas, which is considered among the largest in the nation.

Austin, Texas is closely followed by Milwaukee, Wisconsin that has been referred to many times as 'the nation's watering hole'. This city has a reputation of being a city that is built on beer. Milwaukee is proud to be the home to four breweries that are considered the worlds largest. They are Schlitz, Miller, Blatz and Pabst. This city even has a baseball team called The Brewers reflecting the drinking habits of this city's residents. The fact that it is home to such breweries makes beer consumption in this city part of the residents' daily routine in turn causing many cases of alcoholism.

Looking further down the list, we find San Francisco, California which had 59.4% of its residents having at least 1 drink in 30 days; Providence, R.I which had 64% of its residents admitting to have had a drink in the last 30 days; and Chicago, Illinois which had at least 62% of its residents admitting to have a at least one drink in the last 30 days, and with 20.4% admitting to have had at least 5 drinks in one occasion.

Most of the rates are due to lifestyles of the people living in these cities and social issues including stress due to lack of jobs. Dealing with alcoholism has always been a touchy subject. Many alcoholics are either in denial or just won’t make the effort to take a comprehensive 24 hour alcohol awareness class. It’s easy to have the excuse that AA meetings are too publicly embarrassing, or private therapy is too expensive and time-consuming. In this vain, one path that can lead to sobriety is to take online alcohol awareness and education classes. Classes are available from any web-based electronic device and can be accessed with a click of a button. High quality programs that are designed by licensed and practicing therapists, can be taken at your convenience, at any time of the day or night. The student will spend time learning about the risks and repercussions of alcohol or drug addiction, and skills to use to overcome the abuse. They are a highly effective, private and inexpensive way to get the conversation going with the ultimate goal of complete sobriety.

Alcoholism and substance abuse are difficult problems to face. Dealing with an alcoholic loved one can be a life wrenching experience. In almost every situation, the alcoholic individual is in denial and will not acknowledge that they have a problem. Loved ones might initially try to confront the abuser about his alcohol use, but he either avoids the conversation or brushes them off stating there’s nothing to worry about. In the meantime, friends and family around him are greatly affected by the unpredictable, unstable behavior. As the behavior progresses and the alcoholic continues to deny the problem, those around him sometimes begin covering up for his behavior. This is where the terms “enabler” and “co-dependent” come into play.

Co-dependency exists when the alcoholic's partner, friends or family members allow the alcoholic's abusive behavior to take control. They begin to put the alcoholic’s needs before their own in order to try and create more balance in their lives and to cover up his erratic behavior. The family member or the spouse of the alcoholic may think that he or she is doing the right thing when in reality he or she is not helping at all. This only fosters dependency on the part of the alcoholic, but does not get them to face the reality of the situation.

Another term that is often used to describe families of alcoholics is enabling. This is when a co-dependent acts in a way that enables the alcoholic to continue his addiction. In this situation, you will see examples like a husband covering up his wife’s addiction by leaving work to pick their kids up from after school activities, or a wife calling in sick for her husband when he’s actually passed-out or hung-over. Another example is when friends step in with cash for an alcoholic to pay his bills because he can’t keep a job. This enabling behavior is a short-term band-aid and only serves to continue encouraging the alcoholism.

There's a thin line that separates helping from enabling. You are helping if you are doing something for someone who is not able to do it. You are enabling if you do something for someone who is actually able to do it. As long as the alcohol abuser is surrounded by enablers, his problems continue to get solved and he can continue to deny any problem. It is only when those around him finally stop this behavior and he is forced to face the repercussions of his behavior, that he will be faced with how serious his problem has become.

It is at this point that taking an alcohol and drug awareness class online can prove beneficial. It might be hard to initially get the individual to go to a meeting where others might see him, or take the time to get one-on-one therapy. Online alcohol awareness classes are available from any Internet based computer, in the comfort and privacy of your own home. Family members can sit together as they go through the course and discuss personal issues that arise with each topic. Classes teach the health risks to excessive drinking as well as skills to help overcome abuse and maintain sobriety.

Drinking alcohol has historically been an accepted vice in the military. For soldiers away at war, it gives momentary reprieve from the stresses of life while enlisted. Days and nights can be spent on the front lines and these men and women see and experience unbelievable atrocities. Violence, injuries and death are part of life and the small amount of time they have to relax is often accompanied with drinking for relaxation and escape purposes.

With the ongoing war overseas, members of Congress requested a review on the state of the rate of drug and alcohol addiction among those in the service. On September 17, the Institute of Medicine released a report stating that it has become a “public health crisis” and that current government methods of dealing with it need to be updated. The study showed about 20 percent of active duty military reported having engaged in heavy drinking in 2008, the latest year for which data are available, and binge drinking increased from 35 percent in 1998 to 47 percent in 2008. The rate of prescription drug abuse has risen from 2 percent in 2002, to 11 percent upon publication of this new report.

The report pointed out that more updated and better strategies need to be implemented to care for the growing number of military families affected. It addresses the problems with staffing shortages, inadequate prevention tools, and lack of sufficient health insurance. New and improved alcohol and drug awareness methods need to be instituted. It suggests that better trained counselors and more outpatient care is crucial to overcoming this negative rate of increase. While this might take the military awhile to get up and running, an immediate solution is for these service men and families to take online alcohol and drug awareness classes now.

Alcohol and drug education courses are easily accessible from any Internet based computer. High quality 8 hour alcohol and drug classes offer information on the differences between use and abuse, how different drugs and alcohol interact, the short and long-term effects, and the risks and dangers of altered behavior. Most importantly, classes also cover how to improve coping and stress management skills. Active military personnel should take these courses to learn healthy tools and techniques for dealing with the high-conflict situations they are engaged in every day.

There is no need to go anywhere to attend the class, as they are immediately accessible at the click of a button from any Internet based computer. They can be taken any time of the day or night and a licensed, practicing therapist can be contacted during the workweek with any questions or support needs. Online classes contain all the most current information that would be discussed in a traditional classroom.

Implementing an educational program to help military families spiraling into alcohol or drug abuse, is the best step towards revitalizing, improving and updating the government programs currently in place. Don’t wait for the government to get new programs going. Be proactive and take an online course today!

A person who is diabetic needs to carefully monitor the levels of blood sugars by following set guidelines in terms of beverages and food intake. The most important part of managing diabetes is eating a healthy diet. Before including alcoholic beverages, it is important to consult your doctors who will advise you if it would be safe to do so. In some instances, diabetic patients will be allowed to consume alcohol but only in a controlled manner. Without medical guidelines and approval, diabetics should generally abstain from drinking alcohol as it can wreak havoc with your physical health. The following are a list of negative effects that diabetics may suffer from with continued alcohol use:

Liver damage
If you drink excessive alcohol while diabetic, chances are high that you will develop liver problems. The inability of the liver to function optimally will also hinder the creation of glucose. The more the damage that is caused to the liver the harder it becomes to manage this condition.

Spike in the levels of blood sugars
Alcohol consumption could lead to a sudden rise in blood sugar levels and result in a condition called hyperglycemia. It must be noted that most of the alcoholic beverages have high levels of carbohydrates especially those that are produced from port wine, liqueur or fruit juice.

Vision problems
Many diabetes patients will develop vision problems when they consume large quantities of alcohol. As we have said earlier, taking alcohol could lead to a spike in the levels of blood sugars. Sometimes these levels may become so high that they cause damage your vision with the ultimate result of blindness.

Damage to the nerves
Drinking alcohol while diabetic could result in nerve damage. The continuous consumption of alcohol could lead to nerve damage which will cause pain in different parts of the body, for example legs and arms.

Increase in the levels of triglycerides
Taking alcohol will not only limit the livers ability to clear fats from the body, it will also stimulate the liver to produce triglycerides. This means that there will be too much fat in the bloodstream which could become very dangerous and ultimately lead to heart disease.

There are a lot of negative outcomes for diabetics who abuse alcohol. Individuals should understand that when they stop this habit, it will become easier to manage the condition. Sometimes, it is difficult to break the habit, especially if it has gotten to the point of addiction. If you are ready to try to get on a healthier regimen, but are having difficulty taking the first step, taking 10 hour drug and alcohol class could really help you.

By taking online alcohol awareness classes, you will learn what the risks are to your alcohol abuse, and learn how to overcome the addiction by using various proven techniques. Classes can be taken privately from your own home, on your Internet based computer. Clients can log-in and out of the course whenever they choose, at any time of the day or night. There is nothing to print out and the client can speak directly with a licensed, practicing therapist during the workweek. Taking an online alcohol awareness class is a great way to improve your life forever.

Drug use, drug abuse and drug dependence are terms commonly used to distinguish how a person is handling a particular drug or drugs. It is interesting to take a look at the terms to help decipher where a person may fall on the spectrum. First of all, the definition of drug use is simply the act of taking a limited quantity of a medication to get rid of a disease or help cure an ailment. Drugs can be used in safe ways and should always be taken as directed by the physician.

Drug use becomes a problem when it turns into drug abuse, which can be defined as the action whereby a person takes drugs and overuses them knowingly. Such a person knows that the drugs are deteriorating their health and causing negative results in their life but they keep using them. Examples can include, missing work or school, loss of motivation, social problems with friends or family, unreliability and carelessness. Some clinicians believe that any use of an illegal drug, even if it is just once in a while, is considered drug abuse as well. Generally, individuals who abuse drugs do so because they have a desire to use increasing amounts of the substance either because the smaller amount is no longer working, or because they enjoy the high feeling they get from taking a larger quantity.

Drug dependence on the other hand, is the body’s physical need or addiction for a specific drug. Drug use can eventually lead to addiction. For example, a person might start taking Vicodin to alleviate back pain, however, the body begins to crave the substance and when the back has healed and the Vicodin is no longer necessary, the person continues taking it to fulfill the desire.

When drug abuse classes occur, an individual generally begins to show some behavioral changes like mood-swings, sneaky behavior, a breakdown in family relationships, loss of friendships, grades dropping, problems at work or with the law. If you are beginning to see a decline in the functionality of your own or a loved one’s behavior, it is important to get help. At first, it might difficult to get the person to admit they have a problem. Getting to a therapy appointment can seem overwhelming and impossible. A beneficial action step in the awareness and recovery process is to take an online drug education class. The purpose of these programs is to teach individuals what drugs do to your body and mind. The risks and repercussions of drug usage are discussed at length. Once the abuser is able to clearly understand the consequences of using drugs, they have a better chance of making the choice to stop. Techniques and stress reducing skills are also taught to help the abuser redirect their behavior in a more positive way.

Taking online drug education classes are a helpful way to start the road to recovery. They can be taken at home from any Internet based computer, at any time that is convenient for your schedule. You can sit with a family member or friend for support and discussion purposes as you scroll through the class. The education in a quality online program is current, and interesting to the consumer. It is the learning process that will eventually give the abuser the strength and knowledge they need to overcome the desire.