Alcoholic Enabling Support System

I was like many mothers in my neighborhood. We all used drinking to help us cope with what we considered a mundane, angst-filled existence that was motherhood. We had built a form of a support system centered on our use of alcohol to self medicate ourselves.

Alcoholic’s Little Secret: Drinking

I look on those days with a kind of nostalgia. The sips of wine gave me the little push I needed to make it through the days of stroller pushing, boring conversations, daytime television, and temper tantrums. The alcohol was my little secret, my little indiscretion that helped me keep one foot in the outside adult-world.

Alcoholic Mantra: “I Drink In Moderation”

I justified everything by making myself the victim. So what if I drank a little to ease me through the day? “I am an oppressed stay-at-home mom. I drink in moderation.” My circle of friend felt the same way; we were our own pro-drinking support group.

Alcoholic Denial: “Don’t Judge Me”

There is nothing wrong with a little nip now and then, right? And if my “now and then” means ‘daily’ then what’s the big deal? I could stop at anytime. Besides, I was not dependent or anything like that. I wasn’t drunk driving or wallowing in the gutter. In my own mind, I used the popular catch phrase of the day: “don’t judge me” when talking to my own conscious. I am not an alcoholic!

Drinking and Driving – Not Me!

Then my little nips in the afternoon became nightcaps but I was still in control I could stop at anytime…until I could not. I began letting the nanny take the kids on outings because I couldn’t drive due to my drinking. I would stay home and sip homemade cocktails. When I saw myself missing parts of my children’s lives for drinking, I knew I had a problem.

Finally, I Sobered Up

Finally, I decided to go to a 12-step meeting. I found the support I needed to validate myself, and “my suburban stay-at-home lifestyle” that I had belittled so much in my own mind that I needed alcohol to cope with it. My family and my children are now my priority and I am not shamed about it. I am sober!

Alcohol and pregnancy don’t go together and it is better and safe to abstain from drinking intoxicating stuff during pregnancy. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy may lead to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder FASD). This condition is very dangerous for the unborn baby.

Moderate Alcohol Consumption

In Italy, researchers have proven that moderate alcohol consumption is definitely not harmful. But, still it is better to avoid alcohol during pregnancy.

Alcohol and Abortions

Many women may have consumed alcohol even before they discovered they were pregnant. Certain doctors advise such women to have an abortion in case the alcohol they consumed had harmed the fetus. However, this type of advice is not always right. A moderate consumption of one or two drinks per day is okay. However, hard core drinking is a real problem.

Abortions out of Fear

It is not necessary to have abortions out of fear that the alcohol you drank would have harmed your baby. In Australia, the guidelines ask pregnant women should have a maximum of two drinks per day or a maximum of just seven standard drinks in a week. This seems like sensible idea.

Abort ‘abortion’ ideas

In case you had a drink or two before discovering that you were pregnant. then contact your health care practitioner and discuss the issue. Check and recheck whether you need an abortion. In 95% of the case, it may not be necessary. And, once you know that you are pregnant, abstain from consuming alcohol for the safety of the fetus and you.     ]]> http://www.aboutdwi.com/blog/abortion-alcohol/feed/ 14 http://www.aboutdwi.com/blog/women-health-alcohol-abuse/ http://www.aboutdwi.com/blog/women-health-alcohol-abuse/#comments Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:18:00 +0000 Chris M. Alexander http://www.aboutdwi.com/blog/?p=407

Alcohol Abuse and Women Health

There are hundreds of discussions on alcohol and its abuse, but this one is specially aimed at effects on women health caused due to the consumption of alcohol. Considering the variety of diseases and the resultant condition due to alcohol consumption in women prompted me to post a specific article on this topic.

Alcohol abuse may it be in men or women is definitely causing health hazards. Certain conditions like impaired driving, domestic violence and sexual assault are nothing but ugly faces of alcohol abuse. It just doesn’t stop with deteriorating ones health but also tries to harm other due to the uncontrolled behavior, a result of excessive drinking.

The following paragraphs highlight the health hazards caused due to excessive drinking especially in women. Consumption of alcohol causes different effects in men and women. Even if we were to compare drinking in men and women of the same build, height and weight, still results show lot of difference in their reactions to alcohol. And, even among individuals in the same gender, the reactions never match.

So what is that as women you should be aware of?

Alcohol Abuse and Health Hazard in Women

While both men and women suffer from health related issues, the nature of health complications faced are completely different.

• Alcohol during Pregnancy – Women who consume alcohol during pregnancy run the risk of contracting Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) in their children. Though the risk of contracting the disease is a concern when the person is involved in heavy alcohol consumption, the effects of moderate drinking is not ruled out. Children affected by FAS normally suffer out of mental and physical handicap. This is completely preventable and subjecting a child to such trouble is no less than child abuse.
• Alcohol invites Cancer – While alcohol consumption triggers the chances of a mouth cancer, esophagus, pharynx, larynx and liver in men, contracting breast cancer is one of the dominant features of consuming alcohol in women. Research reveals that the chances of a woman under of the age of 25 contracting this disease in 1 in 15,000. With age the chances of getting cancer with alcohol become more.
• Diabetes and Alcohol – Close to 16 million in the US suffer from type 2 diabetes. Consuming alcohol in moderation is said to reduce the chances of developing diabetes in women. With a research conducted on 16,330 women in the age group of 49 to 70 years, women who consumed alcohol in moderate showed less chances of developing diabetes.
• Heart disease and Alcohol – While the discussion here is about alcohol abuse, you might wonder about the positive facts about alcohol presented here for your reference. It is to make clear that alcohol also helps in curing the disease when consumed in minimal quantities. Again, beware any time crossing limit is surely going to lead to health complications. Women who consume moderate quantities of alcohol ran lower chances of contracting a coronary heart disease (CHD) than women who abstained from consuming alcohol. Alcohol also helps women from hypertension. Research conducted over 7000 women over a period of 8 years in the age group of 20 to 40 years reveals that women who drank about half a glass every day had 15% lower chances of contracting the disease. Again, consuming more than 1.5 drinks per day increased the chances of developing hypertension.
• Alcohol and Sexual Assault – More than 30% of sexual assault takes place when the perpetrator is under the influence of alcohol and there are many such cases where the victim is also intoxicated. Alcohol makes people loose control over their senses and is also one of the excuses quoted by the accused.
• Alcohol and Memory Loss – Drinking alcohol in moderation actually helps in better concentration and performance in women and deterioration begins once the dosage increases where alcohol literally destroys brain cells. Alcohol abuse increases the threat of dementia in elderly women.
• Alcohol and Osteoporosis – Consuming alcohol reduces the chance of developing osteoporosis in women, again only in moderation.

Supplement this post with more information, which is sure to help millions of people around the world.