A Woman Displays Signs of Alcohol Dependency and Depression and Makes an Appointment to See Her Physician About Her Irresponsible and Hazardous Drinking

Teresa was a thirty-four-year-old receptionist who knew that she had a problem with her drinking. For instance, within the past two months she has felt the need to have two or three drinks before going to work, three months ago she tested positive for a urine alcohol test at her place of employment, five months ago she got arrested by the state highway patrol for a DUI, and last but not least, for nearly seven months she has begun to fail to remember what she does and says when she drinks with her buddies.

Similar to many other individuals, Teresa’s alcohol involvement started out at a “snail’s pace” and remained at this speed for quite some time due to the fact every now and then she engaged in sporadic social drinking. In fact, for approximately a year, every time she went out with her coworkers to drink, she made sure to drink moderately. Something about her drinking situation, however, seemed to radically change when she got divorced.

In Order To Get Over the Loss of Her Husband With Less Sorrow, Teresa Made Up Her Mind That She Will Begin Going Out More Routinely With Some of Her Pals Who Love to Drink

Teresa got exceedingly gloomy about the breakup with her husband, and as a way to quit obsessing about her dismal emotions she made up her mind that she would begin hanging out more routinely with some of her buddies who love to have fun drinking.

Quite honestly, Teresa concluded that having fun nearly every day by partying and drinking with her buddies would help her get over the breakup of her husband in a less wearisome manner.

Teresa’s Drinking Increases Considerably the More Often She Goes to Private Parties, Dinner Dates, Happy Hours, Sporting Events, and Family Get-Togethers With Her Pals

It didn’t take very long, nevertheless, before her drinking escalated to a significant degree the more routinely she went to and drank at private parties, family get-togethers, dinner dates, sporting events, and happy hours with her buddies. In addition, the fact that her drinking buddies were all considerably younger than she was and therefore able to party and drink more irresponsibly was one of the reasons that she didn’t focus more on her increased drinking. To be brief, she was having a ton of fun drinking just like everyone else in her group of pals without spending a lot of time thinking about the negative consequences of her abusive drinking.

Yet somewhere in her awareness she knew that she more likely than not required alcohol rehab but avoided the thought as much as she could.

Teresa Gets a Physical, Admits Her Irresponsible and Excessive Drinking to Her Doctor, and Admits Her Melancholy

One morning during her twelve month physical examination, her doctor asked her if she drank alcohol. Not wanting to tell falsehoods to her doctor, Teresa ”came clean” and said that she frequently drinks more than she should. In reality, she said that she routinely drinks in a hazardous and excessive manner. Then Teresa informed her physician about her general state of despair. More explicitly, she stated that shattered relationships usually started a dismal progression of events characterized by increased drinking which further resulted in more discouraging feelings that, in turn, led to even more drinking. And this is explicitly what took place when she and her husband got divorced nine months ago.

When her doctor heard this, he informed Teresa that according to various alcoholism facts and statistics on alcoholism he was investigating, alcoholism and depression routinely come about in the same individual. He then informed her that some of the alcohol statistics, facts, and research investigations he has been studying also point out that individuals who drink in an abusive and irresponsible manner and who also suffer from depression need to obtain treatment for both medical conditions.

Teresa’s Healthcare Professional Schedules an Appointment for a Psychological Appraisal and For an Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse Appraisal

Teresa’s physician then stated the following: “I am not trying to make an overly quick analysis, but with your medical condition we may be working with two separate problems. As a result, I think we should schedule an appointment for you to get an alcohol abuse and alcoholism evaluation from my partner, Dr. Cerny, who is a drug and alcohol addiction specialist. Whether your drinking circumstance is more associated with alcohol abuse or alcoholism is not clear, but I believe that further assessment is needed. Then I believe we should schedule an appointment for you to get a psychological exam from another one of my partners, Dr. Castro, who is a psychologist. I want to get a better understanding about your sadness and see how much your depression and drinking are interlinked.” Teresa expressed her approval of her physician’s treatment plan and thanked him for his time and assistance. Now all she had to do was to try to cut back on her drinking and get ready for her appointments.