The older method employed by rehab centers would tend to focus more on utilizing transition drugs to curb the addiction and wean the patient off of their substance abuse. This method, however, sets the addict up for failure as they always feel that there is an acceptable level of drug usage and may never become clean. While most rehab clinics state that they want to see the client succeed, the truth is, they are more interested in the repeat business as it allows them to constantly charge gullible, desperate people for a broken service.

Newer drug and alcohol programs revolve around the individual with a goal of permanently curing them of their illness. By creating a rehabilitation curriculum that incorporates physical drug-free detox, to remove all of the toxins from the body, with mental therapy, to help solidify the willpower of the individual, these California drug rehab centers pave the way for spiritual relief and a reunion with ones life. This allows the addict to clean their body, focus their mind, and reconnect with the loved ones whom they’ve hurt during their abusive phase.

While there are still many drug and alcohol rehab programs in circulation that don’t truly care about their patients, a little research and investigation will goes a long way in avoiding them. In the end, finding help that will build a solid for a recovering addict to never have to relapse should be the ultimate goal of ever rehabilitation clinic, and it should be the wishes of anyone who has ever had to endure loving an addict.

Low sperm count is usually cause by the following reasons:

1. Wearing too tight under pants
2. Infected semen
3. Smoking excessively
4. Drinking excessively
5. Zinc deficiency
6. Subjecting the scrotum to too much heat e.g. hot water baths, saunas, hot tubs etc.
7. Malformed genitals
8. Poor diet or bad eating habits.
9. Consistent masturbation
10. Infections in the prostrate gland
11. Obesity (overweight)
12. Over exerting the body both physically and mentally
13. Steroid use

If you suffer from low sperm count and you think that you and your spouse are doomed to remain childless, fret not. There are various ways to treat this problem; sperm count can be raised through the following methods:

1) Do not overheat the testicles! everyone knows that sitting in the hot tub is one of the most enjoyable experiences but be warned, overheating the testicles is not good for sperm count. Avoid anything that could heat the testicles e.g. hot water baths, tight undergarments and saunas.

2) Maintaining a healthy diet try to avoid processed foods, because over processed foods often lead to a decrease in sperm count. Eating foods that are rich in vitamins are great for raising the sperm count. Ensure you also add lots of fresh fruits to you diet, the following foods are very good for raising sperm count:

1. Oysters (very rich in Zinc)
2. Fresh celery
3. Bananas
4. Almonds
5. Avocados etc.

Try to avoid foods that are bitter, acidic and spicy.

3) Masturbate less often if you can’t stop masturbating altogether, maintain a three day break between two successive ejaculations because frequent masturbation make the semen less dense, which leads to low sperm count. Endeavour not to allow masturbation become a habit, you can control it.

4) Nutritional supplements many nutritional supplements that are either prescribed or sold over the counter can actually help you raise sperm count, available supplements includes:

a) Vitamin C, E and B12 supplements these supplements can help raise sperm count and also improve the quality of sperm produced, they are also known to protect the sperm from damage too.
b) Arginine supplements studies have shown that arginine supplements not only raise the male sperm count, it also helps to increase fertility in most infertile men.
c) Zinc supplements these supplements are great for raising testosterone levels which in turn raises sperm count.
d) Coenzyme Q10 supplements researchers have found out that taking 10 milligram of coenzyme for over a period of two weeks will definitely raise sperm count.
e) Carnitine supplements these supplements help the sperm cells function normally and they are also known to normalise sperm motility.

5) Exercise regularly when you exercise, you end up shedding excess weight and raise your sperm count in the process. You don’t have to be overweight in order to exercise, although obesity contributes to low sperm count but staying healthy is not a bad idea or is it?

Quit unhealthy habits habits such as smoking and excessive drinking lead to low sperm count. Please be informed, alcohol and smoking affects the quality of sperm.

Why you should stop drinking

Stopping drinking will really improve your life and the lives of all the people you care about. There is less chance of developing health issues and to injure yourself or other people. Your relationships with those lose to you, friends and workmates will improve and your children will be less likely to copy your behaviour. Here are some reasons to look at not drinking.

* Prevent irreparable harm to your body including your liver and brain
* Drinking will hurt your unborn baby if you are pregnant and cause conditions like Fetal alcohol syndrome
* To save your family relationships.
* Become more successful at home, work or school
* Avoid possible alcohol related legal problems, for example, drink driving
* Avoid uninvited pregnancy
* Maybe, you can think of some more.

I think the best way to stop drinking is on your own, it will be hard at times but you will come out as a harder and more empowered individual. You do not need a “higher power” all you need is “you” and the cecision not to drink. I bet you don’t realize how able and strong you truly are, I didn’t? at the time, but I certainly do now!

Adopt these steps to stop drinking alcohol.

Distinguish the reasons why you want to stop drinking and set a date for giving up. Talk to your family and friends about your intent to stop and ask them to be thoughtful in the early days and to not drink about you. Strive to not drink for thirty days, I read someplace that it takes thirty days to crush a habit. The most difficult thing we have to face in our lives is “change” and it is hard to alter learned behaviour, but it can be achieved. Good new behaviour will also become a habit and it does not take too long until you are at ease around alcohol and not troubled by it.

Accept that alcoholism is a learned behavior and a “CHOICE” you made

The alcoholism disease model is imperfect, a disease implies something we have little if any command over and that simply is not the case. Every time you reach for a drink, you are making the decision to do so and you are responsible for your actions.

You could take steps towards stopping drinking now, but I bet that’s a little alarming isn’t it? The trouble is a part of you, really does not want to stop. I wouldn’t be amazed if you felt a sense of terror at the very thought. You really have to want to quit to be able to do so, otherwise you are wasting your time. Are you ready to stop drinking?

Here are a few of the things which helped me to stop drinking:

Get aware!

Study your drinking habits and identify what triggers your drinking and what you can do to avoid such situations. Maybe you need to assess the companions who you keep or the places you haunt.

Make a list

Write a list of all of the reasons why you want to stop drinking, list all the issues and negative results of your drinking. The arguments, the conflicts, the lost jobs etc.

Seek Medical help

Make a date to see your Doctor to evaluate the severity of your dependence and to find out what medication is accessible to help you through withdrawal. Be entirely honest with your Doctor about the quantity that you drink and take the list you made earlier so you don’t forget anything. I was dismayed to learn that I was drinking over ten times the recommended alcohol consumption limit for an adult male.

I was a chronic alcoholic but was able to quit at home without hospital care, I did however need medication to help me through withdrawal. I was prescribed a one week course of diazepam and it made withdrawal easy.

The Doctor may also advise pills to ltake like Antabuse which makes you feel ill if you drink. I think drugs of this type will only keep you teetotal whilst you are on them, I do not think they are a long term answer.

The key to defeating your alcoholism or any other dependency is to recognise it for what it is. Your alcoholism is a “learned condition”, a habit which you have strengthened over a long time. Perhaps like me you became physically dependent, but medication will get you through the withdrawal process and then all you really have to do is work at “unlearning” the habit. It really Is not that hard and if I can successfully stop drinking on my own, then I genuinely believe that anybody can.

Download my ebook identifying all the tips and methods I used to stop drinking for good. Click here to learn more

A recent breakthrough at the University of North Carolina has revealed that there is “a burst in new brain cell development during abstinence from chronic alcohol consumption” The UNC find was based on a study using an animal model of alcohol dependency.

It is a reality that when used to excess alcohol harms the brain’s structure and function. Alcoholics have troubles with memory, rationality and the power to make plans and according to Professor Crew of Pharmacology and Psychiatry at UNC’s School of medicine, “A variety of psychological tests show alcoholics have a difficulty in ability to understand negative consequences.”

These findings are favorable and and may have substantial implications for addressing alcoholism during recovery. “When animals learn, they make more neurons. When animals exercise, they make more neurons and learn faster, as well,” Crews said.

Here are a list of items which will assist abstinence and aid you to beat your alcohol addiction. Try out several of the tips from the list and use what works best for you. If you have a chronic addiction and are physically dependent on alcohol it would be a good idea to consult a medical professional first.

1. Find different techniques for relaxation:

Numerous people use alcohol as a means to relax and to allay stress. When you are deliberating abstaining from alcohol you will require to find new ways to do this. Try using a wholesome alternative to stop stress for example, take a workout, take the dog for a walk, learn to meditate or listen to relaxation CDs.

2. React to your Alcoholic personality

Your alcoholism is just like another personality within you, it will show itself as an inner voice which will say, “One drink will not hurt” , “come on you know you want to” or “You deserve a drink, you’ve worked hard today and you’ve earned it” and will spout a myriad of other reasons. If you hear this voice reply with, “No thank you, I have made a choice to stop drinking” or “Shut up, I’m not listening to you, if I choose not to drink, I will not!”

3. Defy your cravings

The cravings you feel will not last for long. Once you get a craving observe it but don’t react to it noticing how long it takes to pass.

4. Get over Insomnia:

One problem I experienced was insomnia, because of stress and my brain working overtime. I discovered a good cure for this was physical exercise and taking vitamin supplements and herbal Valerian root (a natural relaxant) tablets.

5. Get Medication to help you to abstain:

There are people who want a quick cure and for these precription drugs might be helpful. Your Doctor can prescribe drugs like Antabuse, Campral, topamax and naltrexone. A friend of mine is using Antabuse and hasn’t relapsed in 3 years. Antabuse makes you physically sick if you drink alcohol and might be an option for some people. I personally do not like prescribed medication and prefer to stick with vitamin tablets and natural remedies ..

6. Find Alternative Activities:

Do entertaining things as an alternative to drinking, start a hobby. Go to evening classes, spend quality time with your children, do anything which makes you happy.

7. See a Doctor or therapist

Anxiety, stress and depressive disorders can be major factors in making you drink. Make an appointment to see a doctor or therapist, they can prescribe you with medicine which will relieve these conditions. Be careful though, because some antidepressant drugs have some unwanted and nasty side effects. Also some antidepressants if mixed with alcohol will increase your inebriation and you may display some very uncharacteristic behavior. If 12 Step programs are suggested, consider finding someone else as there are much better methods of addressing alcoholism. Natural drugs which I believe helped me are St John’s Wort, Ginko Biloba and vitamin supplements.

8. Use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy:

I discovered that a “Dummies” book about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helped a lot. CBT has been shown to be successful for recovering alcoholics. If you can get referred to a CBT counselor than I urge you to go for it. I couldn’t afford CBT at the time and so learned everything I needed from the “Dummies CBT book”, this worked very well for me.

A Four Step Plan To Beating your addiction

Accept that your alcoholism is a choice and not a disease

The secret of defeating your alcoholism is astonishingly simple and just depends upon your power to acknowledge that alcoholism is a “Choice” and not a disease. The disease model was created by Alcoholics Anonymous and implies that you are helpless and controlled by your drinking. (Or that’s how I understood it)
Something inside you stimulated your addictive trait, maybe it was a death in the family, ill-treatment as a child or some other painful event. It is this facet of your psyche which needs to be healed.

Take responsibility for yourself and your actions

Every alcoholic I have ever known seemed to be emotionally vulnerable at some level, having the need to be valued and admired, but somehow never achieving it. Alcohol also helps as a release for the strains and stresses of life. But no matter how you feel or react, it really is you at the helm.

Make a plan and ready yourself for some difficult situations

Make a simple plan and distinguish all of the times where you have (or might have) difficulties not drinking. Perhaps the friends that you keep are the reason, perhaps it’s time to evaluate whether your boozing buddies genuinely are the people you should be consorting with. If you drink alone,plan activities which which you will enjoy. Think about what you could do to make life more favorable and satisfying. What would you do in situations where you normally drink or might find it difficult not to? If your alcohol consumption is based on trying situations, think of other ways to react. Perhaps you need to take your frustrations out in the gymnasium, or by getting in touch with your body and looking after yourself. Think about your emotions and study how you react to them and choose a better way to respond. Look for and distinguish the triggers which arouse an emotional response.

Problems and issues which take place in our lives, make life difficult, but are not grounds for your alcoholism.. You and you solely can decide how you react in any given situation, unfortunately sometimes our decisions are based on flawed beliefs. Good things only come about when you open yourelf to the possibility of change, people who beat alcoholism do so because they realize this and welcome it.

Be proactive and put your plan into action

I trust that you can accept now that your alcohol addiction is a choice and if that is the case then you have already made great progress. If you can go a stage more and take responsibility for yourself, your hurt and your alcohol addiction then you have become “aware” and are in control of your life. Life has made you the way you are but by choosing to act positively you can make life how you want it. Now you have considered your alcoholism and have made an attempt to change your beliefs it is time to act. I quit drinking on my own in 2006 and have never relapsed, despite some displeasing situations which would previously forced me to drink.I beat alcoholism by having faith in myself and my abilities. I am in control and take responsibility for my life and how I react to it.I don’t need anybody else to stop me from drinking, I can do it on my own and am empowered as a result. I could even drink again if I wanted to (although it doesn’t appeal to me any longer).Theres nothing more pitiful than a drunk, someone who has nothing stimulating to say, who repeats themselves every couple of minutes and perpetually spouts drivel. I’m not riled about alcohol being in my home or around me, People can drink in my presence (as long as they don’t get too intoxicated!) I have beaten my addiction, which is amazing, considering I was physically dependant on alcohol and I once had to start each day with a drink. It’s really is not as hard as you imagine to beat your alcoholism, I am a living testament to that fact..

If have accepted what I have just told you then you are ready to to move to the next level, are you ready?

There really is a cure for alcoholism and it is here

Cure Your Alcoholism Now

Alcoholism is an illness where alcoholic beverage consumption is at a level that interferes with physical or mental health, and negatively impacts social, family or occupational responsibilities. Alcohol abusers are drinkers that may drink excessively at various times with resulting immediate alcohol abuse effects at the time of excess alcohol consumption.

The immediate physical effects of alcohol abuse can be experienced as soon as ten minutes after drinking begins. With continued alcohol consumption on that occasion, the immediate effects of alcohol abuse worsen and become more serious.

Here are five of the immediate physical alcohol abuse effects:

1. Inhibitions Become Reduced – at a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05, changes in a person’s behavior begins to be noticable. Alcohol abuse effects and reduced inhibitions can put a person at higher risk for actions they would otherwise not participate in, such as sexual activity, continued drinking or illegal drug use.

2. Loss of Muscle Control – at the level of 0.10, slurred speech will likely be evident. Impaired judgement and poor coordination are physical effects of alcohol abuse that can lead to falls and accidents.

3. Memory Loss and/or Blackouts – since alcohol depresses the brain’s control mechanisms, as blood alcohol levels increase, periods of time and certain situations and events may not be remembered afterward.

4. Stupor – at a blood alcohol concentration of 0.40, a person can hardly function, acting seriously dazed and confused.

5. Coma – at a blood alcohol level of 0.50, a person is at risk for coma, which can be life-threatening. And at this level or higher, respiratory paralysis and death become very much a possibility.

Other alcohol abuse effects that are short-term include nausea, hangovers, headaches and fatigue. The longer a person abuses alcohol over time, the higher the chances of other alcohol abuse effects being experienced and alcohol dependency developing. The most severe form of alcoholism is ‘alcohol dependency’. Physical alcohol dependence is characterized by withdrawal symptoms when alcohol consumption is interrupted, by tolerance to the effects of alcohol abuse and by the presence of alcohol-related illnesses.

Malnutrition can develop from a reduced appetite plus inadequate absorption of nutrients in the intestinal tract and from consuming ‘empty’ calories in alcohol. Calories from alcohol are called ‘empty’ calories since alcohol contains no beneficial nutrients, vitamins or minerals.

And with continued alcohol consumption and abuse over years, many of the body organs will be affected. Alcohol is especially harmful to the liver since the liver does most of the work of breaking down alcohol. Alcohol destroys liver cells, and it destroys the ability of liver cells to regenerate. This condition leads to progressive imflammatory injury to the liver and eventually can result in cirrhosis of the liver.

Additional long term alcohol abuse effects include damage to the brain, high blood pressure, heart muscle damage, nerve damage, pancreatitis, bleeding in the esophagus, erectile dysfunction in men, fetal alcohol syndrome in the offspring of alcoholic women, insomnia, depression and increased cancer risks.

If you or someone you know may have problems with alcohol and you’d like to learn more about alcoholism and perhaps seek help, there are proven resources available. It is never too late to begin recovery from alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse effects.

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