Temporary Child Custody

Wendy was the mother of three children. Wendy had been feeling quite stressed out lately and started to “medicate” herself by having two or three bottles of beer each night after she tucked her children into bed. After about six months of this drinking routine, she at long last understood the fact that rather than helping her ”chill out” and ”handle” her difficulties, drinking made her feel less tranquil when she awakened in the morning. This, in turn, made her feel increasingly more tense all through the day.

After thinking about her predicament for three or four days, Wendy decided to “open up” about her problem drinking with her best friend. In truth, approximately five minutes into their discussion, Wendy’s friend, Katelyn, mentioned that she knew about an extremely helpful and highly qualified psychiatrist at the local drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. After talking to her friend, Wendy immediately got motivated to call the treatment clinic and schedule an appointment.

Twelve days later she eventually got to meet the physician her best friend had talked about. After their brief introduction, Wendy explained to the physician that ever since she and her husband got divorced, she has been having a difficult time spiritually, emotionally, and financially.

At times, she felt that she was one hundred percent over the divorce. Recently, however, she has been feeling very depressed about the fact that she and her former husband couldn’t “make it”. When asked by the physician how long she and her former husband went together before they got married, Wendy told the doctor that Robert, her former husband, and she went out for four-and-a-half years and then lived together for three years before they got married.

As Wendy was talking to the physician, she underlined the point that she truthfully thought that her former husband and she waited long enough to know each other well enough before they got married. After the kids started to arrive, to the contrary, their lives appeared to fall apart. Furthermore, both she and Robert began to drink, and their irresponsible and careless drinking adversely affected their love for one another, their relationship, and their finances.

When things became less than pleasant between them, Robert got a divorce lawyer and filed for a divorce. Even though things were plainly not going well and although she was often depressed, Wendy told the physician that she didn’t want to put an end to their relationship. Once she received her divorce papers, however, she knew that their relationship was over.

The psychiatrist told Wendy that the anxiety, stress, and tension that she has been going through regarding her excessive and hazardous drinking are some of the normal alcohol abuse effects and that the best solution for this circumstance is rehab for one’s alcohol abuse. In fact, getting alcohol abuse treatment is very important because long-term drinking can get the individual into even more dangerous alcohol and alcoholism problems.

After eleven or twelve therapy sessions with her physician, Wendy was little by little able to understand that the real root of her tension and her depression was that she had not gotten to the bottom of her nasty feelings she has for her former husband who had divorced her two years ago. With these insights and with the medications her doctor prescribed, she eventually quit drinking, she started to feel much less depressed, and she began making more time for social events with her family and friends. A few months after receiving therapy from her doctor, she even started to date once again.

It was evident that Wendy had come a long way. Indeed, just about nine months after she stopped her therapy, Wendy had finally laid the depressing thoughts of Robert, her former husband, to rest and was starting to feel more complete and more spiritually “sound” and emotionally “together” than she had ever felt in her life.

About seven weeks ago I met a twenty-five-year-old woman named Rachael who is bipolar and who is also dependent on drugs and alcohol. I remember hearing that in such situations, a person needs to get treatment for both medical situations and that mental health issues and chemical dependency commonly take place in the same person. Additionally, I remember reading that a history of unhealthy and abusive drinking, drug addiction, and/or mental health concerns frequently take place in the same family.

Evidently, Rachael is so overwhelmed by both of her medical conditions and her relationship difficulties that she in essence has little or no reason to accomplish much of anything. What is particularly unfortunate about this is that earlier in her life, Rachael finished three-and-a-half-years of college. Rachael’s circumstance makes me wonder if she is an illustration of an individual who has to hit the bottom of the barrel before he or she gets alcohol and drug addiction treatment that leads to lasting sobriety.

The Need For a Physician She Trusts and a Rehab Regimen She Can Believe In

If I were in contact with Rachael I could suggest a number of websites and blogs that could possibly help her locate information about addiction and alcoholic behavior, pertinent chemical dependency information, facts about alcoholism and drugs, info about addiction symptoms and alcoholism warning signs, and relationship information. In my honest opinion, however, Rachael needs to locate a therapist she trusts and a treatment regimen she can believe in and follow over the long haul. I could be in error but it seems to me that Rachael more likely than not needs to acknowledge the fact that she cannot drink responsibly or abuse drugs if she wants to get sober, stay sober, and start on the path to long-term recovery.

I am aware that there are quite a few recently discovered physician-prescribed medications that can help Rachael through her withdrawal symptoms, through the alcohol and alcohol detox process, and help her avoid a drug or an alcohol relapse. Clearly it would be in Rachael’s best interests if she learned about these meds.

It is apparent that Rachael needs to acknowledge the fact that there is utterly nothing productive about excessive and careless drinking and chemical dependency and that engaging in one or both circumstances is the map to a premature death, shattered relationships, deteriorating health, legal problems, financial difficulties, and poor work and school performance.

The Relevance of Support Groups Like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous

There are probably a lot of persons such as family members, other individuals, and friends who would want to help Rachael but she more likely than not would experience greater understanding from a recovery group such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous rather than listening to people who drink just a few times per year or who have never taken drugs.

When People Accomplish Things They Like and About Which They Are Dedicated

There’s a psychological attitude that affirms that individuals who do things they love and something about which they are passionate arrive at a fantastic place in life. Stated more specifically, when people do what they love, they hardly ever go through boredom or an uneventful life. If they involve themselves in something that is satisfying, moreover, they become more complete and experience more contentment and delight in life and in their relationships.

To me, this sounds diametrically opposed to a life that is centered in alcohol and drug addiction because such a lifestyle removes the contentment and joy that life has to offer.

Because Rachael doesn’t have the fortitude to succeed at doing much of anything in her life, it is apparent that she definitely needs some hope for a better existence. And the sad thing is that hope is almost everywhere around Rachael if she could only get to the point in life to get the counseling she requires for her manic depression and chemical dependency and remain in her treatment protocol.

More Meaningful Relationships, A Wonderful Life, Self Esteem, and Positive Change Are Possibilities

Rachael is simply too young to be crushed in life. She doesn’t realize this at the moment but if she can learn how to abstain from drugs and alcohol through alcohol and drug rehab and get the counseling she requires for her bipolar issue, she can redirect her life and start living with direction, passion, and with self-respect.

Stronger relationships, a meaningful life, self esteem, and positive change are certainly possibilities for Rachael if only she could get inspired to seek the medical rehab she needs, follow through with her treatment protocol, live her life in a drug and alcohol-free and healthy way, and acquire a more positive attitude about life.