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He was only about fifty-eight years old when he died. My former boss was an alcoholic. In fact, I doubt he could function without a drink. He was in the restaurant business and he could be seen mixing it up with patrons always obviously drunk. Yet, he was a highly 'functional' alcoholic. He made a flaming dessert drink for the customers.

Alcoholism hurts people, it damages lives and the addiction is a leech that controls and dominates the person it is attached to. Alcohol treatment can help, but it can only help if the person wants to change.

My former boss was a really nice guy. He had a really nice family, lived in a nice place and was successful in his field. I liked him, I liked his family. Maybe one of the lessons he taught me was to never take up his bad habit.

Not too long ago, I ran into a young woman. She was very beautiful. When I saw her 6 months later her face had been scarred by an automobile accident. Her boyfriend was driving drunk. He felt so guilty about it that he agreed to go to a rehab center to get his drug and alcohol problem under control. Unfortunately, this kind of tragedy had to happen for them to wake up to the reality of their problem.

I knew another guy when I served in the Navy, he was one of the funniest people I'd ever met. But he had to have a drink all of the time. To me, one of the worst things in the world is to be so dependent on a substance that you can't function without it. He was young then. Many years have passed and I wonder what kind of shape he is in today.

A former high school classmate was the president of S.A.D.D. (Students Against Drunk Driving). Just two months or so before graduation she was struck and killed by a drunk driver. She didn't get to see her own graduation except maybe from above.

The list goes on and on. I'm sure you have your own list of alcohol related situations and problems to draw from. Everyone does, because the problem of alcohol abuse and addiction is wide spread.

Is it possible to break an addiction to alcohol? The answer is yes, but the addicted person needs to be willing to do so. If he or she is not willing, not much can be done. Unfortunately, before a person can be willing to do so, he needs to admit to himself and others that he actually has a problem.

Our society and culture make it far too easy to explain away an alcohol problem or to hide the fact from others or worse, from one's self. The critical factor to getting help and removing the addiction or at least controlling it is the person himself. The willingness to change has to be there coupled with recognition that the problem exists.

Growing up in an environment littered with alcoholics makes it even more difficult to recognize alcoholism as a problem. This person may have grown up thinking that excessive alcohol use is normal.

The health of the physical body can be seriously damaged. The liver is very important to a person's survival and alcohol abuse can damage that vital organ.

Finding a good alcohol treatment program can help immensely. Getting away from the enabling environment that contributes to alcoholism can be very beneficial to the alcoholic's recovery.

If you have an addiction or any kind of health problem or think you might, please contact your physician for proper diagnosis and treatment.