DWI as Indicator of Substance Abuse – Medical Issues

Are There Underlying Substance Abuse Problems?

It is rare, as law enforcement personnel may know, that someone is arrested for DUI/DWI on the very first time they attempt to drive drunk.  By the time someone is found to be driving drunk, there is usually a pattern in place.  The basis of this pattern is often an addiction to alcohol or some other drug.  By using their drug of choice, people allow their good sense to give way to poor behavioral choices. Often the bad actions will not cease until the individual faces that they have an addiction issue and take the necessary steps to correct it.  Sometimes this comes by court action to get help, sometimes it is friends or family that push someone to change.  However the situation comes about, an introspective search has to be conducted and the offender has to discover what substance abuse issues they need to resolve.

Signs You May have a Drug or Alcohol Problem

One of the biggest steps an alcoholic (or anyone with a substance abuse problem) can make is to admit to themselves that they have an alcohol or drug problem.  It is rare that someone locked into a pattern of substance abuse will break out of the pattern without a major intervening moment – unfortunately, this is often marked by tragedy akin to a DWI accident.  If you notice yourself drinking often – particularly by yourself - it is a sign a problem may be developing.  If you find your social or career circles falling apart because of your focus on getting your next drink; if people begin mentioning your substance abuse; if you find yourself craving your drug of choice or needing more of the intoxicant to get the desired effect – all of these are good signs that you may have a problem.  If you notice these signs in yourself, go get help!  If you have friends or family members in whom you see these signs, take the proper steps to get them help.  Though they may be upset at you in the beginning, they will come to appreciate what you are doing for them – and you may just be saving their life.

Creating a Support Group and Getting Help

One of the most beneficial things a recovering alcoholic or substance abuser can do is surround himself with supportive people.  Friends, family members, and others that have gone through the same situation as the addict will all be able to lend their strength to allow the addict to get over his or her bad habits.  There are many addiction organizations around that can help to connect you with an appropriate support group that can help you get through your ordeal,  One of the better known groups is AA, or Alcoholics Anonymous.  People often connect AA with the concept of the twelve-step program.  This is the method by which many have kicked their bad habits and moved on to cleaner, healthier lives.  Accepting and admitting your problems to yourself and others, connecting with your personal religion, making amends with those you hurt due to the addiction, and committing to self-improvement are all part of the program to overcoming addiction by way of the 12 steps.

Informing Family and Friends

Naturally, the need for a strong support group lends the necessity that you must talk to your family and inform them of your addiction and the plan to overcome it.  Often people are nervous or down right scared to confront their loved ones and admit their weaknesses.  Failings are not an easy thing to accept or admit.  Fortunately, if any sort of foundation exists in a family, the addict will be accepted for wanting to face his problem and correct it.  If there were problems of abuse or similar problems due to the addiction, things can be harder.  A saying in my life has been “I can forgive, but I may never forget.”  The thing to remember is that true friends, and real family, will stick by you regardless of what problems you have – provided you are serious about your plan to correct those problems.