Social and Legal Problems

The more heavily you drink, the greater the potential for problems at home, at work, with friends, and even with strangers. These problems may include:

• Arguments with or separation from your spouse and other family members;
• Strained relationships with coworkers;
• Absence from or lateness to work with increasing frequency;
• Loss of employment due to decreased productivity; and
• Committing or being the victim of violence.

Family
Romance
Friends
Law
FINDING HELP

Family is an important part of life. Sometimes drinking is in the family, so they might not realize your drinking habits.
If they do notice, they might act irrational about it. Not everyone knows what to say in certainty situations, so they might start picking you apart, instead of being helpful. The only main thing that this shows is that they do care, they just do not know what to say.
When an alcoholic, it hit home. It not only hurts your home unit, but also your extended family, too. It is not good news knowing your relatives are heading down the wrong road. Even if people were hurt, other then yourself, you can still do the right things, preventing further damage.

Friends are there so you can be yourself around them. They are people who you should trust. Their opinion should be something that you should care about. These people are suppose to be the ones who know you best. If they have a concern, its probably cause they are right.

Sometimes its exactly the opposite. As humans, we make mistakes. Sometimes you do pick the wrong crowds. One way or another, their poor behavior or habits will wear off on you. Constant partying or drug abuse is not a positive thing to be around. Sadly it is everywhere, but at least try to stay away from the drugs and the abusers themselves.

You should be around people who care about you and are there for you. Surround yourself with positive people and things, not negative. Be smart, have a good selection of friends who are worthy of being your friends and have a good personality.

Drinking and Driving

It may surprise you to learn that you don’t need to drink much alcohol before your driving ability is affected. For example, certain driving skills can be impaired by blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) as low as 0.02 percent. (The BAC refers to the amount of alcohol in the blood.) A 160-pound man will have a BAC of about 0.04 percent 1 hour after drinking two 12-ounce beers or two other standard drinks on an empty stomach (see the box, “What Is a Drink?”). And the more alcohol you drink, the more impaired your driving skills will be. Although most States set the BAC limit for adults who drive after drinking at 0.08 percent, driving skills are affected at much lower levels.