Social drinking can easily progress into a psychological, or even physical, dependence over time, as it becomes habitually ingrained in our behavioral patterns. Suddenly, we drink to be more interesting, drink to make others more interesting, drink for courage in social settings, drink to give ourselves a boost of energy, or drink to cover up negative feelings like pain, depression or anxiety.
Prior to an addiction to alcohol, there is generally a prolonged time period when the social drinker finds that he or she is drinking more frequently, experiencing more adverse effects and is slightly losing control. Alcohol abusers start showing signs like drinking and driving, participating in dangerous activities while under the influence, continuing to drink even when problems with friends or family happen as a result of alcohol consumption and getting into physical fights.
Drinking alcohol begins to interfere with not only social relations, but also obligations at work and school, and in some cases, drinking may even land an individual in legal trouble. These are early warning signs that alcohol use is crossing over into alcohol abuse.
Long-term alcohol addiction can lead to many physical ailments. It is widely believed that alcohol abuse can lead to increased blood pressure and congestive heart failure. Nearly half of chronic alcoholics may have myopathy (weak muscles) and one NIAA study determined that "3.6% of all cancer cases worldwide are related to alcohol drinking, resulting in 3.5% of all cancer deaths." Many alcoholics need new livers or kidneys removed as a result of severe binge drinking. Many alcoholics find that they just cannot function in the real world anymore, suffering strained relationships, bouts of anxiety and severe depression, sleepless nights, hand tremors, loss of appetite and other debilitating symptoms.
Many people who have friends or family members showing signs of alcohol addiction feel frustrated because they desperately care and want to help. However, unless that addicted person is willing to endure treatment, nothing can be done.
Sometimes, binge drinkers will hit rock bottom with a medical emergency before they accept that they have to change their behavior. All one can do is express support, try not to be an enabler and suggest alternate coping mechanisms.
It is time consuming, but will be invaluable for determining whether there is a link between his diet and his condition. You can diagnose or better yet help your vet diagnose your shih tzu's itchy skin, whereas otherwise, it might be impossible and cost you a lot more money in vet bills after your vet has to run test after test based upon the only symptom you report being "itchy skin." You may even still end up with a shih tzu with itchy skin. You can do a little homework on your own and put your money into your own investigations. Then take the entire journal to your vet and show him what you have done so far to determine what is causing your shih tzu's problems, or better yet, solve it yourself and never visit the vet.
In your journal, list the foods you give your shih tzu and their major ingredients, note outbreaks of increased or renewed itching, ear infections or paw-licking, whatever problem you think his diet might be causing. Change the food. Note symptoms. After about six months into your project, go back over your notes to see if symptoms increase when certain ingredients are fed, or do symptoms decrease.
Keep the date, your shih tzu's health problems and assets, results of veterinary exams or tests, the type of food or foods you feed him and the food's major ingredients (this would be the percentage of protein and fat). The major ingredients in any dog food are always listed first.
Periodically look through the data for trends such as: Did your shih tzu's itchy skin or coat problems go down or up when you switched to that "food." Did some foods trigger diarrhea and only go away when you switched to another food?
My tests were simple. I merely changed all my dogs to HealthyPetNet Life's Abundance Dog Food and Treats. The diarrhea problems and loose stool problems disappeared. The dogs I had that were itching because of their diet, stopped itching. I had a few that did have other skin problems (minor) in which I sought the help of a vet for resolution. Other than that, my shih tzu are thriving better than ever before since we switched to HealthyPetNet Life's Abundance Dog Food.
Your tests may not reveal the same. Not every shih tzu is alike. I do have several different bloodlines, however, and the food has agreed with them all, which is kind of unusual. Which food to feed my shih tzu has always been a huge problem for me at Stain Glass Shih Tzu. Based upon my experiences and observations with the shih tzu I presently own, HealthyPetNet Life's Abundance has proved to be the best of all. It could be your tests prove differently. Just keep your journal. Read the dog food labels. Know that the main ingredients are listed first. Then make your decision of whether or not it is the diet of your shih tzu causing the problems you seek to solve.
Both Mike Selvon & Connie Limon are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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