Thursday, September 24, 2009

A Young Man's Excessive Drinking Leads to Mental Health Issues, Jail Time, and a DUI

By Denny Mitchell

Pete had an unusually hard time keeping a job. In fact, because of his lassitude, lack of motivation, and poor work attitude, he was out of a job far more often than he was in a job situation. Not only this, but when he did land a job, he frequently got less than optimal performance assessments, he had an exceedingly difficult time getting to work when his shift began, and he called off sick so frequently that he regularly got fired a month or two after he began working. It therefore should not come as a big shock realize that one of the effects of Pete's terrible employment history was the fact that he was virtually broke on a day-to-day basis.

Despite Pete's financial misconduct and less than optimal employment history, ironically, he seemed to find a way to drink in an untroubled and immature manner virtually every day of the week.

So it came as no big shock to his ex-coworkers, family, and friends when Pete was arrested for driving under the influence for the third time in the past fourteen months. When he went before the court, the magistrate clearly stated to Pete that his alcohol-related actions was disgraceful and, consequently, he was going to fine him $5,000 and sentence him to one-and-a-half years in the local city jail.

While he spent time in the county jail, Pete was expected to learn more about the unhealthy and destructive consequences of heavy drinking, about the key facts and statistics about alcoholism and alcohol abuse, and he was commanded to get professional alcohol rehab. The judge explicitly told Pete that unless he gets professional alcohol rehab program and discovers how to live as a life of total abstinence, he would certainly be spending quite a few months in the municipal jail.

Pete claimed that he understood the magistrates message but he still believed that serving time in the local jail was not the right form of punishment. The magistrate, however, perceived things from a radically different perspective and told Pete that it was his duty to keep people off the highway who drink and drive and who get arrested for one or more DWIs. To back up his position, the magistrate listed some thoroughly researched, venerable alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency facts and statistics that clearly demonstrated some of the horror stores that are linked with driving and drinking.

In his heart of hearts, while Pete knew that he drank too much, he never considered the possibility that he was addicted to alcohol. So it was a real eye opener when Pete began suffering from symptoms of withdrawal just a few hours after going to jail.

As per the policy and procedures, when a detainee experiences symptoms of withdrawal he or she is taken by ambulance to a local drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility for alcohol detoxification and then brought back to jail. This is done so that the individuals withdrawals are dealt with in a safe and harm free manner. While incarcerated in the county jail Pete went to alcohol treatment three days per week. Due to the fact that his rehab was ordered by the court, however, Pete was not successful in taking ownership of his out-of-control drinking.

After his jail time had come to a close, the judge in very clear terms emphasized to Pete that he would be placed on probation for 18 months, he would be placed under strict observation, and he would have to undergo occasional random blood alcohol tests.

After discovering how Pete failed to take accountability for his drinking behavior and how reluctant he was in maintaining the rehab and treatment modus operandi while he was behind bars in the municipal jail, the magistrate knew that it was principally a matter of time before Pete would once again appear in court for his abusive and chronic drinking behavior. As the magistrate thought about Pete and his particular situation, he fairly easily arrived at the conclusion that some individuals never use their brain and discover how to live in a mature and accountable manner.

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