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A Registered Nurse Is Worried About Her Awful Depression And Decides To Abstain From Drinking


For the past twenty-one years Carolyn has been a nurse at a large city hospital. As a RN, she unmistakably knew what to tell her patients concerning their health difficulties but in her off-duty life, however, she definitely didn't practice what she preached. For instance, she frequently drank in a hazardous and abusive manner, she made it a habit to stay away from exercising, she smoked two-and-a-half packs of cigarettes everyday, and she was around twenty-nine pounds overweight.

One afternoon on her way to the hospital, Carolyn got into a car accident. Because the accident was her fault and since her speech was jumbled when she talked, the arresting police officer gave her a breathalyzer test a breathalyzer test. In accordance with standard police policy, when an individual becomes involved in a traffic accident and fails a breathalyzer test, the person has to spend at least four hours in the county jail.

In reality, Carolyn should have known better than to drive after she was drinking because she recently went to an alcohol awareness class at the hospital that centered on issues, statistics, and information about long term alcohol effects such as the following: binge drinking, alcohol poisoning, DUIs, and the fundamental differences between alcoholism and alcohol abuse.

Needless to say, Carolyn was quite embarrassed about her automobile accident. In addition she was humiliated by the fact that the accident was her fault. And probably worst of all she was quite embarrassed about the fact that she was driving while under the influence. As Carolyn contemplated her circumstance, however, she thought how fortunate she was because later in life her drinking problems could have been a lot worse due to the long term effects of alcohol.

In any event, Carolyn's shame about her car accident helped motivate her to reexamine her life and make some important and healthy alterations. First, she was going to quit drinking in an excessive and hazardous manner. This would clearly help her stay away from long term alcohol abuse. Second, she was going to stop smoking. Third, she was going to lose some weight. And fourth, she was going to start exercising.

As troubled and depressed as Carolyn was about the entire automobile accident situation, she used this awful experience as a trigger for beneficial change. Furthermore, she used her painful experience as a realization that she had been neglecting her own health while she professionally told other people how to live in a more healthy manner. At the end of the day, she eventually saw the duplicity in her actions and decided that she would live her life as a positive source of hope for the patients she saw at the hospital.

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