Alcoholism: A Diagnosis or Layman’s Term

Often we refer to a person with a drinking problem as ‘alcoholic’ afflicted with ‘alcoholism’. However, these are layman’s terms and are not recognized by the American Psychiatric Association. As a result, ‘alcoholism’ is not a diagnosis found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV (DSM-IV). However, the DSM-IV has two diagnoses dealing with alcohol abuse.

1) Alcohol Abuse is described as a maladaptive pattern of substance use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress; as manifested by failure to fulfill major role obligations, entering in physically hazardous situations, related legal problems, and social or interpersonal problems; all occurring within a 12-month period.

2) Alcohol Dependence is described as a maladaptive pattern of substance use, leading to clinically significant impairment or distress; as manifested by increased tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, loss of control, attempts to control the alcohol intake, preoccupation with alcohol, physical isolation, and physical or psychological problems; all occurring within a 12-month period.

When a person no longer abuses or has a dependence on alcohol, the diagnoses no longer apply. Instead, people have a history of alcohol abuse or dependence.

[DSM-IV, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, ed. 4. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association (AMA). 1994.]

How Important are Vocational Interests and Aptitudes When Choosing a Career?

Aptitudes are natural abilities that we develop with minimal effort or training. People display various aptitudes, from motor abilities (finger dexterity, manual dexterity, foot-hand-eye coordination) to verbal, numerical, and clerical aptitude, etc. It is important to consider aptitudes when selecting a job/career because certain aptitudes will help us succeed in certain occupations by making it easy to acquire career skills and knowledge and increase our career opportunities.

Of course, to identify a satisfying career a person must not only have the needed aptitudes, but also have interest in the occupation, or the work will become boring or meaningless in time. Interest leads to increased competence, high motivation, and creativity. Aptitudes are sometimes linked with interests in that our interests often develop along our natural abilities. A person might decide to become a pianist because she has the finger and manual dexterity necessary and values self-expression. And, a bank teller might be happy in his job because he likes paying attention to detail and has the clerical and numerical aptitude to succeed.

If you are unclear what your vocational interests and aptitudes are, a vocational evaluation might be in order. Many adult programs (non-profits), which provide job placement and career training offer vocational evaluation services. Some community colleges and public vocational/technical schools also offer these services. For more information call your local adult education program.

Evaluate The Internal and External Rewards of a Job When Making a Change

People make job and career changes for many reasons. Maybe you're making a job or career change because you no longer find it meaningful (lack of internal reward). Perhaps you're making a job or career change for financial reasons (lack of external reward). Or perhaps because you're burned out due to that demanding job or career; although these stressors are the result of the work environment, it's a well known fact that it's easier to burn out in a job or career with limited internal rewards.

Most of you know someone who has a low paying job (maybe working for a non-profit) which they find meaningful and are very happy; many even restructure their lives so that they can live on what they earn as long as they can continue to work in the job or career they love. But this is not for everybody. What you need to do is find a happy medium. That is, find a job and career where you feel you are making a significant contribution to your company, your profession, or society. And as long as the new job or career allows you to earn what you need to maintain the lifestyle you desire, then you've hit a wining combination and are ahead of the pack.

Have you evaluated the internal and external rewards of the new job or career you're considering?

Qualify For Vocational Rehabilitation Services?

If an individual has a medically or psychologically determined disability, she would qualify for vocational rehabilitation services from her state office.

Vocational rehabilitation services provided range from medical services to sheltered employment, employability skills training, job placement assistance, on-the-job training, and vocational or academic training, etc. Once an individual has completed the application process (a lengthy one unfortunately) and has qualified for services, a vocational rehabilitation counselor will help write a rehabilitation plan. The particular services provided depend on individual needs and help the client achieve an optimal level of functioning.

Usually this program is the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) in many states and is usually within the office of the Department of Education. The program is available to all legal residents of the United States. To find the office in your community, contact your local Department of Education or the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation.

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Adjustment to Physical Disability

The field of rehabilitation recognizes that people who become physically disabled go through two emotional stages, denial and mourning, before adjusting to their disability. Negative aspects of these stages, such as dependence and hostility, are viewed as logical outcomes within a society such as ours that perpetuates an ideology of normality. Although denial and mourning are natural responses to a disabling event, sometimes the denial (thinking one will get well in time or is able to physically do more than in actuality) and mourning (sadness and depression), take longer to overcome and impede the rehabilitation process and eventual reintegration into society.

If you have prolonged difficulties with these negative aspects, let your doctor know. Most major hospitals have support groups of individuals experiencing similar difficulties. If not, perhaps a referral to a mental health professional might help.

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Make Temporary Employment Agencies Work for You

Have you considered a temporary job to help pay the bills while you land that permanent position? Nowadays, temporary agencies specialize and can place people in just about every career field.

There are long term assignments and, in many cases, temporary agencies may provide benefits to their employees: paid holidays, medical & dental coverage, life insurance, and 401K plan. Ask a lot of questions about the cost of the benefits to you.

Temp jobs can provide you with experience in industries and careers you where you might not worked before. This is a good way to enhance your resume. If you are not happy with the assignment or the employer, you can move on to your next position and start fresh.

A temp job can also be a foot-in-the-door at a company you are interested in. And temporary assignments can turn to permanent employment. It is estimated that 90% of all companies use temporary employees. More and more, companies use temporary agencies to screen their employees and to send them the best candidate for their ‘temporary’ assignment. If the company likes the employee, he/she may end up with a permanent position. If they don’t like the employee, they can request another be sent, without any commitment on their part. So, what are you waiting for?

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Chronic Pain, Addiction, and Depression

Chronic pain is defined as pain that lasts longer than 3 months. Some experts define it as lasting longer than 6 months. Chronic pain is different than acute pain in that it is not easy to find the cause. Diagnosis can reveal no injury in the body at all, and yet the patient can be experiencing very debilitating pain.

One way that chronic pain begins is from an injury. Scientists have found that repeated pain from an acute injury changes the way the brain lets you know you have pain. Even after the injury has healed, pain messages replay over and over again. Chronic pain may worsen in response to environmental and/or psychological factors such as depression and addiction. Chronic pain may also be related to a number of different medical conditions including (but not limited to) diabetes, arthritis, migraines, fibromyalgia, cancer, shingles, sciatica, besides injury or trauma.

There are a variety of treatment options for chronic pain. The goal of pain management is to provide symptom relief and improve an individual's level of functioning in daily activities. A number of types of medications have been used in the management of chronic pain, including acetaminophen, ibuprofen, aspirin, COX-2 inhibitors, antimigraine medications, sedatives, opioids, and antidepressants. Many people have become addicted to narcotic pain medication. Nonmedicinal treatments for chronic pain can include exercise, physical therapy, counseling, electrical stimulation, biofeedback, acupuncture, hypnosis, chiropractic medicine, and other treatments.

For more information contact the American Pain Society.

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Five Easy Steps to Daily Meditation

Meditation has been found to help our immune system by minimizing the effects of stress on our bodies, as well as fighting off and helping the healing from disease. It also improves our concentration, patience, and problem solving ability. Who wouldn’t want that?

Interested in trying meditation, you don’t need much time to get stated. And it isn't as difficult as you might think. Here are five ways to fit much-needed meditation into your schedule:

• Five minutes to start: Keep it short. You don't have to set aside half an hour; you can start to feel the benefits with even a few minutes of regular meditation. You can build from there.

• Have a focus. If sitting with your eyes closed is difficult, focus on an item on the wall or a candle flame. Keep your mind blank, stay in the moment. If you can’t do that, count from one to ten over and over.

• Find a regular time. Do not do it before you go to bed or you will fall sleep, and do not do it while you are doing something else like taking a shower. When you meditate, focus on meditation.

• Try tensing your muscles before hand. Tense your face muscles, then your neck muscles, shoulders, chest, stomach, arms, hands, thighs, calves, and feet. Each muscle group for five seconds.

• Meditate again when you find the time. Reward yourself, before the drive home or after it. Or if you take mass transit do it them. Do it before an event that requires your best performance. Whatever you do don’t do it on an empty stomach: to much bodily activity.

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Addiction and Depression

When a person has an addiction plus depression, doctors say they have a "dual diagnosis." The term is a reminder for physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals that this patient has extra challenges on the road to recovery. Symptoms of addiction and depression can be very similar. When depression is directly connected to the drug or alcohol abuse, and isn't present independently, it's considered a consequence of the addiction.

The combination of addiction and depression can make it harder to recover. When a person feels sad, hopeless, or exhausted, battling an addiction is a special challenge that may be difficult to face. But knowing about the link between addiction and depression, and seeking treatment to address both issues, can help make recovery possible.

Often, some people who are several weeks, if not months, into their recovery, still exhibit symptoms of sadness, hopelessness, and exhaustion. This might not be due to “not working” the recovery program hard enough or not having “faith” in a higher power, but, rather, to the presence of depression and the need for special treatment. For more information contact your state’s Mental Health Association.

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The U.S. Employment Situation: June 2009

Non-farm payroll employment continued to decline in June (-467,000). The unemployment rate was 9.5 percent and the number of unemployed persons 14.7 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Job losses were widespread across the major industry sectors, with large declines occurring in manufacturing, professional and business services, and construction. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 7.2 million, and the unemployment rate has risen by 4.6 percentage points.

In June, unemployment rates for the major worker groups--adult men (10.0 percent), adult women (7.6 percent), teenagers (24.0 percent), whites (8.7 percent), blacks (14.7 percent), and Hispanics (12.2 percent)--showed little change. The unemployment rate for Asians was 8.2 percent, not seasonally adjusted. Among the unemployed, the number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs (9.6 million) was little changed in June after increasing by an average of 615,000 per month during the first 5 months of this year.

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased by 433,000 over the month to 4.4 million. In June, 3 in 10 unemployed persons were jobless for 27 weeks or more.

Best of luck in your job or career search!

Let the Department of Labor Help you Find a Job

Knowing community resources available to help you find work is essential. Are you familiar with the Department of Labor Workforce Center? It's an agency located in every county in the U.S. whose purpose is to assist individuals find work. Here is the address: http://www.dol.gov/dol/location.htm. First, you need to click on your State to be taken to that site. At your State, identify your city/county and to see what services they have to offer. They may be listed under 'Job Seeker' or 'Job Search'.

Depending on your county's population, you might have a full service center and satellite offices in your area. At the full service center, you may search for employment on the internet and/or in their job bank, print copies of your resume, fax your resume to employers, and make job search telephone calls, all at no cost to you. You may also work with a job counselor to assist in your return to gainful employment.

Give them a call and see how they can help you. You might have to attend and orientation first. It's a brief meeting where they inform all first-timers to the Workforce Center what services they have to offer. Good luck.

John Holland's Work Personality Theory

John Holland's model holds that different personality types are best suited to different careers. He proposed six basic personality types and then identified careers they were best suited to enter. Holland's model is a modern trait-factor theory that has been very influential in vocational counseling. It is employed by popular interest inventories such as the Self-Directed Search, Vocational Preference Inventory, and Strong Interest Inventory.

Holland's six personality types are arranged along a hexagonal model with opposite work environments across from one another on the hexagon and more closely related work environments next to one another. The Realistic type contrasts most sharply with the Social type, the Investigative with the Enterprising, and the Conventional with the Artistic.

REALISTIC: these individuals deal best with an environment that is objective and physical. They like stereotypical masculine, outside and hands-on activities. They are most comfortable in work environments dealing with machines, equipment, tools, nature, athletics and crafts. They tend to dislike SOCIAL.

INVESTIGATIVE: these individuals deal best with an environment that is intellectual. They enjoy working with ideas, words or symbols. They prefer scientific and theoretical pursuits that can largely be pursued through their individual effort. They tend to dislike ENTERPRISING occupations.

SOCIAL: these individuals deal best with an environment that involves working with people in some helping, teaching, or serving capacity. They enjoy social interaction and being around others. They tend to dislike REALISTIC occupations.

CONVENTIONAL: these individuals deal best with an environment that is concrete and predictable. They enjoy structure and routine, and often like office practices and computational work. They tend to dislike ARTISTIC occupations.

ENTERPRISING: these individuals deal best with an environment that is adventurous, energizing and challenging. They are extroverted and enjoy power, dominance, and persuasive communication. Business and supervisory occupations are chosen, and they tend to dislike REALISTIC occupations.

ARTISTIC: these individuals deal best with an environment that allows for creative self-expression. They like music, drama, literature, fine arts, and other self-expressive activities. They tend to dislike CONVENTIONAL occupations.

Resume: Work Experience or Employment History?

When composing a resume, Work Experience is the preferred category over Employment History to capitalize in all the work you’ve done, paid employment, volunteer work, and unpaid internships.

In a resume, Employment History is a chronological listing of paid work, and includes your job title, the employer and location, and the duties of the job. People often list volunteer and unpaid internships in this section, but that might be misconstrued because it’s inaccurate, especially if you don’t describe the experience appropriately.

Volunteer work is just that, work. So if you have volunteer experience, you have Work Experience. Also, anyone who’s done unpaid internships knows internships are hard work, often comprising of work the staff would rather shift to someone else.

If you have unpaid work experience in your work history, then categorize that section Work Experience and place (Volunteer) or (Internship) next to the job title. And even if you happen to forget, you’re still covered, listing the section as Work Experience.

How do you categorize your volunteer experience?

How to Identify a Job or Career with Ample Opportunities for Growth

When making a job or career change, it is critical to find a job or career with ample opportunities for growth, now and in the future.

Are you familiar with the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH)? If not, here is a brief introduction.

The OOH (http://www.bls.gov/oco/) is a publication of the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics that includes information about the world of work in the United States. The current 2008-2009 edition includes employment projections thru 2016 for hundreds of different types of jobs-such as Marketing Representative, Nurse, Electrician, etc. The OOH tells you:

1. The training and education needed for the particular occupation
2. The expected earnings for the occupation
3. The expected job prospects in that occupation
4. What duties workers perform in that occupation
5. The working conditions of that occupation

In addition, the Handbook gives you job search tips, links to information about the job market in each State, and more.

Let me know what you think of it.

Evaluate the Internal and External Rewards of a Job or Career When Making a Change

People make job and career changes for many reasons. Maybe you're making a job or career change because you no longer find it meaningful (lack of internal reward). Perhaps you're making a job or career change for financial reasons (lack of external reward). Or perhaps because you're burned out due to that demanding job or career; although these stressors are the result of the work environment, it's a well known fact that it's easier to burn out in a job or career with limited internal rewards.

Most of you know someone who has a low paying job (maybe working for a non-profit) which they find meaningful and are very happy; many even restructure their lives so that they can live on what they earn as long as they can continue to work in the job or career they love. But this is not for everybody. What you need to do is find a happy medium. That is, find a job and career where you feel you are making a significant contribution to your company, your profession, or society. And as long as the new job or career allows you to earn what you need to maintain the lifestyle you desire, then you've hit a wining combination and are ahead of the pack.

Have you evaluated the internal and external rewards of the new job or career you're considering?

Why This Blog?

I am Ricardo Estrada, EdS, founder of Tumi Publishing. This Blog is dedicated to individuals looking for employment or making a career change. Areas to be covered in the Blog and open for feedback are: Vocational & Career Counseling, Interviewing Skills, Job Search Skills, and any other issues limiting or facilitating your goal. I encourage your comments to my postings and hope you share your story of triumph with me and others who read this Blog.

I have spent my professional life working as a Vocational, Career, and Mental Health Counselor. During my career, I have worked with thousands of individuals from all walks of life. Hopefully, the experience we shared has been as beneficial from them as it has been for me. The biggest benefit of my professional life has been what I've learned from the individuals I was hired to help.

The insight gained while working at an alcohol and drugs recovery halfway house, helping residents find employment, inspired my first novel Sticks of Fire: The Turning Point (WWW.TumiPublishing.com). Please see Book Review to the right under Links. It is a novel of recovery and redemption that illustrates what can be achieved when we work for it. It is a story of triumph of the human spirit and of overcoming all odds, and about what can be accomplished when people are given a second chance. I hope you've had the opportunity to enjoy Sticks of Fire: The Turning Point .

I hope you find this Blog beneficial and of assistance.