Accepting the problem is the first step to recovery
Denial often plays a big part in people who abuse or are dependent on alcohol.
They deny sexual problems. They deny ulcers. They deny that they deny, and tell lies when the truth would do.
Some really believe that they do not have a drinking problem because they drink only on weekends. Others come up with all sorts of drinking myths.
“Beer is good for the kidneys” is one. “Drinking a frappe or milk before a night of drinking” is another. Here’s one of the best lines of denial — “I only drink the best.”
That very well might be true. But what is also true is that alcohol is alcohol. A good shot of whiskey is the same as a taste of cheap wine.
Generally, a drink is defined as a 12-ounce beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine or 1.5 ounces of hard or distilled liquor.
And who hasn’t had a drink or two?
Of the three categories of substance abuse, alcohol is the most common. According to the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more than half of all persons interviewed aged 12 or older reported having at least one drink in the past 30 days. In comparison, 30 percent of the same population admitted to tobacco use, and 8 percent admitted to illicit drug use.
More troubling is the incidence of binge drinking — five or more drinks at the same time or within a couple of hours of each other. During 2006, almost one-fourth of all persons surveyed aged 12 or older participated in binge drinking. Furthermore, a large percentage of binge drinkers did not perceive the risk of their behavior.
Heavy use of alcohol — five or more drinks on the same occasion on each of five or more days in the past 30 days — was also common. Heavy drinking was reported by almost 7 percent of the same population, or 17 million people.
Drinking is pervasive, but more common in men, those between the ages of 21 and 25, and whites.
Richard Chester knows about alcoholism. He is now a Licensed Alcohol/Drug Counselor1 for Partners HealthCare and has worked there for the last 13 years. He is also a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Certified Employee Assistance Professional.
Chester has also worked as a substance abuse coordinator at MCI-Shirley, a counselor at a halfway house for substance abusers, and has led group therapy sessions for court-referred driving while intoxicated (DWI) clients.
Chester readily admits that he is an alcoholic.
The biggest hurdle, he says, is getting people to accept that they have a problem. More often than not, those with a problem tend to blame their predicament on others. “It’s always someone else’s fault,” Chester says.
Until those issues are resolved, explained Dr. Timothy Benson, medical director of the McLean Center at Fernside, the real work cannot begin. “What I have seen is that a lot of people who are having a problem with alcohol have a hard time admitting that they are unable to control it,” Benson says. “They struggle with the notion of surrendering because to them surrendering means giving up the fight.”
But as Benson rightly points out, for many, surrendering to the delusion of control is the first real step to fighting back.
For blacks, alcoholism presents a different set of problems.
What has been shown in recent studies, Benson says, is that there is not much of a difference in drinking among the races, but the social, legal and workplace consequences are often felt more severely among African Americans.
And given the general unhealthiness of many blacks, the medical consequences can be more profound.
Part of the solution is figuring out what triggers an individual to seek alcohol as an answer, temporary to be sure, for ongoing stresses. Though not a clinical term, the notion of self-medicating is widespread.
By all accounts, some people should not drink at all. Doctors have not determined a safe level of drinking for pregnant women. Women who drink while pregnant increase their risk of fetal alcohol syndrome, irreversible defects that can include serious physical, mental and behavioral problems in the baby. Fetal alcohol syndrome is one of the leading causes of mental retardation in this country.
A quick self-assessment can start the process: Do you drink to relax or forget unpleasant things? Are you annoyed by criticism of your drinking or does drinking make you feel guilty? Do you drink in private or buy alcohol at different stores to hide your habit? Do you feel that you need a drink in the morning to get yourself going?
Programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon/Alateen for family members of alcoholics, can be helpful — and a lifesaver. |
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Richard Chester has been sober for 30 years. As a Certified Employee Assistance Professional and Licensed Alcohol/Drug Counselor 1, he now spends his time helping others work through their addictions.
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