my main reason for posting this article is that it may spark the attention of someone who is questioning their drinking behaviors. someone who may be in denial about their drinking habits. this usually happens but deep down they know they may have a problem. AA has a helpful phrase...we may have a problem when drinking affects our relationships with others, getting a DUI as a result of drinking, drinking causing us to go to work hungover thus lacking productivity, missing work due to our drinking, etc. then we are considered problem drinkers. if one drinks to gain a feeling or one drinks to obtain a feeling on a regular basis then we are considered problem drinkers. this behavior abused over time can lead to alcoholism. denial of our problems when we drink is a sure fire way of hitting a bottom where our lives can be be destroyed as we know it. public awareness of the key factors to look for may help one avoid the pitfall of alcoholism. today alcoholic drinking occurs with much younger ppl than before. this is backed up by statistics. the reason for this with young ppl is lack of information on even their part. "or i'm too young to be an alcoholic." that is not the truth. any one of us at any age can become alcoholics. it's an "equal opportunity" disease.
no i agree perna, we should not go out and prothletize to ppl if we smell alcohol on their breath. for example, AA's policy is attraction rather than promotion to those ppl. if we break our anonymity when we know someone is in denial and share our experience it may help that friend, etc to avoid the problem altogether or to get help. but that occurs when they approach us first.
if it's a family member who is in denial often times by them to be willing after an intervention to beak the chains of denial and to go to treatment will forevermore "ruin" their drinking. i know. part of a rehab's curriculum is educating the person that alcoholism is a disease recognized by the medical and insurance community. i was one of those ppl.that profitted from this info at treatment. it helped me put down the walls and admit i had a problem.
public awareness like this article about when problem drinking occurs is imho a very useful tool. a person may be in denial about their drinking behaviors and reading an article like this one suggests may help they in fact do have a problem. it won't impact everyone but if it saves only a few ppl from the throes of alcoholism it is worthwhile. education in schools even grade schools can also be beneficial. knowledge is the key. there is an epidemic of ppl who suffer. i didn't even know what an alcoholic was. the only thing i said to my doc is i'm drinking too much and i don't know why. being an alcoholic never crossed my mind cause i knew nothing about it. then i wanted to "pretend" (deny) i had a problem. don't take my crutch away!! later on i learned to accept what i really was...an alcoholic.
Why do people deny they need help? There are many reasons for denial in addiction. One reason is that people generally do not like to feel helpless and out-of-control and this is particularly true for the addict. The addict will blame everything and everyone except their own substance abuse for their problems. Another reason is that the addict may be using drugs or alcohol to cover up or numb unpleasant feelings and by stripping away the denial (and drugs and alcohol), the unpleasant feelings will come to the surface.
Denial in addiction is not a linear course, either. The addict may be in denial at some times, and facing reality at others, so addiction in denial may be fluid especially in the beginning stages of recovery. Even for those who are far along the recovery path, falling off the wagon and denial can strike at any time and will need to be overcome once again to get back on track. Perhaps Linkin Park talked about confronting denial best in their song "Breaking the Habit" when they said, "I'll paint it on the walls, 'cause I'm the one at fault" in acknowledgement that a habit is indeed a personal disease for which one needs to take responsibility in order to break free.
sorry for the long post. i'm sure others may disagree but the subject matter in general i believe is important. sadly it is estimated only 1 in 10 people seek help for their drinking. lives lost, others dead as a result of their drinking, jails, institutions or death.
PS there is no cure for alcoholism. but it can be arrested by abstinence allowing an affected person to live their life to the fullest rather than self destruction. i know. i am one of the fortunate ones who got sober and stayed sober, 21 years. i sought help-detox, rehab, AA. "it works if you work it." "there is a solution." the first thing is "to have the willingness to change."