Problem drinkers in denial..

Survey: Vast Majority of Problem Drinkers in Denial

April 8th, 2011
According to a new national survey, public awareness of problem drinking is extremely low. A report generated from the survey and released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) highlights the need to raise awareness ... Read more... »

I didn't care for that article; they did too many shell game switching of abuse/dependence and were polling 12 year olds but then reporting only legal drinkers, etc. I didn't understand why public awareness was needed either, unless they are saying that those with an abuse problem are the "public".

I don't know that those with a problem are in "denial" either; they worded it as whether one "perceived they would benefit from treatment" and my perception of whether I would benefit from treatment has a lot to do with whether or not I would in fact benefit from that treatment! Treatment for alcohol abuse/dependence isn't so successful that they can imply that all someone has to do is quit "denying" and go get treatment and they would be "cured".

The way the article quoted the DSM too, did not differentiate in frequency of behavior; I don't know any younger drinkers (legal; underage drinkers have a de facto problem) who at one time or another don't cross one of the vague boundaries stated above but whether they do it habitually or over a "significant" period of time (i.e., don't "wise up") matters to me.

I would agree that there are a lot of people in denial about their drinking problems; probably somewhere in the neighborhood of those who are in denial about their weight or other lifestyle problems but I don't know that my (I'm "public") knowing that a whole lot of college kids (or even the majority of adults I don't know) have a problem is something I can do anything about? If the bus driver greets me and had alcohol on his breath, I'm getting off the bus and reporting him; but I'm not suspecting strangers on the street that they may have a problem that they're in denial of? If I have a problem and am in denial, I'm not going to change by reading this article (assuming I would read this article in the first place if I were in true denial?).

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."

well said madisgram,you know ur stuff,,

I agree that this kind of public awareness reporting is extremely valuable, I'm sure most of my friends aren't aware of what Canada's low risk drinking guidelines are.

I was involved in an interesting on-line course put on through my psych hospital "Fundamentals of Addiction" most of the people taking the course were mental health care professionals or social service workers who wanted to learn more about addiction.

One of the things we had to do was take CAMH's on-line drinking survey. It asks you questions about your drinking and shows you graphically how your drinking compares to other people in your demographic group, how much you're spending annually on booze, and how likely you are to experience harm as a result of drinking.

Well I know I'm an alcoholic so I answered the questions based on my drinking patterns before I first attempted to get sober in 06 and I was stunned at the results. It was one of those, I knew it was bad, I didn't think it was THAT bad reactions.

Anyway multiple other people in the course, who presumably didn't have a drinking problem said that they were surprised by their results, either by how much they were spending, how they drank in comparison to others, or their likelihood of harm. Several people said that they planned to change their drinking pattern in response to having done the questionnaire.

So I think anything that raises awareness is great.

--splitimage

Interesting charts and maps:

http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/factsAlcohol.htm

if i'm getting their point in the graphs it illustrates to me the need for more educational info being circulated in the population. i don't know what the immediate ratio for knowing there's a prob or getting help is-saw some-and was discouraged, but being informed may wake up the problem drinker or alcoholic and the solution later on by obtaining info beforehand. like i wasn't informed but consider myself intelligent yet became an alcoholic. had i learned along the way what signs indicated a problem, then i probably would have never let the problem grow and thrive. it was too great a price. i am fortunate i didn't suffer from denial but know many ppl that started out that way and it brought them to their knees. that's when denial doesn't work anymore for most. the tragedy is more people die from alcoholic related incidences than ones who do get sober. that's a sad state of affairs. another reason for proactive education on alcoholism. if one life can be saved then education is well worth it. "glass half full vs glass half empty."
i'm curious perna have you dealt with alcoholism with a family member?