Alcoholism
Gender Differences Affecting Alcohol Dependence
Alcohol dependence is caused by a number of factors, including genetics, environment and personal experience. Scientists know that men and women struggle with alcohol dependence at different rates, but understanding the cause of the difference has been difficult – that is, until the results of a recent study provided new clues about the way men and women differ in genetic responses to alcohol. Full Story
Alcohol and Anxiety Can Be a Dangerous Mix
Some things go together well: summer and baseball, good books and armchairs, cookies and milk. Other things don’t pair up so successfully. For people who experience high levels of anxiety in social situations, downing wine with dinner or a couple of beers to calm the nerves could prove to be a bad match.
Comorbidities are illnesses which co-exist. Understanding what connects two conditions for patients could prove instrumental in not only treating those conditions but in the development of new preventative measures and interventions.
Anxiety Linked to Substance Abuse
In a study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, a Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers sought to untangle the connection between self-medication for anxiety and future instances of substance abuse. The study involved 34,653 adult Americans considered to be representative of the general population. The study was conducted over a period of three years with an initial reporting in 2001/02 and the follow-up reporting taking place in 2004/05.
Participants in the study were divided into three categories:
Alcoholism Among the Elderly Is a Growing Trend
An American educator named John W. Gardner once commented that there is no other health problem that has been as neglected nationally as alcoholism. Doctors decline alcoholics as patients, hospitals won’t admit them and available treatment methods haven’t been widely useful.
Recently, we see that many elderly have become hidden alcoholics due to loneliness and depression. They have gone from leading productive lives to no longer having family or friends around to support them as they are left alone at home or in nursing homes, according to a recent article in Frost Illustrated.
Most of the elderly are on a variety of medications that do not mix safely with alcohol. When these patients are then hospitalized, often no one knows they are alcoholics which can lead to withdrawal signs complicating treatment.
A simple bout of pneumonia can become complicated with an unknown alcoholic as it lowers the immune system. Alcoholism also causes mineral and vitamin deficiencies that can lead to chronic brain diseases or deficits of the neurological system.
If an alcoholic is admitted, they need to be treated for such deficiencies and given supplements like B1, or thiamine and magnesium in conjunction with other nutrients they are lacking. This becomes complicated when the doctors don’t know the elderly person is an alcoholic. Social Service agencies need to be more aware of the conditions that lead to alcoholism with the elderly, and these elderly individuals also need to be encouraged to become involved in recreational activities for peer interaction.
It is important to make sure you have a neighbor or friend who regularly checks on your elderly family member and also has a key. Check with the nursing home or senior center to get your elderly loved one plugged in to recreational activities to help avoid this growing problem.
Genetic Characteristics May Increase Risk for Alcohol Problems
A recent study has only confirmed the effects of a low level of response, or LR, to increase the risk for alcohol abuse and heavy drinking among those with a genetic history of alcoholism. Professor of Psychiatry at the University in San Diego, CA, Marc A. Schuckit, says the effects of low LR factors of heavy drinking occurring later in life take place through a sequence of steps, according to Medical News Today.
The study examined boys and girls in the U.K. and smaller samples in the United States and on subjects that were younger as well. Studies showed a variety of results from the amount the person was likely to consume to achieve their desired result to peer influences. For some, the LR factor encourages coping with life’s problems. The entire procedure uncovered evidence regarding an individuals’ propensity for heavy drinking, thus increasing their risk for problems with alcohol.
Schuckit says the question remains as to why some adolescents drink more than others and that the low level of response is almost 60 percent genetic makeup. When you compare other countries and the way their drinking habits and differences in culture impact the use of alcohol, results can be of less importance in their culture or environment but the biological factors, such as metabolic factors and absorption of alcohol, should have consistent results across all cultures. There may be factors that are especially important such as religious or political viewpoints that affect your likelihood for alcoholism or that cause you to become more susceptible to drinking heavily.
Doctors continue to investigate these cross-cultural studies and that will help them solve the mystery of genetic influences among heavy drinkers.
Emergency Department Visits for Alcohol Increase over Independence Day
Heavy episodic drinking is associated with an increased risk for injury and dangerous sexual behaviors. Those who engage in heavy drinking may experience a loosening of inhibitions that leads to bad choices, resulting in hazardous situations. Often, holidays are a time of heavy drinking, with injuries sometimes leading to a visit to the hospital emergency department.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) releases regular reports about the trends in drug and alcohol behaviors in the United States. SAMHSA’s Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) monitors emergency department visits that involve any type of substance use and is useful in examining patterns in emergency department visits.
A recent report from SAMHSA provides information about the hospital emergency department visits involving underage drinking over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The study showed that emergency department visits double for males over the holiday.
For the 2009 Fourth of July weekend, defined as July 3-5, there was a daily average of 942 emergency department visits related to alcohol use by individuals under the age of 21. Approximately two thirds of the cases reported were males (622) and 304 were females.
There was a significant difference between genders in emergency department visits during the holiday weekend versus other weekends during the year. Visits to the emergency department by females were not shown to be significantly different from the number of visits on other weekends, while males were shown to require an emergency department visit twice as many times as during the rest of the weekends of the year.
The study’s findings underscore the increased drinking that takes place over a holiday weekend. As noted by SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, what should be an enjoyable holiday time of celebration becomes a tragic event.
SAMHSA invites parents to visit their Web site to access a helpful action plan for communicating expectations about alcohol-related decisions to their children. Clear parental communication has been shown to be effective in reducing underage drinking. Parents should be very involved with their children’s alcohol decisions and should understand their role as an important source of information and guidance to their children when it comes to drinking.
The study was developed as an important component of SAMHSA’s strategic initiative on data, outcomes and quality, as an effort to provide information to policy makers and service providers on the trends developing in the United States regarding behavioral health issues.
Suspect Child Neglect, Endangerment From Alcoholic Parents? When To Step In, What To Do
Many people, well-meaning ones at that, are often unsure what to do when they suspect a child is suffering neglect or worse at the hands of alcoholic and/or drug-abusing parents. The fact is that if you suspect something is amiss – backed by visible evidence such as bruises, cuts, malnutrition, or psychological and emotional distress – there likely is something drastically wrong. The question then becomes, when should you step in and what should you do?
We’ll look at when intervention should occur and what steps to take after we briefly sketch out the problem.
Three Million Cases and Counting
Every year U.S. child welfare agencies are bombarded with more than three million allegations of child abuse and neglect. And every year these agencies collect enough hard data – evidence – to support or substantiate more than one million instances. Put another way, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that 60 percent of American adults say they endured abuse and other difficult family situations as children. These experiences are also called adverse childhood experiences.
This is hardly minor. And these are just the reported cases. Just think of the untold numbers of children who are being neglected and abused by alcoholic and drug-abusing parents whose cases go unreported. Think of the tragedy awaiting those children. What kind of a future do they face under such circumstances?
Childhood Abuse Can Result in Extreme Personalities
New brain imaging studies show that child abuse (physical, emotional and sexual) can cause permanent damage to the neural structure and function of the developing brain. This permanent damage may reduce the size of parts of the brain, impact the way a child’s brain copes with daily stress, and result in enduring behavioral health problems.
Experts now say that childhood abuse can manifest itself in a variety of ways – and it can occur at any age. Internally it may appear as anxiety, depression, post traumatic stress or suicidal thoughts. Children can also express it outwardly as substance abuse, delinquency, hyperactivity or aggression.
Childhood abuse is strongly associated with borderline personality disorder. Children who have been abused and who develop borderline personality disorder see things in black and white. They may jump from admiration to hate, first putting someone on a pedestal and then vilifying them – from a perceived betrayal or slight. They are prone to volcanic outbursts and transient psychotic or paranoid episodes.
The outlook for abused children who develop borderline personality disorder is that they go through intense and unstable relationships. Feeling empty and unsure of their identity, they often seek escape and refuge in substance abuse. They also often experience self-destructive and suicidal impulses.
Beyond borderline personality disorder, stressful or traumatic experiences in children can lead to dissociative episodes, delusions, hallucinations, impaired attention, anger outbursts, psychosis, and paranoia.
The bottom line here is that much more needs to be done to protect children by preventing childhood abuse and neglect before it does irrevocable harm. Families, health care providers, and the community can help children to develop resilience when dealing with trauma. Research experts say that new approaches to therapy may also be indicated.
Repeated Trauma Exacts a Toll
According to the information provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) from a study by Barth et al. (2008), young children exposed to five or more adversities (including child maltreatment, caregiver mental illness, poverty, single parent, low maternal education) in their first three years of childhood face a 76 percent likelihood of having one or more delays in their emotional, language, or cognitive development.
The number of children with developmental delays increases with the rising number of risk factors. When facing 1-2 risk factors, less than 10 percent of children have developmental delays. Three risk factors result in developmental delays in about 20 percent of children. Forty percent of children facing four risk factors have developmental delays. With five risk factors, it’s 76 percent. With six risk factors, about 90 percent of children face developmental delays and at seven risk factors, about 100 percent of children face developmental delays.
In other words, the earlier and more often childhood abuse and neglect occurs, the more serious and long-lasting the damage is likely to be.
Types of Childhood Abuse
Children can suffer more than one type of maltreatment or abuse. Statistics from a 2007 report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) show that, in 2005, children experienced maltreatment in the following percentages:
Binge Drinking and Domestic Violence Linked
Binge drinking has been defined as consuming five or more drinks in succession. Binging can be a one-time occurrence or could be a pattern in which a person over-indulges once a month or more. A recent study examined the effects of binge drinking on families and domestic partners. Full Story
Teens Stop Blaming Your Parents for Your Alcohol Problems
If you are a teen who has been using alcohol as a form of recreational activity and getting into trouble because of it, it’s time to face the music and look at what may be driving such behavior. And, no, it isn’t fair to blame your parents for your actions – although many American teens that drink do. There’s more going on here that you need to be aware of. Beyond awareness, there are some things that you can do to overcome your difficulties with alcohol. But first, let’s look at why you should stop blaming your parents for your alcohol problems.
Genes Are Only One Factor
If you fall into the category of believing that you can’t help drinking too much because one or both of your parents are an alcoholic, that’s a rationalization right off the bat. You’re basically looking for an excuse to keep on drinking at your current rate. Yes, there is research that’s ongoing that shows that certain people may have a genetic predisposition or vulnerability to alcohol, but just as having a genetic marker for another type of disease, such as breast cancer, doesn’t automatically mean a person will develop that disease, neither does the presence or absence of a gene identified with alcohol vulnerability mean you will or will not become an alcoholic or have problems with alcohol at some point in your life.
Such research focuses on chromosome 15 linked to alcoholism, specifically a gene identified as GABRG3. But just because scientists have found the gene doesn’t mean they understand the genetic basis of alcoholism. In addition, scientists do not know how changes in the GABRG3 gene increase a person’s risk for alcoholism.
So, forget about blaming genetics as a reason for your problems with alcohol. Even if you do have a genetic marker that somehow increases your vulnerability, there are other factors that contribute to alcoholism besides genetics.
Environment Is Only Part of the Equation
Do your parents constantly drink, have fights, embarrass you, and neglect your well-being while they are drunk? No doubt this affects you greatly, but you cannot use that as another reason to justify your own continued drinking – or your problems as a result of your behavior. While it is true that your attitudes toward drinking may be shaped by what type of behavior you witness in the home – as well as the behavior you see outside the home, on TV, in advertising, among your peers – the environment in which you live is yet only another factor in what may or may not contribute to alcohol dependence or alcoholism.
Anyone can absolve themselves of their drinking problems by blaming others. Your parents are a convenient scapegoat. Counselors, judges, lawyers and law enforcement officials hear this complaint (or something like it) all the time: "I couldn’t help it. All my parents do is drink. I had to drink just to survive in the family."
Don’t believe it – and don’t use your parents as a way of excusing your own bad behavior. It isn’t fair to them or to you. Beyond that, if all you do is continue to blame others, you’ll never address the real problem – why you’re drinking – or begin to work to overcome the problem through counseling.
You Know Right From Wrong
Let’s be clear about something. You know that it’s not right to be drunk all the time or to drive while intoxicated, cause harm to others as a result of drinking, or neglect your own well-being because of your dependence on alcohol. In other words, you know the difference between right and wrong. You don’t really need your parents to tell you that your behavior isn’t acceptable – although parental rules and enforcement of a code of family behavior regarding alcohol – as in zero tolerance for underage drinking – is a big reason that teens choose not to drink. You’ve seen the consequences of drinking too much in others, and probably yourself as well. Instinctively you know that getting drunk day after day is just not the way to live.
And yet many teens – perhaps you are among them – insist they didn’t know they were doing anything wrong. No way will that fly in today’s interconnected society. Not only is there a blood alcohol content (BAC) level in every state to measure intoxication of drivers, but the news media reports of drunk driving accidents, celebrity convictions for manslaughter as a result of drunk driving, and high-profile celebrity stints in rehab for alcoholism are played out every day.
Problems you have due to your continued drinking are not the fault of your parents. Their attitudes and the home environment may play a part in how you formed your own opinions and attitudes about alcohol, but you are the one who is responsible for your own behavior in the end. If there’s a consequence that occurs because of your drinking, it’s you that will bear the responsibility. You will be the one who will have to accept the consequences.
Availability of Alcohol Doesn’t Make it Okay to Drink
Suppose your parents keep the liquor cabinet fully stocked at all times, not only to satisfy their own daily drinking patterns but also to be ready for celebration at any given time. Just because you feel you have ready access to liquor anytime you want it doesn’t mean it is okay for you to drink. Remember that drinking is against the law for minors – and that means you. Whether or not you care to recognize that fact, it’s still true. Sure, your parents should lock up the booze so you’re not tempted, but give it a break. Stealing alcohol from home so you can go out and get drunk and party with your friends is just not acceptable. Blaming your parents for alcohol being in the house is just another way of trying to skirt your own responsibility for your actions.
Saying Your Parents Don’t Care if You Drink is Nonsense
Do you truly believe that your parents don’t give a hoot if you drink or not? Are they that far gone (drunk all the time) that they don’t even know what you do on a daily basis? If that’s the case, you have issues of serious parental neglect that call for intervention by the authorities. You need and deserve a stable environment where you are nurtured and cared for by your parents. But most parents do care about the welfare of their children, and this includes being concerned if their child has or develops a problem with alcohol.
Why would you say that your parents don’t care if you drink, anyway? Why do you think this will absolve you of your problems as a result of alcohol? When your grades start to fall or you get in trouble at school because you’re always getting into fights, or if you get pulled over and arrested for driving under the influence (DUI), will saying that your parents don’t care if you drink make it any less your fault? You already know the answer to that. No one – certainly not your parents – forced you to drink. You alone bear the responsibility for putting alcohol into your mouth.
Getting Back at Parents by Drinking
Maybe you feel like your parents are the worst people on earth. They’ve kept you from going to parties or staying out as late as you like with your friends. Their rules and punishments are far too restrictive for your liking and you seek to defy them by going out and drinking to excess. Are you just trying to get back at them with your drinking? Do you feel like you’re shoving your behavior in their face, taunting them with your actions – even though you know that what you’re doing is wrong?
First of all, it is the responsibility of your parents to try to give you appropriate limits, to set family policy, and to enforce the rules. This includes letting you know in clear language exactly what the consequences are for drinking when you have been informed that there is zero tolerance for underage drinking. Suppose there’s been no such discussion in your family, but you’re not allowed to stay out past 10 on school nights, you can’t see certain friends because your parents don’t like them, or some other restriction that you don’t like. Does this give you the excuse to go out and drink so you can somehow get back at your parents? That’s just another indication of not living up to your own responsibilities. As long as you remain at home under the roof of your parents and you are underage, you are bound to abide by their rules. When you reach the age of 21 and are out on your own, then you make your own rules. But for now, blaming your parents for your problems with drinking after you’ve tried to get back at them by drinking is just plain foolishness.
Acting Out Hatred of Parents Doesn’t Absolve You
There’s no question that some teenagers have parents that could use some better parenting skills. There’s also no question that growing up is hard to do. There are so many things pulling at you at once: pressure to do well at school, peer pressure to conform, self-imposed pressure to try to be liked by others, societal pressures, tension in the home as a result of other siblings getting attention, and a whole lot more. Maybe you are one of those teens that feel hatred toward your parents for any of a number of real or imagined ills. Some misguided teens take out their frustrations over what is or is not going on at home by drinking too much. Although they are definitely in the minority – meaning, most American teens don’t act this way – it is a problem when it does occur.
But what does acting out such hatred by drinking really get you, anyway? Only more trouble than you can readily deal with. It’s not worth all the aggravation and potentially life-threatening consequences (someone could be killed or severely injured as a result of your drinking and driving). When you blame your behavior on your parents, whether it’s drinking too much or anything else, it’s just another copout you’re using to absolve yourself of your responsibilities. It never works. You’re still the one responsible.
Trying to Take the Pain Away Your Parents Cause You
On the other hand, let’s look at another reason why some teens drink. Maybe they feel that their parents have caused them a great deal of pain. This could be because the teens feel their parents don’t love them enough, don’t spend enough time with them, hurt them in physical or emotional ways, or some other real or imagined hurt. Drinking may start as a way to conveniently escape the pain, to make it all go away, even if it’s only for a little while. The problem with this line of thinking is that the alcohol only temporarily relieves the pain. As soon as you’re sober again, the pain will still be there. By being drunk all the time, you’re only cloaking what’s bothering you and never get to the point where you do anything about it.
There’s only one way out of this type of no-win situation and that’s to seek help to overcome your problem with drinking. Then you can begin to address – with the help of a professional counselor – what’s going on in your life and how you can take steps to behave in healthier ways. In other words, you need to recognize that you need help, seek the help, and go through with the counseling. Don’t just blame your parents for the pain they have caused you while you stew and get drunk to obliterate your feelings. That’s a downhill slide that’s certain to cause you even more pain.
Where to Get Help
Sure, it’s tough to admit that you have a problem with alcohol. It takes courage and a willingness to admit that you need help. But even if others in your crowd are not ready or refuse to quit their bad drinking behavior, continuing to blame their parents and everyone else for their own actions, you can end this vicious cycle. How? Start by talking to an adult that you trust. Maybe this is one of your parents or another close relative. Perhaps it is the school counselor or a favorite teacher. Maybe it’s a parent of one of your close friends or another adult whom you know and trust. It could be your doctor or pastor at your church. As long as you trust the adult, confide your situation to him or her and ask for help in overcoming your problems with alcohol.
You can also contact Al-Anon/Alateen by going to their website or calling their toll-free number at 1-888-4AL-ANON. Al-Anon (and Alateen for younger members) is an organization that has been helping friends and family members of problem drinkers for more than 55 years. You might be in despair, feeling hopeless, afraid that things are never going to change. You want your life to be different. Going to Alateen meetings may help you learn a better way of life. Check it out online and start going to a few meetings.
If your drinking has progressed to the point where you have serious problems with alcohol (blackouts, DUIs, waking up in strange places, unwanted sexual activity, HIV/AIDS, getting kicked out of school, arrests, etc.), you may benefit from professional treatment. You will need to contact an adult that can help you find treatment.
Above all, if you want to change your life and ensure that you are able to live up to the potential and reach your dreams, you should stop blaming your parents for your problems with alcohol and get started doing something positive to change your behavior.
Yes, you can do it. There’s nothing holding you back except perhaps your own unwillingness to let this crutch go. Life will still go on around you, but you won’t be able to embrace it enthusiastically and wholeheartedly if you continue to exist in an alcohol-induced fog. Remember that once you start down the path of excessive drinking, the only way to stop is to get professional help. Alcohol can rewire your brain to the point where all you think about is drinking, all you do is drink, and your life becomes a shambles. Don’t let this happen to you. Stop blaming your parents and reach out for help. Now is the best time to do so. If you need to talk with someone about treatment right now, call the toll-free and confidential Treatment Referral Helpline operated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) at 1-800-662-HELP.
Role of Parents in Teenage Alcoholism
Turns out being the cool parent may not be the best strategy when it comes to helping your child learn lessons about controlled substances, like alcohol. Many parents have the misconception that all kids are going to drink and get drunk, so they might as well do it in the supervised presence of someone who cares for them. A new study, however, reveals that overseeing and condoning underage drinking may actually lead these youths to develop alcohol-related health issues in the future. Full Story
Line Between At-Risk Levels of Alcohol Consumption and Social Drinking Difficult to Distinguish
A glass of wine at night or a couple of beers after dinner may be more dangerous than many people think, according to recent U.K. health reports and U.S. sources.
National health agencies in the U.K. have said that for men, no more than three to four alcoholic "units" should be consumed daily, which could be exceeded in one pint of lager beer. For women, no more than two to three alcoholic units – or the equivalent to one large-sized glass of wine – is recommended to prevent serious and life-threatening health problems, ranging from cancer to heart attacks and strokes.
However, many people don’t know that consistent consumption of alcohol can cause health problems, and may falsely believe that people who frequently binge drink or are labeled "alcoholics" have the highest health risks. A survey of 2,000 adults said that more than 80 percent thought they weren’t damaging their health by drinking daily over time. According to the U.K. survey results, as many as 7.5 million people may feel the same way.
The health risks associated with consistent alcoholic consumption are tangible, say experts. For women, having a 250 ml-sized glass of wine daily have a three-times higher chance of being diagnosed with oral cancer, and may be at three times higher risk of experiencing a stroke. For men, these risks are also present, especially if he consumes two pints of lager beer daily.
Blood pressure is also affected, increasing a person’s risk of heart attack or stroke. For women, the risk of having elevated blood pressure doubles if she consumes two large glasses of wine on a daily basis. She will also have a 50 percent elevated risk of developing breast cancer.
In the U.S., similar numbers of adults may also be unaware of the dangers of consistent drinking. For middle-aged adults in the Baby Boomer generation, the news may be especially unknown. A study conducted at Duke University suggests that nearly one-third of adults in the 50-plus age bracket consumed alcohol regularly in the form of binge drinking, defined in this case as consuming at least five alcoholic beverages in a single episode.
Experts like Dr. Mark Willenbring, Director of the Division of Treatment and Recovery Research, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), say the rise in daily consumption of alcohol and binge drinking in the U.S. may be related to the blurry line between problem drinking and social drinking. What constitutes reduced-risk levels of alcohol consumption can vary from person to person, and many people may not have the knowledge to determine if their drinking patterns have reached problematic levels. The daily drinking levels are the most important, says Willenbring, over the weekly totals because daily drinking behaviors may be a stronger indicator of a person’s dependence on alcohol.
t is believed that nearly 25 percent of people whose alcohol consumption goes beyond the levels deemed to be low-risk are abusing alcohol and are living with alcoholism. Experts suggest anyone who consumes alcohol regularly should explore tools for learning more about their consumption levels, including an online risk analysis from the NIAAA.
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