Alcohol Awareness

Does alcohol abuse cause the same In this issue: problems as alcoholism? While the problem drinker or alcohol abuser may not be addicted to alcohol, he or she shares many of the same risks to health and life. Quality of life, • What is in particular, is severely diminished. In addition, Alcoholism? alcoholics and alcohol abusers alike may bring Page 1 havoc on the lives of their loved ones, and on others around them. • Getting Help The NIAAA reports that alcoholism and alcohol and Treatment abuse are not only a leading cause of death, but also a significant factor in violent crime, teen for a Drug pregnancy, date rape and certain other types Program of crime. Page 2 What are the effects of alcohol? What Is Alcoholism? • Impulsivity Short-term physical effects of alcohol use include: Raises Differences between dependence • Distorted vision, hearing, and coordination Alcoholism and abuse. • Altered perceptions and emotions Risk • Impaired judgment According to the National Institute on Alcohol • Hangovers Page 2 Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), alcoholism is “a disease that includes alcohol craving and Long-term physical effects of heavy alcohol • When Your an continued drinking despite repeated alcohol- use include: Adult Child of related problems, such as losing a job or getting • Loss of appetite an Alcoholic into trouble with the law.” It includes the • Vitamin deficiencies Parent following symptoms: • Esophagus/Stomach ailments Page 3 1. Craving: A strong need, or compulsion, to drink. • Pancreatitis 2. Impaired control: The inability to limit one’s • Liver cancer drinking on any given occasion. • Skin problems • Risk Factors for 3. Physical dependence: Withdrawal symptoms, • Sexual impotence Alcoholism and such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and • Liver damage Alcohol Abuse anxiety, when alcohol use is stopped after a • Heart and central/peripheral nervous Page 3 period of heavy drinking. system damage 4. Tolerance: The need for increasing amounts • Memory loss • Avoiding of alcohol in order to feel its effects. • Anemia • Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy (Heart Failure) Alcohol: How Is alcohol abuse different from to say “No” alcoholism? How can I avoid developing an Page 4 alcohol problem? Alcohol abuse is a pattern of problem drinking that can have major health and societal consequences. • Remove temptation. Don’t keep alcohol at home. Problem drinkers are prone to violence, automobile • Drink slowly. Sip your drink slowly. Take a accidents and other problems. However, alcohol break of one hour between drinks. Drink soda, dependence, or alcoholism, refers to a disease water or juice after an alcoholic drink. Eat food that is characterized by abnormal alcohol-seeking when drinking. behavior, or lack of control over drinking. Alcohol • Take a break from alcohol. Pick a day each abuse is basically on a continuum with alcoholism, week when you won’t drink at all. Then, try to stop and it is important to note that many of the same drinking for one week. Eventually you’ll start to effects are experienced. feel better, which will help you stop for good.

Alchohol Awareness 1 April 2010 Alcohol Awareness

• Learn how to say NO. You do not have to drink when others drink. • Stay active. Do something to replace drinking. Go out to eat, see a movie or go for a walk. • Get support. Ask family and friends for support. Your doctor may be able help, too. See a therapist who specializes in helping people stop drinking. • Watch out for temptation. Stay away from bars and people who drink a lot. Plan ahead of time what you will do to avoid drinking when you are tempted. Do not drink when you are angry or upset. • DO NOT GIVE UP! Most people do not cut down or give up drinking all at once. Just like a diet, it is not easy to change. Sometimes you may relapse. If you do not reach your goal the first time, try again. Get support from people who care about you. Remember that even if you remain sober and regain your health, you’re still susceptible to relapse if you’re an alcoholic and must continue to avoid all alcoholic beverages. If a relapse occurs, it is important to try to stop drinking again and to get whatever Impulsivity Raises Alcoholism Risk additional support is needed to abstain from drinking. A relapse Mouse study finds those that crave alcohol are more should not be looked at as a failure, but as a learning experience. likely to choose quick rewards © MyOptumHealth.com Being impulsive is a risk factor for alcoholism, a new study finds. Getting Help and Treatment for a Drug Problem Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis researchers found that mice bred to crave large amounts of alcohol were more Discover resources and support networks to help your teen. impulsive than mice that consumed little or no alcohol. The rodents’ impulsivity was tested by giving them the choice between a small, Don’t panic immediate reward and a large, delayed reward. The heavy-drinking If you suspect that your son or daughter has a drug problem, don’t mice were more likely to choose the small, immediate reward. panic. Remember, drug and alcohol addictions are treatable. The The study appears online and in the July print sooner the situation is faced, the sooner your child can begin to get issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. well. Your first step may be to talk with your child and explain your ‘It is well-documented that humans with alcohol problems have concern. Don’t attempt to have this conversation while your child impulsivity issues,’ Dr. Nicholas Grahame, an associate professor is under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Wait until he or she is of psychology at the university’s School of Science, said in a news sober and try to remain calm and factually honest when speaking release from the university. about his or her behavior and its consequences. You may run into resistance, but make it clear you intend to follow through on getting ‘High impulsivity, when defined as the tendency to choose small help. A parent’s motto should be: “Never give up.” instantaneous rewards over larger delayed rewards – like getting drunk instead of going to work for that paycheck in two weeks – Support network is more prevalent in alcoholics than in non-alcoholics,’ he said. Enlist the support and help of family members, friends, the ‘Because these mice had never had alcohol, we were able to show family doctor and professionals, such as school counselors and that it was the genes that increase drinking, rather than drinking psychiatrists or psychologists, who are experienced in dealing with itself, that yielded impulsive behavior.’ teen substance abuse. Numerous organizations, such as Alcoholics Grahame said the mouse study can be applied to people Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Al-Anon-Alateen (for ‘and strongly suggests that impulsivity contributes to high families and friends of alcoholics) can also provide information alcohol drinking.’ about where to get help. Whatever you do, don’t do it alone. As a result, he said, ‘the diagnosis of any disorder associated with Where to go impulsivity, such as attention-deficit disorder or bipolar disorder, is There are different levels of intervention. If your child has a serious cause for concern about future problems with alcoholism.’ drug problem, a hospital setting may be needed. If detoxification is necessary, it can be done there safely. Your family doctor, More information local hospital, state or local substance abuse agencies and The U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has organizations like Al-Anon-Alateen can provide referrals for more about alcohol problems http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/FAQs/ treatment programs. Your teenager will need to be evaluated General-English/. so that he or she can be placed in an appropriate outpatient or | | inpatient treatment program. By Robert Preidt HealthDay News © MyOptumHealth.com

Alchohol Awareness 2 April 2010 Alcohol Awareness

When You’re the Adult Child of There are many paths for getting help: an Alcoholic Parent • Individual therapy. Meet with a reputable therapist who has experience with family issues relating to addiction You may not drink, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t affected by and recovery. alcoholism. If you are the adult child of an alcoholic parent, learn how • Group support. Seek out local Al-Anon and/or to cope with the effect alcoholism has had on your life. Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA) meetings. • Self-education When a parent abuses alcohol, the whole family suffers. Children – Books. Check with your local library for books about are especially at risk. Growing up in an alcoholic home can seriously overcoming a chaotic childhood. interfere with the normal stages of childhood. Later, adult children of – Parent courses. If you have children, learn about child alcoholic parents often have problems with trust, control and fear development. Seek out and take part in a parent education of intimacy. course to learn skills for relating to Growing up in a disruptive home your children. Alcohol abuse interferes with a parent’s ability to provide a loving If you are comfortable, share your decision to seek help with close and structured home life for children. The home is usually filled friends and family who can support you. You may find that you are with chaos and sometimes violence and/or incest. The parent often not alone in your pain. breaks promises. Discipline is not consistent. Mood swings and The type of help you seek is not as important as the fact that you are personality changes in the parent are common. Finances may suffer. open to change. The first part of your life may have been affected by All this can cause tremendous confusion and fear in a child. There family alcoholism. The rest of your life doesn’t have to be. is usually anger and resentment toward the parent who is not being By Jane Harrison, R.D., Staff Writer | © MyOptumHealth.com responsible or reliable. Family roles are unclear. Older children may have to take on the adult duty of caring for younger siblings. As teens, many are mature beyond their years, the result of having to grow up too fast in an alcoholic home. Children of alcoholics also carry the burden of worrying about their parents. Often, they are embarrassed by a parent’s behavior. So, they may work hard to cover for the parent or lie to protect him or her. This creates uncomfortable family secrets, inside and outside of the home. Problems that arise in adulthood Adult children of alcoholics often have no frame of reference for a normal life. As a result, they may lack certain coping skills and have trouble forming healthy relationships. Some become perfectionists or overachievers to compensate for low self-esteem. Some mistakenly believe that they were the cause of a parent’s drinking. Other common traits in adulthood include: • Problems with trust • Difficulty expressing feelings and needs • Fear of intimacy Risk Factors for Alcoholism and • A need to control Alcohol Abuse • Feelings of isolation and aloneness • Constant seeking of approval and affirmation Learn the risk factors for alcoholism. • Being extremely responsible or irresponsible In the United States, 17.6 million people--about one in every • Impulsivity 12 adults--abuse alcohol or are alcohol dependent. Anyone can • Substance abuse misuse alcohol. The following factors put you at increased risk of Getting help developing alcoholism: People who have grown up in an alcoholic home may have a lifetime • A family member who suffers from alcoholism of problems unless they learn ways to move beyond the stresses of • A history of substance abuse their childhood. For most, the first step toward healing is learning • A history of depression more about the disease of alcoholism and how it has affected them. • Having a post-traumatic stress disorder By gaining insight into the past, they can better understand why they • Peer pressure behave in certain ways. • Being under stress If you are a child of an alcoholic, it is important to recognize that • Easy availability of alcohol healing often involves talking about what you went through and how People with family histories of alcoholism should be particularly alert you feel about it now. for signs of problems. Children of alcoholics are about four times

Alchohol Awareness 3 April 2010 Alcohol Awareness

more likely than others to develop alcohol problems, according to the • Have a nonalcoholic beer. Order an alcohol-free beer and pour National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The addiction it into a glass or cup. Without the label, no one will know that your may skip a generation, too. A child of an alcoholic may never drink, drink isn’t a regular beer. but still pass on a genetic vulnerability to their children and/or an It can be hard to hold your ground when friends pressure you to drink unhealthy lifestyle that could lead to drinking. with them. If you’d rather not be in that position at all, think about Other risk-related statistics: skipping events and get-togethers where alcohol will be served. To avoid feeling left out, arrange to meet up with friends and family in • The risk for alcoholism is higher among people who begin to drink in “safe” situations on your own terms. their early teens, as opposed to after age 21. • More men than women are alcohol dependent or experience You owe it to yourself to stay committed to your own health and alcohol-related problems. well-being. Make the right decisions for yourself and don’t let others • Rates of alcohol problems are highest among young adults ages 18 to try to make them for you. Any embarrassment or uneasiness will be 29 and lowest among adults 65 years and older. temporary, but the consequences of giving in can be long-lasting. • Rates of alcoholism and alcohol-related problems vary among major | ethnic groups. Alcoholism is twice as high among Native Americans By Amanda Genge, Staff Writer © MyOptumHealth.com than other Americans. Hispanics have a higher rate of alcoholism than African Americans or Caucasians. More than 100,000 Americans die of alcohol-related causes every year. Alcoholism and alcohol abuse can be factors in violent crimes, teen pregnancies and date rape. If you suspect that you or someone you know has a problem, seek help now.

If you’ve struggled with an alcohol problem, you know how important it is to resist temptation when you’re at a party or out with friends. Despite knowing your history, friends may still encourage you to “have just one.” Those who don’t know you may even insist - and tease you about your decision to abstain. How can you say no without making a big deal of it? Alcoholics aren’t the only ones who face this challenge. Anyone who chooses to avoid alcohol may have to deal with peer pressure. If you’re a teenager, a designated driver, take certain medications or have certain religious beliefs, you need to know how to turn down a drink. The key is to refuse offers of liquor politely yet firmly, without feeling guilty or making apologies. If someone persists, change the subject or excuse yourself. Don’t let yourself be pestered or ridiculed for your choice. Have a strategy If you are going to a wedding, a holiday party or just out with coworkers at the end of the week, it’s a good bet there will be alcohol. Before you go, think about different ways you can say “no.” Rehearse what you will say ahead of time. This will help you respond better when someone offers you a drink or asks what’s in your glass. • Keep it simple. Just saying “no thanks” might be enough. Use a small gesture like a hand wave or head shake to emphasize your decision. • Offer an explanation. Be honest about your reasons if you feel comfortable enough. Otherwise, explain that you just feel better when you don’t drink. You could even say you stopped drinking at your doctor’s advice. • Suggest an alternative. Instead of alcohol, say you’d love a sparkling water or mix of club soda and juice instead. If you want to fend off further offers, leave a bit of the drink in your glass to show that you’re “still working on it.”

Alchohol Awareness 4 April 2010