Alcohol Abusers Not Seeking Help
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"F.H." connec...@verizon.net
Study finds just 1 in 4 look for support, often waiting 10 years from the disorder's onset.
Newsday July 5, 2007 MELVILLE, N.Y. ??” The vast majority of adult Americans who abuse alcohol never seek treatment, according to a new government public health survey.
The survey, the first of its kind by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in 10 years, presents a full picture of alcohol disorders in the country.
The survey, which breaks down rates of alcohol abuse by age, race, socioeconomic group and other factors, also found that 30.3% of adults have abused alcohol or suffered from alcoholism at some point in their lives.
One of the more striking findings from the interviews was the low numbers of people who seek treatment for alcohol disorders.
Only 24% of those who suffer from alcoholism ever seek treatment. This rate was slightly higher a decade ago. And of those who do seek help, the average age is 32.1 ??” 10 years following the typical onset of alcoholism for those in the study.
As for alcohol abusers ??” those whose excessive drinking leads to personal and professional problems ??” just 7% seek treatment, with an average lag time of eight years between the onset of abuse and treatment.
The stigma surrounding alcohol abuse stops many from admitting the problem and seeking help, said Barbara Keller, director of the Suffolk Coalition to Prevent Alcohol and Drug Dependency on Long Island.
"Because there is tremendous denial, it's just very painful to do the intervention that's needed," she said.
The National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions was compiled from approximately 43,000 random interviews with people 18 and older in 2001 and 2002.
Of men surveyed, 42% had an alcohol disorder in their lifetime, compared with 19.5% of women.
Alcoholism is much more prevalent among men, whites, American Indians, and younger and unmarried adults, the survey found.
Over a lifetime, single and married men had virtually identical rates of alcohol abuse and alcoholism, about 31%.
Alcohol abuse and alcoholism rates were more prevalent at higher income levels. Of those making less than $20,000 a year, rates of alcohol disorders were 23.9%. For earners of $70,000 and above, the rate was 41.4%.
JimB jimbuckl...@gmail.com
So it weren't the ex's fault, eh? Didn't think so ;-) Hey, not only are we a smart bunch of folks, but evidently we are a richer lot too! :) JimB
"Ted L." TedL...@yahoo.com
And how to they identify when the onset of whatever it is took place? When I had reason to look over my whole drinking history I noticed what was probably "alcoholic behavior" 10's of years before I had anything like what one would call observable symptoms. I'm thinking, for instance, that we'd mark the side of the gin or vodka bottle to see how much we were drinking and that I found myself taking enough out for a drink and replacing it with water so it didn't look like I'd drunk anything. This would have been back in the mid to late 70's -- a good 20 years before I had any "trouble."
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Ted L.
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.
"F.H." connec...@verizon.net
Interesting. Hard to believe I could get into so much trouble for so many years and all the while have a serious aversion to hard liquor.
Never drank anything but beer until right at the end when I took some Jack Daniels from a friends stash at my shop to put in my coffee to steady myself after a long night of pounding down Coors Light.
Later when I thought back on it, that morning really scared me, I knew I was moving into new territory.
OceanView m...@TheSea.com
mmmm, no. Not me anyway!
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OceanView m...@TheSea.com
Yeah, I wondered that, too. A lot of people drink a lot in their 20's, as did I. So when was my onset? When I started drinking a lot or when the other people sobered up and moved on with their lives, getting married, having children, while I spent my nights as the bar?
I did that thing with the vodka and rum bottles as well. They were my roommate's. I'm guessing by the time we parted the bottle was one third alcohol. I was about 27 then and drank for five more years.
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OceanView m...@TheSea.com
Pounding light beer just doesn't sound right! As a Red Sox fan, 24 years ago yesterday I drank 3/4 of a case of Miiller Lite while Dave Raghetti pitched a no-hitter against the Sox. I remember it not so much for game as the phenomenal puddle I made on the mattress at five in the afternoon. Ah, the glory days!
When I drank two Fosters at 9 AM so I could straighten out enough to get to work (and thought nobody would notice), that was new ground for me.
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~Tim~ tdwilliams...@sbcglobal.net
Coors Light was my cruising brew of choise too. Then I drank Schlitz ot Colt 45 malt liquor to quickly get well in the am, or to knock me out at night, whenever I wanted to avoid consuming any hard liquor.
Virtualoso u...@no.com
It's time d o away with these silly, clumsy Clinicalish terms.
alcohol abuser It's a drunk!
In fact, the word "abuse" needs to be m othballed altogether for maybe a generation or two.
"Erwin" erwi...@nospam.com
Clinicalish...contradicts what you just commented on.
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Erwin
JoeRaisin joerai...@charter.net
I must disagree with you. One can abuse alcohol without being an alcoholic.
All alcoholics abuse alcohol but not all those who abuse aldcohol are alcoholics...
Virtualoso u...@no.com
Yeah, but you're a treatment guy, aren't you. I didn't say all drunks are alkies, did I.
"Abusing alcohol". Geez. That's being mean to that nice alcohol! How 'bout drinking too much, maybe too often, as well. Really blowing it with the booze. Maybe drinking is outa' control!
"Abuse" is an ambiguous qualitative evaluative term, an abstract concept, not a specific concrete reality. And it's so stilted.
"Erwin" erwi...@nospam.com
You complained about silly, clumsy terms. Then you used the word 'clinicalish', a silly, clumsy word.
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Erwin
Virtualoso u...@no.com
oh. cute. and it's not in nearly such pervasive use, either. just as neither should be. and if the former wasn't, there's be little to no need for the latter.
but that w ord is charming, incisive and accurate one, any one. '-) And that was heard said at an AA meeting, so it must be the AA program, too.
JoeRaisin joerai...@charter.net
LOL - Your take is the same as the "treatment guys" I used to work with.
The term "Drunk" insinuates that the behavior (being intoxicated) occurs on a regular basis.
It means getting drunk - doesn't matter how often.
In this realm it is indicative of being irresponsible in its use. Being drunk is a risky and irresponsible condition regardless of frequency.
Virtualoso u...@no.com
Not necessarily, no. Y our noggin adds the "insinuates". I said "drinks too much" and "maybe too often". Heck, you even quoted me just below.
Yes. What I just said.
"indicative". Is that like "insinuates". As in what people are "really" doing or thinking or whatever -- as some one other than they "see it"?
That's typically the very root of psychologism and "treatment", yes.
Yet, "responsibility" is also another one of those abstract concepts that doesn't mean anything in particular at all by itself. Like "abuse". Has to be anchored to real life concrete things to be meaningful.
Why not just stay mostly with real life concrete things? Because I notice a tendency, when relying too much on those concepts to begin to favor those, even above real life concrete reality.
JoeRaisin joerai...@charter.net
By using the term "Maybe" aren't your venturing into the abstract realm you are criticizing me about?
There is power to words and saying "too much, too often" regardless of whatever qualifying words may be thrown in the middle, carries definite connotations. Ask any marketing expert. Thus my use of the word insinuation...
I disagree. Since we are dealing with human beings one cannot use hard and fast terms since everybody is different. "Indicative", in this sense, simply means that when folks talk of abusing alcohol there is a generally accepted definition. "Abuse" used in terms of other topics may not mean the same thing as it means in regards to this one.
We are not using the term "responsibility" all by itself and it is anchored in real life in regards to this topic.
What I have said is only abstract in that not every human being is going to have the same motives and reactions. Using alcohol responsibly is a pretty concrete concept.
"Charlie M. 1958" charlesmarsh...@hotmail.com
Joe, I'm with you about 99.9%, but I've got to question the idea that using alcohol responsibly is a concrete concept.
You said that getting drunk is always risky behavior. I think we can all agree that someone who gets falling down drunk every day is not using alcohol responsibly. Likewise, I think we could all agree that someone who goes to 2 or 3 parties over the course of a year and never has more than one drink (made with no more than 1 1/2 of alcohol) *is* using alcohol responsibly.
But where do you draw the line between those extremes? Has a person crossed the line the moment they feel a buzz? Do we use the formula of (x) amount of alcohol per hour per (x) pounds of body weight? Is the person who gets a slight buzz once a week better or worse off than the one who only drinks once or twice a year, but gets fairly drunk? And what if this once-or-twice-a-year drunk always makes sure he has a designated driver and other "responsible" precautions, while a weekly drinker repeatedly drives just slightly below the legal limit? Who is more responsible?
I don't propose answers to any of those questions. I'm just pointing out that, in *this* alcoholic's head, drinking responsibly is anything but a concrete concept.
Tex twizz...@hotmail.com
On Wed, 11 Jul 2007 08:33:28 -0500, "Charlie M. 1958" Charlie, I do think 'drinking responsibly' is a concrete concept in the sense when an alcoholic trys to float it_ it sinks to the bottom.
"Charlie M. 1958" charlesmarsh...@hotmail.com
ROTFL! You're right, Tex.
JoeRaisin joerai...@charter.net
I forget where I found the study years ago (while researching for prevention education) But I do remember it was a university study that showed judgment began to be affected at a BAC of between .05 - .07. Not tremendously so, but the effect was there in most.
Using that I encouraged folks to try and keep their BAC's below that and the easiest way is to follow the MM guidelines of one drink per hour no more than 5 drinks during any one event. Not sure that I would endorse driving after that but the BAC should be at most half of the legal limit.
Your one or two times per year drinker is still putting himself at risk of saying or doing something stupid that could have severe social, physical(fights or falls) or legal ramifications. No body can guarantee their what their behavior will be once they are intoxicated.
Having done some small amount of study on the subject (both academic and anecdotal) in this alcoholic's mind, responsible drinking (in addition to ensuring that any consumption of alcohol is appropriate at the time and place the drinking occurs - ie: even one or two on the way to work would be considered inappropriate) is avoiding intoxication each and every time one drinks. Something I could never seem to pull off.
Virtualoso u...@no.com
You're working too hard here to overlook what I did say. And mean.
There's nothing to gain by that. I don't need any "marketing experts" to tell me what I plainly said and meant. Nor do I need any psychologismists to. By the way, I worked in marketing.
No, everyone's different, s o everyone's understanding of the meaning of "alcohol abuse" is just as different. Want to play this both ways?
Not yet.
What do motives and reactions that are all different have to do with this?
No such thing as a concrete concept though. And that's a moralistic evaluative judgment is what that is. So far, one with out so much as a definition.
Your Treatmentism is glaring.
Virtualoso u...@no.com
Making it all the more the mystery just how or why you'd be preachy about any such thing.
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