Communication Is the Key to Prevention
By Robert D. Grupe, Prevention Coordinator
Family problems are by far the most prevalent of the problems that can be caused by the use and abuse of alcohol. Alcohol-related family problems strike one of every four American families in one way or another. Alcohol can cause people to do things they would normally never even consider. The question that parents and educators seem to ask the most is this one. What should we look for in a child in order to tell if there is an alcohol problem. Something that seems so simple to answer but in reality this is not the case. The path to alcohol addiction follows four stages.
The first of these is experimentation. This occurs when youth go out on the weekend to parties or to just hang out. Alcohol tends to be present and whether it is through peer pressure or curiosity youth take that first drink. Sixty percent of all high school seniors report having tried alcohol in their lives. At this point, drinking is viewed as a social thing to do. Youth go to parties and alcohol is available. Kids drink to be one of the crowd. It is important at this stage to let children know that this does not have to be the case. Prevention is paramount in this stage. Providing alcohol free alternatives is one of the best ways to combat the experimentation phase of alcohol addiction.
The second stage of alcohol addiction is misuse. This is the stage that alcohol use almost becomes a preoccupation to the user. It is no longer a social drug and people begin using it to escape from difficult situations. During this phase, the user may try to hide their drinking. Drinking tends to become necessary to relax or cope with a certain situation. It is also at this stage that behavior changes tend to be visible. People who are misusing alcohol will spend almost every weekend at a party. Grades may tend to drop and difficulty in coping with everyday situations may become noticeable. Thirty percent of seniors have reported occasions of heavy drinking at least once in a two-week period. It is difficult for prevention exercises to retrieve the people in this stage.
The third stage is actual abuse of alcohol. Kids in this situation feel that they have difficulty functioning without alcohol. Behavior changes are definitely evident in this case. Users tend to be very preoccupied with drinking and alcohol becomes more important than anything else. Users in this phase will start to avoid people and becomes very distrustful almost to the point of paranoia. The user begins to lose the ability to cope with responsibility and will frequently be absent from work or school. Users will also experience blackouts or periods of time when they do not remember their actions. The important thing to remember in this stage is that the person usually becomes withdrawn from others. This is usually a sign that something is wrong and alcohol or other drugs are in most cases the answer in this case.
The final stage of alcohol addiction is the addiction itself. Users at this point cannot make it through a day without the alcohol. There tends to be less and less regard for personal appearance and all semblance of care for school and work has evaporated. The alcoholic is unable to control their drinking and blackouts are almost every use occurrences. Personality changes will occur and abusers develop a high tolerance level. This is almost a contradiction but totally true. A true alcoholic can consume massive amounts of alcohol without even the semblance of being physically drunk. Their bodies become so used to operating in that state that it takes more and more alcohol to maintain functioning. This is called physiological dependence and makes it easy to understand the concept of alcohol becoming the number one priority in that person's life.
For the most part, alcoholism is not noticed until it is too late. It is through much concern and keeping track of your children that you can more readily notice if this starts to happen. As in most things, knowledge tends to be the salvation. It is important to be open and honest about drug and alcohol use with your kids. By educating yourself and getting the facts this can be done. It is communication and family support that is at the base of all prevention efforts. Prevention must start in the home to be truly effective. Remain alert for these problems in your families and above all else don't turn your back and say it is not my kids. It very well could be.
For more information about alcohol issues and prevention, please contact the prevention coordinator at Heartland Human Services. Knowledge and involvement is the key to keeping our children off drugs.