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Post Info TOPIC: Surveys Show Significant Increase In U.S. Alcoholism
Tanin


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Surveys Show Significant Increase In U.S. Alcoholism
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More candidates for AA...

 

Alcoholism epidemic: More than 1 in 8 Americans are now alcoholics

Alcoholism has risen 49% in the US in just 11 years, national surveys find.

Americans are becoming increasingly heavy drinkers, with the greatest rise among women, older people and ethnic minorities, national surveys have shown.

Two large surveys carried out in 2001-02 and 2012-13 have found that harmful levels of drinking are increasing among almost all demographics in the US. The number of teetotallers is falling, while high-risk drinking and alcoholism rose sharply during the 11-year period, according to an analysis published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Men fall into the high-risk category if they have five or more standard drinks on one day at least once a week. Women are in this category if they have four or more in a day per week.

Unseen epidemic

The largest change was in the most severe alcohol use category. The number of people who had received a diagnosis of alcoholism over the period of the two studies shot up by 49%, affecting 12.7% of the total population. This means 1 in 8 Americans received a diagnosis of alcoholism in the year before the latest survey.

"The increases were unprecedented relative to the past two decades," study author Bridget Grant of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Rockville, told IBTimes UK.

Despite its prevalence, Americans are not sufficiently aware of the alcoholism crisis.

"The increases in alcohol related outcomes may have been overshadowed by increases in less prevalent drugs like marijuana and opioids, although all increases in alcohol and other substances are important."

But like those other epidemics, the increasing rates of alcoholism in the US are a symptom of a broader problem with addictive substances in the US, writes psychiatrist Marc Schuckit of the University of California, San Diego, in an editorial in the same issue of the journal.

However, previous research has shown that interventions to make people aware of their risky behaviour are effective at reducing alcohol abuse. So there is hope that focusing on evidence-based interventions could slow the spread of the epidemic.

But failing to invest in such measures is likely to make it worse, Schuckit writes. Proposed cuts to the National Institutes of Health budget are "potentially disastrous for future efforts to decrease alcohol problems", he writes.

"My view is that if we ignore these problems, they will come back to us at much higher costs through emergency department visits, impaired children who are likely to need care for many years for preventable problems, and higher costs for jails and prisons that are the last resort for help for many," Schuckit concludes.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/alcoholism-epidemic-more-1-8-americans-are-now-alcoholics-1634315

 

 



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Pythonpappy


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However, previous research has shown that interventions to make people aware of their risky behaviour are effective at reducing alcohol abuse. So there is hope that focusing on evidence-based interventions could slow the spread of the epidemic.

 

Really ??? ... ... ... I went to ReHab 4 times for a wife who begged me constantly to get help ... 4th time, the miracle happened ... SO, I have a hard time believing this comment about interventions  ... ... ... As we all know, You cannot tell an alcoholic what he or she MUST do ... it has to be their choice before any progress can be made ... 

I don't know how others feel, but that's my story and I'm stick'n to it ... ... ... 

 

 

Pappy



-- Edited by Pythonpappy on Wednesday 9th of August 2017 08:42:31 PM

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beav1


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I dont disagree with the figures, but it must also be pointed out that there are two parts to the increase in numbers. The other side is that it is now becoming more accepted to admit you have a drinking problem. More people coming out in the open about their drinking skews the figures higher. In our area we are getting more and more younger people coming to meetings. In the past many thought they were too young to be alcoholic.

Its a bit like the gay community for example. Nobody would disagree that there are more openly gay people in the community now than thirty years ago, but that necessarily doesnt mean there are more gay people about- it just means that society is beginning to accept them, and they can be open and honest about it.

Maybe this is the start of some understanding by society that alcoholism is a disease and the stigma is starting to decrease?



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Visionz


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Pap, this is why I believe the big book uses the words "real alcoholic". I am right there with you about the only intervention that can save some of us is a divine intervention, but regular ones I'm sure help stop weekend warriors and Nancy who over does it with a second glass of wine once a month. Let's not bash them, if simply just scaring them gets them to stop boozin'. More power to them.



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Pythonpappy


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Good point Vision ...



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chris


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You guys are saying that interventions hardly work if you're a real alcoholic? I completely disagree. I knew for years that I was a sloppy drunk, but no one told me I needed to get help, so I carried on. My husband only had to tell me once to either join AA or get out of the house, and I was at an AA meeting the next day. And that was only because I thought about it, and knew no one would let me live with them and it was October and cold. I didn't give my young children a second thought. If he hadn't given me that ultimatum, I would have kept drinking until I was dead. I hated AA, was hostile for the first 3 months I was there, and then started listening. I'll have 11 years Oct 10th.

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Visionz


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chris, let me reiterate what i said before
Visionz wrote:

 if simply just scaring them gets them to stop boozin'. More power to them.

 

Our literature is about having a spiritual experience to overcome our active alcoholism, not ultimatums.



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beav1


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I understand where Chris is coming from. My wife had treated my drinking with a cheerful acceptance for years. She had never argued with me or got angry about my drinking. So the day she said enough is enough, I listened to her and went to AA. I would not have gone without that ultimatum. I wouldnt have listened to her either if she had nagged me constantly about it either.

Yes you need to have a spiritual awakening for this program to work, but you get the tools and ability to do that once you are in AA. I dont believe there is a wrong way to get to AA- if it takes an intervention to get you there then that was gods will. I for one would not be in the program if you HAD to have a spiritual awakening to get there- I didnt think I believed in God when I arrived. I am still struggling with my faith, and would not have gone to AA unless I was doing it for my wife and family. Now that I am there I am doing it for myself, but that wasnt what got me in the door.

At the end of the day, God will do whatever is needed to get you in the door!



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Goofyman


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Get ready, 'cause here they come.

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Pythonpappy


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Ya know? ... When I think of an 'INTERVENTION', I picture a setting where your closest friends, your Mom or Dad, your spouse, court approved 'men in white coats', or the police come in and talk to you  and try to convince you to go to Rehab or some such facility to 'dry out' and maybe learn how to stay sober ... and if you refuse, then they carry you off anyways for your own good to prevent you from slowly killing yourself ... Sometimes it works and sometimes it don't ... ... ... 

In my 'frame of mind' back then, I'd have fought tooth and nail to keep from go'n to any of those places ... cause I always thought I knew what was best for me ... I didn't, but that's beside the point ... No one can force an alcoholic to stay sober OR to seek help ... it has to be an inside decision, period ... ... ... But I also understand their are those who are looking for the one 'catalyst' to push them into making the right choice ... and I think that's the person we're really talk'n 'bout here ... 

The main thing is for people like us to hold the door open for those looking for help with the alcohol addiction ... ... ... 

 

Pappy



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Goofyman


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Resentment, our number one foe. These times are cause for resentment. Broken promises, broken systems and broken dreams lead to broken people. Is it any wonder that the disease is on the rise? Glad I took the initiative, using the first step and third tradition.

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