1. Watch for signs of drug use. Hopefully you are able to prevent drug use altogether, but you should also watch for signs such as depression, falling grades, isolation, and change in friends and find help if you suspect your child is using drugs.
2. Keep all prescription drugs put away. If someone in your family does take prescription drugs, be sure that your teen cannot get their hands on them. So many young people today have easy access to all sorts of drugs in their parents’ medicine cabinets. Don’t make it easy for them to try drugs.
3. Keep your child active. Students that have a goal they are working toward in life or are busy with sports or music are much less likely to get involved with drugs.
4. Take care of their emotions. Teens today are under a lot of pressure with school, sports, and relationships. Be careful that they are not too worried or stressed about these things. Teach them good techniques to handle stress.
5. Model good behavior. If your teen sees you doing things like getting drunk, smoking, or self-medicating somehow, they will be more likely to do so themselves, and sometimes this can lead to worse habits, like drug or alcohol abuse.
6. Don’t leave your child unsupervised for long. In a world where many families require 2 incomes or single parents are raising children, this may be difficult, but it is so important to not just leave your child to fend for themselves after school. The time when most teens get into trouble or start a harmful behavior is the time between school letting out and when their parents get home.
7. .Know your child’s friends. If you are suspicious of whom your teen is spending time with, talk to them. Invite the friends over to your house to get to know them. If you have concerns about their friends, talk to your child about it.
8. Know where your teen is. Teens should follow household rules about curfew and keeping you informed about where they are going. If something doesn’t seem quite right, don’t be afraid to question your child about where they’ve been. You are the adult and the sooner your child sees that you are going to check up on them, the better.
9. Talk to your child about drugs, and do it early. An ongoing dialog is the best way for your teen to know that you have an understanding of the temptations they face, and are going to do what you can to help them.
10. Know your child. If you work on your relationship with your child when they are young, it will be easier to talk about drugs and know what they are up to when they are older. Build a bond early so it can survive those tough teenage years.

Sources

North Platte therapist: Most clients abuse prescriptions

Kassman, Alexandria War on Drugs failure, ignores consumers 4/10/09

Bland, Karina Happy home in Anthem slammed with teen’s prescription problem 04.12.2009

Fuszard, Curt Guest column: Parents can raise their anti-drug batting average April 12, 2009

A new technique that is being used among treatment facilities today is to look for and treat co-occurring conditions, such as substance abuse and mental illness.  Another disorder that has recently been linked to substance abuse is eating disorder.

New research shows that up to 35% of substance abusers have eating disorders, and up to 50% of those with eating disorders also have a problem with drug or alcohol abuse.  These numbers are much higher than the general public for each of these statistics.  A few studies have been done in the past, but this newest one, “Food for Thought – Substance Abuse and Eating Disorders” from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, shows a stronger link than was previously believed.

Bulimia and Anorexia

There are 2 main types of eating disorders that the study has linked to substance abuse.  Bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa both primarily affect young women, and both are the result of the patient’s attempt to lose weight.  Bulimia is expressed through binge eating, followed by purging through vomiting or using laxatives.  Anorexia is characterized by a fear of eating which results in restricted food intake and starvation.  It has been found that many patients with these eating disorders have a distorted view of their body image, and are struggling with all the ads, magazines, and movies that glamorize super thin stars.  Another new trend in the world of the stars is to dub the two disorders as “drunkorexia”, causing the condition to sound trendy and popular, and to trivialize its seriousness.

Link Between the Disorders

There are a few possible reasons for the connection between eating disorders and substance abuse.  Many people with an eating disorder will use things like caffeine, diuretics, tobacco, cocaine, and heroin to help in weight control through appetite suppression and increased metabolism.  Others have found that those that have an eating disorder self-medicate with drugs or alcohol when they have negative emotions, or are feeling low about their body image.  Still other researchers are trying to find out a third disorder that causes the other two, or underlying risk factors and characteristics that are the same for both.  Both types of disorders are found in individuals that are suffering from stress, that have a family history of the disorders, that may be impulsive, and that have low self esteem or depression.

Treatment For Co-Occurring Disorders

It used to be that treatment for a patient with a dual diagnosis primarily focused on the substance abuse aspect.  Physicians were under the impression that if someone had both an eating disorder and was doing drugs, they needed to first take care of the drug problem before tackling the eating disorder.  But today, things are different.  Doctors now realize that co-occurring conditions greatly affect each other, and in order to treat the one, you have to acknowledge and work on the other.  The good news is that both substance abuse and eating disorders can be treated.  Through therapy and counseling, treatment facilities are able to help patients recover from both of these serious disorders.

Sources

Eating Disorders, Substance Abuse Linked 50 Percent With Eating Disorders Drink, Drug March 23, 2009

Heidtke, Annsley Eating Disorders and Substance Abuse

Thompson, Valary Drunkorexia: a cause for concern April 22, 2009

Is there still such a strong presence of alcohol on college campuses today?  These kids must have learned by now that drinking can cause a lot of problems with health, grades, and the law, right?

Unfortunately, this is a problem that has not gotten any better in recent years, and now it seems that underage binge drinking is simply expected at college.  You aren’t a real college student until you’ve experienced a college drinking party.

A new show on MTV this spring features homemade videos of 4 college students that document their first year at college.  As one might expect, several of those students carried their cameras along to parties and there are plenty of shots of drinking, vomiting, and hangovers.  While there are some students on the show that have committed to not drink, the majority of them try to juggle drinking, hangovers, and classes.

MTV set out to do the show as a new type of reality tv, one where different subjects film their own daily life.  The show’s premiere aired April 12, and has already had mixed reviews.  Some students see it as showing real life and the challenges and struggles college students face.  Others are worried it will glamorize drinking and other bad behavior that is so common on college campuses.

But perhaps the underlying problem behind shows like this is that we do have a problem of alcohol abuse on our college campuses.  Many people just expect that all college students drink, and like it or not, that’s the way it is.  Others have spent much time working to change the attitude on college campuses.  Still others think it may take more drastic steps to deal with college drinking, and have proposed a variety of plans.

Amethyst Initiative

The Amethyst Initiative was proposed by a group of college presidents and it asks colleges and universities to begin talking about the legal drinking age of 21.  This group suggests that an open dialog about the drinking age may help us come up with a solution.  Some think that the current drinking age has contributed to the thrill 18-21 year olds feel when drinking.  If the age was lowered, we could focus on education rather than on law enforcement for high school and college students.  Some have proposed that we require young people to go through a class about alcohol and its risks, and then obtain a license to drink alcohol.

As much as we’d all like a solution, it might be difficult to come to an agreement.  Do we increase law enforcement and work to shut down college parties?  Do we lower the drinking age to cause these students to be more responsible sooner?  Should we just go back to focusing on early education about alcohol to turn our college campuses around?  The discussion is not over yet.

Ziff, Deborah UW-Madison ‘College Life’ set for premiere APR 12, 2009

Gupta, Nirant The Amethyst Initiative April 12, 2009

Rittenberg, Adam Ferentz to weigh additional punishment April 10, 2009

Lee, Marissa Orange and blacked out April 10th, 2009

So you’ve been thinking about going to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, but you’re wondering what exactly to expect.  You may also be wondering if it is worth your time, or if it will even help at all.  Read on to find out a little more about AA and what their meetings and program are like.

Types of AA meetings

Some AA chapters hold “open” meetings, which means anyone, even those that don’t have a drinking problem, are welcome to attend.  Many other meetings are closed and allow only those with an alcohol problem.  There may also be special AA chapters that hold meetings for men or women only, or for other groups.  Contact your local chapter of AA to find more details about times and places for meetings, as well as any restrictions or special groups they may have.  One thing all AA groups have in common is that they don’t have membership fees or dues.

Meeting agendas

The part of AA meetings that we often see in the movies is when a new member comes for the first time to a meeting, they are supposed to stand up and say “Hello, I am (so and so), and I am an alcoholic.”  Newcomers are indeed welcomed and sometimes given a round of applause for taking the steps to join AA and deal with their alcoholism.

Members are encouraged to speak at meetings about their experiences, but group leaders generally try to keep the focus of the meeting on drinking and recovery, and members are discouraged from “crosstalk”, or responding to someone else’s comment or story.  The chairperson may read parts of the book Alcoholics Anonymous, and at times a chapter will do a step study, where they learn in more detail about the Twelve Steps of AA.  Guest speakers may be brought in to talk on a certain subject pertaining to alcoholism or treatment.

Sponsor program

One of the things that makes AA successful is the sponsor program.  Individuals that have been sober for usually a year or longer are encouraged to sponsor a newer member.  These partners provide moral support and encouragement for each other and can reassure each other when times get tough.  Just to know there is a friend out there that has been through what you are going through and is willing to talk and help you out, is great comfort to a recovering alcoholic.  AA holds that a recovering alcoholic should never consume any alcohol; that total abstinence is necessary to avoid going back to the addiction.  The sponsor program allows someone that is feeling the craving to drink to call their sponsor and receive encouragement to stay sober.

Alcoholics Anonymous has helped millions of people over the years to stay sober.  Often, alcoholics that have gone through treatment and are clean are encouraged to attend AA meetings weekly or monthly for the rest of their life in order to stay sober.  For many, their AA group becomes like family, and the bond between members grows as the years go on.

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholics_Anonymous

http://www.aa.org/en_pdfs/smf-121_en.pdf

http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/history/a/blmitch2.htm

When an alcoholic is looking for treatment for their addiction, there are many different ways people would suggest that they go about getting help.  Some recommend residential treatment and detox, others say go to AA for support meetings, still others say quit cold turkey.  One of the newer approaches to treating alcoholism is to use a drug like Vivitrol to end the addiction.  The best solution, however, may be a combination of methods.

Eight million people in America are estimated to be alcoholics, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholics.  Many of these people continue to live with their alcoholism without getting help, often because getting sober may seem overwhelming to them.

Using drugs to treat alcoholism

Makers of Vivitrol have hopes that their drug will make the recovery process easier for the alcoholic.  This drug follows other drugs since the 1940s that were created to treat alcoholism.  The first one was Antabuse, which creates bad side effects like nausea when combined with alcohol.  But the thing about these drugs is that a person has to keep taking them in order for them to work.  If an individual has a weak moment and decides they don’t want to struggle with recovery anymore, they can stop taking the medication, which will start the alcohol cycle all over again.

Another drug, Campral, reduces the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, helping the patient ease out of their addiction.  But this drug has to be taken 3 times a day and does not work for everyone.

Naltrexone was the next drug and was the precursor to Vivitrol.  It blocks neural receptors in order to reduce cravings for alcohol.  Again, Naltrexone has to be taken everyday which makes it really impractical for alcoholics.

Pros and Cons of Vivitrol

Along came Vivitrol, a slow release version of Naltrexone.  Vivitrol is given as an injection once a month and it really seems to reduce cravings in some people and decreases their drinking.

But the drug alone is not likely to cure alcoholism, and the lack of sales by the company has shown that not everyone thinks it is a good idea.  Some doctors do prescribe Vivitrol along with counseling for their patients that seem to continue to crave alcohol even after treatment.  But other people feel strongly against using a drug to treat alcoholism, calling it a crutch.  Other doctors stay away from Vivitrol because of the cost and difficulty in getting reimbursed by insurance companies.  Still more people don’t like the effects it has on other areas of a person’s life that usually associate with a “high” feeling, such as sex and exercise, which seem to be dulled by the drug also.

So it seems that the magic pill has not yet been discovered, but we will keep looking.  Breaking the addiction to alcohol still takes a lot of hard work and determination.  A good treatment facility can help a patient coordinate the resources they need, from counseling, to therapy, to medication, in order to stay sober.

Sources

Wallack, Todd Alcoholism drug not an easy sell March 23, 2009

Naltrexone – Treatment for Alcoholism and Addiction March 23, 2009

http://www.drugs.com/vivitrol.html

Alcoholics Anonymous is one of the most renowned organizations that exist to help individuals recover from alcoholism.  Millions have benefited from the programs and weekly meetings, and AA has influenced countless other programs, treatment centers, and those that work with alcoholics.
What may not be so well-known, however, is the history of AA and the events that have occurred to make the organization what it is today.

Bill Wilson’s struggle with alcoholism

Alcoholics Anonymous was created in 1935 by recovering alcoholic Bill Wilson.  Wilson had been failing at his Wall Street career because his drinking was so out of hand that he was admitted into the hospital a number of times.  Friends tried to help Bill, including his childhood drinking buddy, Ebby Thacher.  Ebby had found sobriety through the Christian movement, called the Oxford Group, and he firmly believed it changed his life.
Dr. William Duncan Silkworth of the Towns Hospital in New York City also influenced Bill Wilson with religion, saying that alcoholism is a disease and that only God can cure it.  With a newfound relationship of his own with God, Wilson was able to finally quit drinking for good.

Wilson and Smith

Even though he was sober, the temptation for alcohol was still strong.  Wilson, on a trip to Akron, Ohio in 1935, met Dr. Bob Smith, another recovering alcoholic, and sought him out for support.
Shortly after that trip, Wilson and Smith co-founded AA.  It started small at first, and the two helped about 40 alcoholics during the first two years, working tirelessly with them in their sobriety and also their relationship with God.  The organization operated out of people’s homes, and alcoholics often found themselves living for a time with Wilson

The early years

Alcoholics Anonymous was a very faith based organization in its beginning.  It called for its members to surrender absolutely to God, to devote themselves daily to prayer or meditation, and to join with other recovering alcoholics in a religious and support group.
There were five elements to the original AA program.  These included total abstinence from alcohol, acknowledgement of Jesus as their Savior, obedience to God’s will, growth in fellowship with God, and help for other alcoholics.  Meetings were very spiritual and those that joined AA often talked of the healing power of God.

AA today

Since those days, AA has grown and changed a lot.  It still advises against all alcohol consumption, and focuses on moral character and personal change.  But today members are usually encouraged to find their own higher being that can help with their sobriety.
The Twelve Steps are a notable part of AA, walking an individual through the process of being sober for life.  Part of that journey still consists of helping other members.  Members that have been sober for a while may sponsor a newer individual.  These people are paired up and can help each other when they are feeling like quitting.  The moral support that occurs at AA is one of its most useful tools.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholics_Anonymous

http://www.dickb.com/

http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/history/a/blmitch2.htm

It seems that Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice has a bit of an alcohol awareness focus this year.  Dennis Rodman was fired from the Apprentice this season, mainly because of his abuse of alcohol on the show.  The episode caused a stir among viewers because it showed Rodman, former basketball great, unsuccessfully trying to manage his team of celebrities while drinking himself silly.

Anyone that has watched Dennis Rodman on previous episodes knows that he was just as difficult to manage on the Apprentice as he was as a basketball player.  But when he took on the task of being a project manager and helping his team run a hotel for a night, his alcohol abuse definitely got in the way.  Every time he went to the kitchen of the hotel to work on his task, he got himself a drink.  He became unable to cope, and bailed out on the rest of his teammates in order to go out and drink some more.  Getting up the next morning was difficult, as we can all imagine, and trying to function at “work” was not possible with a hangover.

Rodman’s teammates, consisting of Clint Black, Hershel Walker, and other celebrities, had enough of his drunken antics, and Donald Trump did also.  Dennis was fired in the boardroom later that day.

The following episode showed Khloe Kardashian, star of her family’s reality show, being fired because Trump found out she had a previous DUI.

Alcoholism affects millions

Losing a job over alcohol abuse.  Sound familiar?  Nearly 14 million Americans abuse alcohol or are alcoholics.  That’s 1 in 13 adults.  More than 50 % of Americans say that at least one of their close relatives has a drinking problem.  It is a disease that affects nearly all of us.

For all those out there that have been let go from a job because of alcohol abuse, maybe it didn’t sound just like Donald Trump’s signature phrase “You’re fired!”, but it probably has more real consequences than a reality tv show.  Alcoholism and alcohol abuse ruins lives.  Many people try to juggle their addiction to alcohol with their job and their family, but it is very difficult to do well in other areas when alcohol is running your life.  Many employers see a decline in job performance when someone is struggling with alcoholism, and hangovers and even drunkenness during work hours are not tolerated very well by the boss.  It is important for someone that has a drinking problem to get professional help as soon as possible to help them get past the addiction.  There are many treatment facilities that can help, and places like Alcoholics Anonymous are well-known for their success in helping to keep people sober.

Whether you are a fan of the Apprentice or not, the show should be recognized for helping shine a light on the issue of alcohol abuse.  The Rodman episode ended with a link to Alcoholics Anonymous for those that are looking for help, and a concluding statement informed watchers that Dennis Rodman is getting treatment for his alcohol problem.

Sources

http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/homework/a/blproblem.htm

http://samhsa.org/

http://aa.org/lang/en/subpage.cfm?page=1

http://www.nbc.com/the-celebrity-apprentice/video/episodes/#vid=1075282

April is Alcohol Awareness Month.  Every year at this time we take a few weeks to consider the affects of alcohol and alcoholism in our country.  Alcohol is one substance that can affect every age group and every demographic of people in some way.  There are countless organizations and facilities that work to help people overcome alcoholism, and many support groups that help people deal with their loved ones’ alcoholism.

Risks for Alcohol Abusers

Alcohol abuse is serious anytime it occurs, but there are some individuals that often put themselves or others at risk because of their drinking.

· College students often binge drink when they go out partying, often risking alcohol poisoning or alcohol related crimes on those nights.

· Those that choose to drink and drive put not only themselves at risk, but all the other motorists they get near.

· Pregnant women endanger their own child if they drink, increasing the risk of mental, behavioral, and physical disabilities of the fetus that is exposed to alcohol.

· Senior citizens that are lonely may soothe themselves with alcohol, risking heart problems and complications with medications.

· Middle age men and women may be long-time alcoholics that struggle to keep a job, and may put their kids and spouses at risk because of abuse at home.

Help for Alcoholics

There is help out there, even for the most serious alcoholics.  It might not be easy for an alcoholic to admit they have a problem that they can’t handle, and sometimes it takes a loving family member to arrange for an intervention or help.  Once the individual struggling with alcoholism is ready to get help, it will take time to rid their body of the dependence on alcohol.  Then, counseling is important to help them get ready to return to every day life.  It may also take weekly support group meetings to keep some people free from alcohol for life.  But it can be done, and many people have done it.  It just takes a good treatment facility and a good attitude to overcoming the addiction.

Help for Families

Those that live with alcoholics and alcohol abusers have daily struggles also.  It is terrifying to be the child of an alcoholic because these kids never know if they are going to get beat up or screamed at because their parent is drunk.  Parents of college students may watch their kids throw their schooling and future away by abusing alcohol.  Spouses see their relationship die out as their loved one constantly turns to alcohol.  Groups like Al-anon or al-ateen are great resources for these kinds of families of alcoholics.

These loved ones are the people that most often seek help for alcoholism.  Many times it takes the love and knowledge of family to encourage their loved one to enter treatment.  It is important to get help as soon as a problem has been identified.  Asking for help is the first step to recovery.

http://ncadi.samhsa.gov/seasonal/aprilalcohol/

http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/

http://workplace.samhsa.gov/WPWorkit/index.html

http://www.fascenter.samhsa.gov/