Do you know the Risks associated with Drinking Alcohol?
A frog will leap from a pan of hot water, but if the water is brought to a slow boil, the frog will remain until its demise.
Now that I have sufficiently terrified my animal-rights friends, let me create a deeper context for the above metaphor.
When does drinking become a problem?
Drinking becomes a problem when it negatively effects our functioning (business or employment opportunities, family, and social relationships). It’s a simple definition. But what’s not simple is defining what “problem” means. Is it black or white, where it is either a problem or it’s not? Remember the problem drinker will tend to see things in black or white – black and white thinking may be a clue.
But messages of “enjoyable” drinking saturate us from television, radio, and newspapers. It is common for many social functions to have alcohol available. Depending on the people you associate with the alcohol at social functions may be excessive or just readily available. But how do you discriminate?
Too easily discerning problem drinking becomes like the frog in the pot of water slowly coming to a boil.
Without realizing it, you are at problem levels without a reality check on the water temperature.
It’s the degrees that matter
With drinking being prevalent in our culture it’s difficult to determine the matters of degrees. There is a continuum of risk associated with different levels of drinking. Like the frog metaphor, it can be difficult to discriminate degrees of change until we’re boiling to death.
Here’s a useful model from the National Institute of Health:
At Risk (Risky Drinking)
- Currently, no negative consequences have been identified
- The risk for potential adverse consequences seems low
Mild to Moderate (Problem Drinking)
- One experiences an adverse consequence due to drinking behavior but continues anyway
Moderate to Severe (Alcohol Abuse)
- Role impairment (the drinker is having trouble fulfilling his or her responsibilities and roles as parent, worker, spouse, or other)
- Hazardous use (drinking is paired with driving, operating machinery, reckless sporting activities or something that creates an additional hazard)
- Recurrent legal problems related to alcohol
- Social or interpersonal problems due to alcohol
Severe (Alcohol Dependence)
- Increased tolerance (have to drink more to have the same subjective effect)
- Signs or symptoms of withdrawal (nausea, anxiety, sweating, paranoid, loss of memory, hand tremors)
- Drinking more or longer than intended
- Unsuccessful attempts to control use (especially when one has tried)
- Decreased activities due to alcohol (social, work, recreational)
- Drinking continues despite knowledge of physical or psychological consequences
Each category melds into the next with little definition. Consistent moderate to severe drinking has a significant negative effect on the physical body. Alcoholism is a disease. Enough alcohol over time increases the risk of alcoholism and health problems. The higher on the scale, obviously the more risk there is for the problem drinker.
But don’t forget about you and your family
When the risk goes up for the problem drinker, it also increases the potential risk for the family:
- Family members may become more distant
- Increased risk of negative influence coming into the family
- Increased distance from support system
- Increased risk of children acting out inappropriately
- Job security and income potential may be threatened
”What Can I do?”
If the problem has been going on for a while, I’m guessing that however you’ve been handling it is your attempt at remedying the situation. It is human nature for us to use strategies we believe will get our needs met. However, if the strategy you have been using is not working, perhaps it is time to try another strategy.
When we look at this last statement from our head, it is easy to say, “This just makes sense.” But we’re not just our head. For us to take action, our head needs to make peace with our heart and gut. The point is just because it is easy to understand in your head does not mean it is easy to do. It’s not easy at all. Yet if you want to make a change, you have to take the first step.
What would need to happen so that you really knew the time to act is now?
Remember the story at the beginning: If you place a frog in a pot of water and begin to heat the pot, the frog will boil to death without even realizing it.
Don’t let it happen to you.
10% of the population abuses drugs & alcohol, 20% have substance-abuse problems (American Family Physician, David Mersey, 4/2003)
The good news is you’re not alone. The bad news is that alcohol is so prevalent on media and in our culture that we may think considerable alcohol consumption is normal. If it’s a problem for you, it’s worth you taking consistent steps towards improving it.
Others have done it and you can to!
To summarize
It’s difficult to evaluate drinking around you. The drinker may use black and white thinking to assess the different levels of risk involved with drinking. The prevalence of alcohol in our culture and media creates an illusion of minimal risk, when in fact the risk associated with drinking is significant. These risks trickle down to the family.
You can increase your awareness of the risk to your family, and what you can do about it.
Please feel free to share this newsletter with anyone who you believe could benefit from it.
Jeff Jones MA, CACII
Certified Addictions Counselor
Family in a Bottle: Help when Drinking is a Problem
East of Boulder (phone or skype)
720-314-3543
