How many people’s lives are cut short due to destructive and hazardous drinking? How many junior high, high school, and college students lose their lives every year due to an alcohol overdose? How many people are the victims of alcohol related crime or violence each and every year? How many people face severe consequences in their lives because they received a “driving under the influence conviction? On an annual basis, how many alcoholics fail to get the professional alcohol treatment they need? How many individuals get injured or lose their lives in alcohol related traffic accidents every year? How many people lose their lives each year from a condition that is one hundred percent preventable, such as alcohol poisoning? How many people experience alcohol related mental health problems like depression? How many individuals lose their lives every year because of drinking problems? How many children are born each year with fetal alcohol syndrome?

Why Would Anyone Want to Drink in an Abusive and Irresponsible Manner?

So what’s the point in asking these questions? Basically to highlight the devastating and destructive nature of excessive and careless drinking. Indeed, and based on the above questions, I wonder why anyone would choose to drink in an irresponsible and excessive manner.

Stated more precisely, with the host of relationship issues, legal proceedings, health dilemmas, financial problems, and employment difficulties that are correlated with alcohol dependency and chronic alcohol abuse, why would any person with average intelligence want to drink in a hazardous and abusive manner? In fact when some of the above topics are examined more closely, hazardous drinking becomes more illogical and makes even less sense.

Wouldn’t you think that heavy drinkers would be able to see some of the alcohol symptoms that they display? In a similar way doesn’t it seem feasible to think that more families would involve themselves in an alcohol intervention for the individual in the household who is an alcoholic or an alcohol abuser? Not only this but wouldn’t you think that people who drink heavily would try to learn more about their drinking behavior by reading about various alcohol related statistics?

After reviewing the alcoholism and alcohol abuse research findings, the point is so relevant that it needs to be said again: With all of the damaging and debilitating outcomes that are directly or indirectly associated with continuous and repetitive alcohol abuse and alcoholism, why would any person want to engage in hazardous and abusive drinking?

What Can be Done About the Extensive Nature of Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse in the United States?

So what can be done about the pervasive nature of alcoholism and alcohol abuse in our country?

1. Our students need more meaningful and more relevant preventative and educational approaches and methods so that more students at all grade levels, including those at college, are “reached.
2. In a similar manner, our students need to learn how to become problem solvers in life rather than gravitating to the “instant gratification” and the “quick fix” of an alcohol or drug abuse ”high” or “buzz”.
3. Individuals who are alcohol abusers or alcohol addicts need to look look at themselves candidly and ask why they are not getting the professional alcohol therapy they require.
4. Society needs to get the message to more people about the debilitating and destructive consequences of abusive and hazardous drinking.

There’s Room For Hope if Those Who Engage in Abusive Drinking Can Become Persuaded to Get the Alcohol Rehab They Require

There’s a lot of room for hope and optimism if people can start drinking responsibly and those who engage in unhealthy drinkingcan become motivated to get the alcohol rehab they require. Indeed, why put your loved ones through pain, suffering, and turmoil because of your abusive and unhealthy drinking when you have the power to control your life by drinking responsibly or even refraining from drinking if you can’t control your drinking behavior?

Diane drank quite excessively on a usual basis with her drinking buddies. One Wednesday after all of her classes were finished, she started reflecting on the amount of alcohol she drank on a fairly regular basis and the excessive and irresponsible drinking of her buddies. As a result of this, she respectfully asked all of her drinking pals the following question: “what do we really know about alcohol poisoning, alcohol abuse, alcoholism, and binge drinking? In other words, how much alcoholism and alcohol abuse information do we really know? For our young age, we surely drink in an excessive manner and I am beginning to wonder if we are headed for a life filled with alcohol-related issues down the road.

I believe we should go online and learn all that we can about alcohol poisoning, alcohol abuse, alcoholism, and binge drinking. And then if we have any relevant issues that we really don’t understand after we complete our Internet research, we can schedule an appointment at the student health center at the college and ask Nurse Seger to help us understand what we don’t know.”

It Shouldn’t Come as a Big Surprise That What Diane Stated Would Cause a Heated Discussion

It shouldn’t come as a complete surprise that what Diane mentioned would trigger a heated discussion. As a case in point, her best friend since the first grade, Amari, articulated that they are too young and too healthy to be concerned about abusive and excessive drinking. Another classmate named Max rationalized that since most youth drink there’s no solid reason why they should be any different. Another drinking buddy named Daniela said that all she wants to do is to have fun drinking with her pals. And still another friend named Julius in truth agreed with Diane essentially because both of his parents abused alcohol and both of his parents had a history of alcohol related issues.

Diane openly stated to her buddies that she understood everything that they had stated but that engaging in abusive and hazardous drinking at such a risky age in reality can’t be very healthy or something that contributes toward developing a meaningful life. When a few of her drinking buddies asked what kind of alcohol issues Diane was talking about, Diane listed the following: alcohol-related diseases such as heart disease, cirrhosis of the liver, and cancer and other alcohol-related problems like alcohol-related traffic accidents and fatalities, alcohol poisoning (which can be fatal in some instances), and alcoholism.

Abusive and Hazardous Drinking Regularly Results in Drinking Problems

When Diane then underscored the fact that unhealthy and irresponsible drinking typically results in financial, legal, relationship, and school problems, some of her drinking friends finally started to understand how wide-ranging and how damaging careless and abusive drinking can be. Indeed, some of her drinking pals became more “open” and began talking about how these alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse effects had adversely affected some of their friends and their parents.

After going over some of the alcohol dependency and alcohol abuse problems that are related to unhealthy and abusive drinking, most of her drinking friends seemed to agree to the idea about getting information on the web. They were, conversely, leery about discussing their drinking behavior with the administrators at school. As Diane heard this she thought to herself, “at least they are willing to find out more about their careless and abusive drinking. This is a good start.”

When I was a sophomore in high school, I took a drug abuse class. At that time period, I did not grasp the fact that alcohol abuse in reality was a sub classification of drug abuse. While taking this class and learning more about drug and alcohol abuse and especially about alcohol side effects, I read a lot about Alcoholic Anonymous, their meetings, how their programs have twelve steps, and how successful the Alcoholics Anonymous recovery program has been for people throughout the world. I also learned quite a bit about alcohol treatment and the diverse alcohol rehab clinics that are frequently available to individuals who engage in heavy drinking.

Negative Consequences That are Linked to Alcohol Addiction and Alcohol Abuse

Some of the harmful end results associated with alcoholism and alcohol abuse that I learned about in this class without a doubt frightened me. The ruined lives and abundant difficulties experienced by most alcohol addicted people made me feel like I never wanted to drink alcohol when I became old enough. More to the point, I did not want to face the disaster and destruction that alcohol dependent individuals almost always go through.

Think about this for a moment. What fifteen-year-old teenager wants to face premature death due to his or her drinking behavior? What teenager wants to become so out-of-control regarding his or her drinking that ingesting alcohol becomes the object of one’s life? What teenager wants to go to one of the local alcoholic rehabilitation centers to deal with alcohol-related issues before he or she becomes an adult?

What teenager wants to experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms when he or she tries to stop drinking? Why would a person engage in drinking to such an extent that it would cause problems in every area of his or her life? Drinking later in life after a person has a career, a family, and develops personal responsibilities makes sense. But why would a young person want to sacrifice his or her education, employment, finances, and relationships for a life that focuses on hazardous drinking?

These issues were so noteworthy that I discussed some of them in class throughout the school year. What was entirely amazing to me was the number of students who simply didn’t care about the detrimental results of irresponsible drinking that I discussed. It was almost as if they couldn’t care less about the facts and how these effects can ruin their lives. For the first time in my life I started to comprehend a saying that my grandfather used to articulate all through my teen and pre-teen years: you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink.

It’s Beneficial, Liberating, and Important to Remove Yourself From the Unhealthy and Debilitating Consequences of Alcohol and Drug Abuse

And even at my young age, I also began to realize how liberating, beneficial, and important it is in life to remove yourself from the unhealthy and destructive results of drug and alcohol abuse.