What Is Alcohol Awareness Month?

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What Is Alcohol Awareness Month?
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. The
History Of Alcohol Awareness Month 3. Alcohol
Awareness Month Pushes Back Against Stigma 4.
Facing Addiction With NCADD's Focus On Underage
Drinking 5. Addressing Drinking Rates Among
College Students 6. The Dangers Of Alcohol Use
Disorders 7. Alcohol-Free Weekend 8.
Overcoming Alcohol Dependence
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Introduction
17.6 million adults in the United States suffer
from alcohol dependence or Alcohol Use Disorder.
Additionally, a person's alcohol or substance
abuse directly affects an estimated 45 million
family members nationwide. 7 million children
live in a home with at least one
alcohol-dependent parent. Facing Addiction with
NCADD intends to put a dent in each of these
alarming statistics. Alcohol Awareness Month is
one of the tools the organization uses to educate
the general public on alcohol, problem drinking,
and recovery from alcohol abuse. Events on the
local, state and national levels bring the
effects of alcohol into the public eye. By
helping more significant numbers of people
understand the impact of alcohol, Facing
Addiction with NCADD wants to make a
difference. "Help For Today, Hope For Tomorrow
is the theme for the April 2019's Alcohol
Awareness Month. It focuses on alcohol's effects
on today's young people along with their
families, friends, and community as a whole. When
someone receives the help they need, the
resulting effects ripple farther out than you
might imagine. So, what exactly is Alcohol
Awareness Month and how did it begin? The
History Of Alcohol Awareness Month
Addiction
aide
History of Alcohol Awarness month

The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug
Dependence (NCADD for short) introduced Alcohol
Awareness Month in 1987. Alcohol dependence and
Alcohol Use Disorder carry a stigma, a widespread
misunderstanding of the core issue. NCADD wanted
to help communities understand the problem and
encourage those who needed to seek help. Alcohol
Awareness Month offers a way to open up
conversations about alcohol consumption. Rather
than asking questions out of nowhere, people can
use the month to raise questions or concerns. It
also gives doctors the more open-ended
opportunity to offer strategies to help their
patients cut down on or quit drinking. The NCADD
announced its merger with the Facing Addiction
coalition in January 2018, combining the more
than 75 years of NCADD experience with the
emerging and present-day Facing Addiction
organization. Their merge introduces a strong
message and a powerful force against substance
abuse and alcohol dependence. Alcohol Awareness
Month Pushes Back Against Stigma Facing Addiction
to NCADD explains the primary goal of Alcohol
Awareness Month is to help reduce the stigma
surrounding alcohol
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dependence. What exactly is a stigma, though? It
refers to the stereotypes, labels, or
discrimination against certain social
characteristics. Stigmas stem from
misunderstanding and lack of awareness of the
topic at hand. People feel guilt and shame when
they struggle with a stigmatized issue such as
alcohol dependence or Alcohol Use Disorder. The
widespread disapproval of problem drinkers leads
to people hiding their problems. It might be the
drinker themselves, their family members or
friends, or their teacher or employer. Rather
than feeling safe to discuss the issue head-on,
many people still tiptoe around the issue of
alcohol abuse. They fear the judgment of people
who don't understand the reality of alcohol use
disorder. This leads to the dangerous and
sometimes deadly avoidance of seeking help to
find recovery. Marty Mann, one of the original
founders of NCADD, said it simply and said it
best "Stigma Kills. Alcohol Awareness Month
aims to shatter the societal stigma and encourage
people to talk about the problems surrounding
alcohol openly. If people continue feeling the
need to hide their struggles for fear of
judgment, the rates of abuse and mortality will
continue to keep rising. Facing Addiction
With NCADD's Focus On Underage Drinking Facing
Addiction to NCADD focuses especially on raising
awareness of the dangers of alcohol use in young
people. Alcohol use among young people in the
United States remains rather prevalent. 33.1
percent of 15-year-olds have had at least one
drink in their life 7.7 million young people
between 12 and 20 years old drank in the last
month 5.1 million young people ages 12 to 20
binge drank in the past month 1.3 million of
these young people report a heavy drinking
episode in the last month One of the most
dangerous aspects of underage drinking is the
manner in which young people drink. They don't
usually drink as often since it's difficult for
many to access alcohol. However, as you can see
from the statistics above, young drinkers tend to
consume higher amounts of alcohol at once. They
make up for their sporadic episodes by heavily
drinking when they do. Everyone understands the
dangers of heavy drinking. Drinking alcohol leads
to impacted decision-making skills, impaired
judgment, and feelings of invincibility,
especially in young people. These young drinkers
find themselves in dangerous or violent
situations like fights, assaults, or car
accidents. They also risk developing an Alcohol
Use Disorder. Addressing Drinking Rates
Among College Students Colleges are encouraged to
incorporate Alcohol Awareness Month into their
event calendars. Drinking rates understandably
skyrocket among students once they leave for
college. They are able to do as they please once
they are out from under their parents' roof.
Additionally, the drinking culture on many
college campuses involves binge drinking
practices. The National Institute on Alcohol
Abuse and Alcoholism collected data on
individuals between the ages of 18 and 22,
separated into two groups. One was a group of
full-time college students while the other group
did not attend school. Of these two groups, the
various drinking rates in 2015 were Drank
in the past month 58 of college students, 48.2
non-college Binge drank in the past month
37.9 of college students, 32.7 non-college
Heavy alcohol use in the past month 12.5 of
college students, 8.5 non-college Clearly,
college students show higher rates of both normal
and heavy drinking compared to non-students in
the same age range. Students are still likely to
consider themselves too young to develop a real
alcohol problem, though. This shows the
importance of Alcohol Awareness Month on college
campuses in particular. It opens the door for
conversations that might not otherwise happen.
Encouraging students to share openly about their
possible struggles with alcohol might save some
from heading down a dark path. They
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can seek help before they find themselves at a
point where quitting drinking seems impossible.
The Dangers Of Alcohol Use Disorders Alcohol
Use Disorder refers to people characterized by a
chronic pattern of problem drinking. They cannot
seem to control their drinking or quit entirely.
Attempts to quit or control their consumption
regularly result in relapse, and they often end
up in a worse condition than before. Physicians
diagnose an alcohol use disorder using 11
criteria outlined in the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).
People who drink to the point of developing an
AUD show little regard for themselves or those
around them. These problematic and dangerous
drinking patterns are precisely what Alcohol
Awareness Month wants to address. 6.2 percent of
the adult population in the United States, or
15.1 million people, had an active AUD in 2015.
An additional 623,000 young people between the
ages of 12 and 17 also struggled with an AUD
during that time. Further research estimates that
about 16 million American adults currently live
with an Alcohol Use Disorder today. Facing
Addiction with NCADD hopes that Alcohol Awareness
Month opens channels of communication. They want
to give a voice both to people struggling with
their drinking and people struggling as a result
of someone else's drinking. When they have the
safety to communicate openly, people might find
the courage to seek the help they need.
Alcohol-Free Weekend
Alcohol-Free Weekend is one of, if not the
central event of Alcohol Awareness Month. For the
first weekend in April 2019, from April 5th
through 7th, Facing Addiction with NCADD
encourages people to abstain from drinking. The
intent of these three days is to help people
realize and understand how significant of a role
alcohol plays in their lives.
Staying sober for three days is a simple task for
people who do not struggle with alcohol
dependence. Three days without drinking is often
as effortless as three days without a candy bar
for these individuals. When someone with an
alcohol abuse problem attempts the three days,
though, they might realize their predicament for
the first time.
Facing Addiction to NCADD encourages these
individuals to reach out to some type of
resource. Whether it's addiction treatment or a
community resource, anything that might help is
worth the effort. Alcoholics Anonymous 12 steps
help those who struggle with alcohol consumption.
Al-Anon offers support to the friends and
families of a person with an alcohol problem.
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Overcoming Alcohol Dependence
If you or someone you know struggles with alcohol
dependence or Alcohol Use Disorder, there is a
way out! Facing Addiction with NCADD encourages
people to try out Alcoholics Anonymous or Al-Anon
for a free, readily- and widely-available
solution. Addiction and alcohol abuse disorder
treatment facilities are another option. If
quitting drinking might cause withdrawal symptoms
or other effects, getting sober under medical
supervision is the safest option. Once through
detox, inpatient rehab or intensive outpatient
programs are a helpful follow-up that plugs you
directly into a recovery network. Programs that
incorporate the aid of Soberlink technology
provide an additional layer of accountability. It
is a sophisticated alcohol testing device that
uses advanced wireless technology to allow remote
testing. This gives clients the ability to take a
breathalyzer test wherever they are and the
results are immediately sent to Soberlink's
system. Facing Addiction to NCADD is headed in
the right direction as they continue partnering
with additional organizations. Alcohol Awareness
Month may finally provide the nudge someone needs
to seek out recovery this year. Tags Alarming
Statistics, Alcohol Awareness Month, Heavy
Episodic Drinking, What Is Alcohol Awareness
Month, National Alcohol Awareness Month, Alcohol
Awareness Month 2019 Resources https//www.alcoho
l.org/awareness-month/ TOOLKIT Alcohol A
wareness Month
Alcohol A wareness Month
5 Comments
Reply
DEBORAH April 12, 2019 at 1021 pm
Nice Article Keep writing. This article really
gives awareness to college students who are all
struggling with addiction.
Reply
HABITHA April 29, 2019 at 114 pm
"The History of Alcohol Awareness Month is very
new to hear. Keep writing like this.
Reply
O
NINA May 6, 2019 at 719 pm
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It is good to hear that there is an awareness
month for alcohol. I wish there should be more
campaigns and guest speech, more motivations to
be aware of alcohol addiction. Good Work Kartina!
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