Yes, we should keep an eye on our drinking habits (and our loved ones’ drinking habits!) all year round. But April has been declared Alcohol Awareness Month by the National Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration.
April 8th is the kickoff for Alcohol Awareness Month. People around the country can participate in National Alcohol Screening Day — a chance at a free, anonymous screening to see if your drinking habits are considered risky. You are also welcome to meet one-on-one with a health care professional to discuss any concerns. Last year, more than two hundred thousand people took advantage of a free, anonymous screening on National Alcohol Screening Day!
In the last few days before April and Alcohol Awareness Month, think over these warning signs of alcohol abuse. If you answer yes to any of the following questions, you may have a problem and should consider speaking to a health professional.
- Do you drink alone when you feel angry?
- Do you drink alone when you feel sad?
- Does drinking ever make you late for work?
- Does your drinking worry your family?
- Do you find yourself frequently hungover after drinking?
- Do you ever drink after telling yourself you won’t?
- Do you forget what you did while you were drinking?
You may think of different things when you think about alcohol abuse. Teenagers sneaking drinks when their parents aren’t home… College students binge drinking at frat parties… Stressed out professionals who unwind with a few drinks after work. But you may not think about other possibilities. Senior citizens who drink because they’re lonely… Pregnant women who drink, putting their unborn babies at risk for fetal alcohol syndrome… College kids who drink because it’s what everyone else seems to be doing.
Having an alcoholic (and sometimes abusive) grandparent made me personally very reluctant to drink at all. I flatly refused to drink before I turned twenty-one, for fear of finding out that I would start drinking and never ever stop.
Once I did start drinking as a legal adult, I almost immediately started having some bad experiences. The kind where you spend quality time with the toilet and embarrass yourself among friends and strangers alike. And yes, I do have some of those warning signs of alcohol abuse. So rather than tempt fate and follow in my grandfather’s footsteps, I mostly don’t drink at all. When I do, I am under a strict limit: never ever more than two drinks. My friends all know my two-drink limit, and won’t let me go beyond.
Alcohol abusers aren’t always obvious, but if you or someone you know has problems, please talk to someone.