Misuse of Alcohol​—A Costly Problem

THE misuse of alcohol is a costly problem that affects you. “Me?” you ask. “I’m not an alcoholic!” And yet, surprising as it may seem, even if you don’t drink at all, in one way or another you are affected by the misuse of alcohol. Everyone is. How?

According to the National Council on Alcoholism (NCA), there are some ten million alcoholics in the United States. When you consider that each alcoholic directly affects about four other persons​—his immediate family—​this means that some forty million additional people are directly and adversely affected by alcoholism. And, remember, that is in just one country.

But affected in what way? Well, if someone you love drinks too much, then fear, shame, disappointment and even anger are probably not strange to you. Statistics from the NCA reveal that alcohol misuse is a factor in at least 30 percent of divorce and juvenile-delinquency cases, 55 percent of fights or assaults in the home and as many as 90 percent of reported child-abuse cases. How costly!

Next, there is the high physical cost. Prolonged heavy drinking has been linked to a number of chronic health problems, including cirrhosis of the liver, heart disease, gastritis, ulcers, pancreatitis and the risk of various forms of cancer. Thus, the heavy consumer of alcohol pays a very high price​—physically!

Yet even if you don’t drink you are affected. You pay more for your clothes, your car​—really all manufactured goods—​because of alcohol misuse. The United States government estimates that alcohol misuse costs $20 billion a year through lost production in factories. That translates into higher prices for merchandise, with poorer quality.

The cost of misusing alcohol is especially high when the drinker has a job that affects the lives of others. Just imagine how costly are errors in judgment caused by drinking among, for instance, mass transit drivers, airplane pilots or surgeons.

Do you drive a car? Well, according to the NCA, alcohol misuse is linked to 50 percent of all fatal traffic accidents (among the fatalities are innocent victims). And even though you avoid being hit by a drunken driver, you feel the effects of his drinking when the time comes to pay your car insurance.

However, it must be acknowledged that, for many people, alcohol is a source of pleasure and relaxation. When used moderately it seems to have little or no ill effect on them. So it is only natural to ask: What exactly is alcoholism? How can you identify it? What can be done about it?

Alcoholism​—The Facts, The Myths

Which one is the typical alcoholic?

1 2 3 4 (See pictures in publication)

DID you pick No. 4? Perhaps the biggest myth about alcoholism is that the skid-row derelict is the typical alcoholic. Actually, fewer than 5 percent of the alcoholic population can be found in the derelict sections of large cities. The rest? They are taking care of the children at home, caring for patients, working at the office.

Of all major health problems, probably none is more shrouded in myth than alcoholism. So what are the facts? The facts must be recognized if alcoholism is to be treated. And it can be treated successfully.

● What Is an Alcoholic?

According to Marty Mann, founder-consultant of the National Council on Alcoholism, “an alcoholic is someone whose drinking causes a continuing and growing problem in any department of his life.” The key word is “continuing.” To illustrate: If drinking was causing a problem in the homelife, social life, business or professional life of a normal drinker, he could drink less, even though this might call for real determination. But with the alcoholic it’s different. Oh, hea may try to cut down. But no matter how much determination he may have, once he starts to drink, he is unable to control it, and thus drinking causes a “continuing” problem in his life.

● Why Is Alcoholism Called a “Disease”?

In a general sense, a disease is defined as “a disturbance in function or structure of any organ or part of the body, possessing certain recognizable symptoms.” Does alcoholism fit the definition? According to the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization and numerous other medical and government agencies, it does.

How is there “a disturbance in function” in the body of an alcoholic? Well, alcohol affects him differently from the way it affects other people. In the early stages he often consumes huge amounts of alcohol without getting drunk. Then, too, he may have blackouts, afterward not remembering what he said or did while drinking, although he was fully conscious and appeared normal to others. And as we will see, there are recognizable symptoms.

Alcoholism is not strictly a physical problem. The alcoholic is affected mentally, emotionally and spiritually as well, and efforts to help him must take these factors into consideration.

● Are Some People Predisposed to Alcoholism?

There is increasing evidence that this may be the case. For example, a study carried out in Denmark between 1970 and 1976 found that sons of alcoholics were four times as likely to be alcoholic as were sons of nonalcoholics. And this was so even though the children were raised by nonalcoholic adoptive parents.

In another study, conducted at the University of Washington in Seattle, it was found that young men with a family history of alcoholism developed high levels of acetaldehydeb in their blood when they drank alcohol. Science Digest suggests that the “increased acetaldehyde may heighten the feeling of intoxication and pleasure alcohol brings, thereby serving as strong inducement to drink more.”

Such findings, however, are not conclusive and indicate only that some predisposition to alcoholism may be hereditary.

● Is Alcoholism Curable?

If by “curable” is meant the ability to return to normal controlled drinking, this has happened so rarely that most experts would answer, No! Dr. Sheila Blume, director of the New York State Division of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, put it this way: “I tell my patients to imagine that they are on this side of Long Island Sound and are asked to swim to Connecticut through shark-infested waters. Out of hundreds of swimmers, one or two might make it​—but would you plunge in?”

Alcoholism is, however, controllable, and most counselors and recovering alcoholics agree that it can best be controlled only by total abstinence.

● Is It the Same as Drunkenness?

No. Drunkenness describes the result of overconsumption​—a temporary loss of control over physical and mental capacities. But not everyone who gets drunk is an alcoholic. And not all alcoholics get drunk. For instance, a recovering alcoholic may not drink at all. Yet he is still an alcoholic; if he started drinking, he eventually would lose control.

The Bible condemns both heavy drinking and drunkenness as morally wrong. (Proverbs 23:20, 21; 1 Corinthians 5:11-13; 6:9, 10) But the alcoholic does not have to get drunk. He can stay sober by not drinking. However, if he, with full knowledge of his condition, chooses to go on drinking and continues to get drunk, then he has a moral problem​—drunkenness.

● Is It Just a Case of Willpower?

“Most alcoholics have more than their share of will power,” answers Marty Mann. “They will get up and go to work when anyone else, feeling as they do, would be in bed calling for the doctor.” If alcoholics were simply lacking in willpower, then no doubt most of them would be skid-row derelicts.

Perhaps the myth about alcoholics’ being weak willed stems from what happens when they do drink​—they lose control. So the alcoholic must use his willpower to abstain from the first drink.

● What About Tranquilizers?

The alcoholic who wakes up with the shakes and doesn’t want to drink in the morning might reach for a tranquilizer. But what he may not realize is that his body doesn’t know the difference. Alcohol is a sedative, a mood changer, just as tranquilizers, sleeping pills, painkillers, even medicines for colds (which contain antihistamine) are mood changers. And any mood-changing substance can present a danger to the alcoholic.

To progress in recovery, therefore, many experts recommend that alcoholics abstain not only from alcohol but from all mood-changing substances.

● How Does Alcoholic Drinking Differ from Normal Drinking?

The alcoholic’s drinking goes beyond what is accepted as normal. For example, if somebody you know started sneaking into a closet to drink milk, surely you would conclude that something was wrong. It’s not normal. Yet alcoholics very often sneak drinks, even hiding bottles for later consumption. Normal drinkers don’t do that.

The biggest difference, however, between alcoholic drinking and normal drinking is control. The social drinker, even the heavy drinker, usually can decide when and how much he or she will drink. The alcoholic can’t. He consistently drinks more than he intended to.

Have others become increasingly concerned about your drinking? Be honest with yourself. ‘I can stop any time I want to,’ you might say. And you’re probably right. But “going on the wagon” is no test, because even the most advanced alcoholics can at times do that for a while. Besides, how do you feel during periods of abstinence​—calm and relaxed or nervous and tense? Remember, the key is control. Thus the book Alcoholics Anonymous states: “If when drinking, you have little control over the amount you take, you are probably alcoholic.”

● Why Doesn’t the Alcoholic See What Is Happening to Him?

As his condition worsens, the alcoholic’s sense of self-worth deteriorates and in its place grow anxiety, guilt, shame and remorse. To live with himself, he unconsciously uses several defenses.

Rationalization: He gives his drinking and its effects a variety of excuses: “I’m nervous,” “I’m depressed,” “I drank on an empty stomach.”

Projection: He puts his painful feelings onto others. Now he sees others as “hateful,” “spiteful,” “mean,” “against me.”

Repression: He tunes out painful drinking episodes, actually convincing himself that they never happened. Thus, with his wife upset over last night’s binge, he might lean over and ask: ‘Is anything bothering you this morning?’ And she can’t believe her ears!

Euphoric recall: At times his memory of drinking episodes is euphoric or happy. So he might say, ‘Yes, I had a few last night, but I was just fine’​—when actually he wasn’t ‘just fine.’ Alcohol has distorted his perception.

These defenses build up a wall of denial that hinders the alcoholic from seeing what’s happening to him. He needs help.c

● What Kind of Help Is Needed?

‘All he needs is help to stop drinking,’ you might think. But he needs more.

Physically: He must be safely withdrawn from alcohol (“detoxified”). This may require hospitalization so that alcohol-related health problems can also be treated. But physically recovering is not enough. Otherwise, once he’s feeling better, he might think, ‘Now I can handle it.’

Mentally: He should learn the facts about alcoholism, becoming aware of and accepting the logical reasons for him to abstain. This knowledge will help him in his lifelong fight to maintain sobriety.

Socially: He must learn to live comfortably with himself and others.

Emotionally: He must learn to cope with anxiety and the other negative feelings within him. He must learn to be happy without alcohol.

Spiritually: Since he is given to hopelessness and fear, he needs help that will inspire hope, confidence and trust.

● Where Can Such Help Be Found?

While there are various forms of treatment available, one thing stands out as a must​—having someone knowledgeable and sympathetic to talk to, perhaps someone who has been there and back. This can inspire hope, for it lets the alcoholic know that he, too, can recover.

Many alcoholics have been aided by an alcoholism rehabilitation center. Such centers may have a staff that is drawn from many disciplines, including physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists and trained social workers. Here the patient usually goes through a thorough educational process whereby he learns about alcoholism in a way he can accept.

Then, too, group-therapy sessions led by trained counselors may offer the patient practical support with his problems and help him to open up and become aware of the unconscious defenses he has been using. Since he can’t change what he can’t see, such insight is an aid in his recovering. But whatever therapy is used, the basic goal is to help the patient to learn to cope emotionally without resorting to alcohol.

However, once he leaves such treatment, the recovering alcoholic may find himself face to face with the realities that used to drive him to drink. There may be lingering negative feelings about himself, family problems or a shaky job situation. Clearly, he needs ongoing help to cope. For such help, some turn to local volunteer groups made up of recovering alcoholics who are dedicated to helping one another.d

There is, however, another source of help available, one that can give the recovering alcoholic strength “beyond what is normal” in his daily struggle to cope with life and maintain sobriety. What is that?​—2 Corinthians 4:7, 8.

“My success,” states a recovering alcoholic, “is due to my faith in Jehovah, the power of prayer and the help given to me by my Christian brothers. Without that, I would now be in the gutter, or dead, through alcohol.” Yes, it was by studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses and attending Christian meetings that this man acquired real faith in God and loving Christian companions. But in what way can these help?

Well, his study of God’s Word can help the recovering alcoholic to change his way of thinking. (Romans 12:1, 2) Feelings of guilt and remorse are eased as he comes to know Jehovah as a merciful, forgiving God. (Exodus 34:6, 7) Too, Bible principles show him how to improve family life, how to be the kind of worker any employer would delight in, and how to avoid thoughts and actions that create undue anxiety and worry.​—Ephesians 5:22-33; Proverbs 10:4; 13:4; Matthew 6:25-34.

As he builds a trusting relationship with Jehovah God, he learns to commit his cares and burdens confidently to Jehovah in prayer. With the help of loving Christian friends, he learns to communicate clearly his feelings and needs and comes to realize that he can get close to others without fear. Such relationships inspire the secure feeling and the sense of self-worth so much needed by the recovering alcoholic.​—Psalm 55:22; 65:2; Proverbs 17:17; 18:24.

So, have you or others become concerned about your drinking? Has drinking caused you problems in one or more areas of your life? Then do something about it! Why hold onto something that can cause you so much pain and trouble? By learning the facts (not myths) and acting in harmony with them, it is possible to recover from alcoholism and lead a happy, productive life.

[Footnotes]

[Blurb on page 8]

There is a source of help available that can give strength “beyond what is normal”

[Blurb on page 8]

Is drinking causing problems in your life? Why hold onto something that can cause so much pain and trouble?

[Box on page 5]

Symptoms of Alcoholism

(Please note that these are some symptoms of alcoholism and that the onset of these symptoms may vary from person to person.)

Possible early symptoms

● Gulping Drinks (“Others drink so slowly”)

● Sneaking drinks

● Predrinking drinking (“Might as well have one before the party”)

● Increase in tolerance

● Blackouts (“How did I get home last night?”)

Possible middle symptoms

● Begins losing control

● Denial of problem

● Changes drinking pattern (“I’d better switch to beer. It’s Scotch I can’t handle”)

● Tries “going on the wagon” (abstaining)

● Drinks alone

Possible late symptoms

● All control is lost

● Benders (drunken sprees) increase in frequency and intensity

● Decrease in tolerance

● Unreasonable fears and anxieties

● Delirium tremens

[Picture on page 6]

Does her body know the difference?

[Picture on page 7]

Do normal drinkers do this?

Recovering From Alcoholism

His Story

THE numbers on the telephone seemed to melt together as I struggled to dial my own number. The five pills I had taken earlier were now reaching their peak. As I held onto the public telephone to keep myself from falling, I heard mom’s voice: “Hello. Who’s this?”

“It’s me,” I slurred, using whatever concentration I could muster up. “I won’t be coming home tonight; I’ll be staying with a friend.” Every word was a struggle. My tongue felt as if it weighed fifty pounds.

“Oh, no!” mom gasped. “You’ve taken pills again! You’re stoned!”

I hung up the phone and staggered to my car. I wasn’t spending the night with a friend. Instead, I was going to drive to the beach. As I drove I found myself on the wrong side of the road​—on a major highway. The oncoming traffic just missed me as I drove over the divider and onto the road leading to the beach. I parked the car and fell asleep until the next day.

That is just one incident showing how alcoholism almost cost me my life. ‘But what does taking pills have to do with being an alcoholic?’ you ask. Well, at the time I didn’t understand the connection either. But I was to find out​—the hard way.

First, let me give you a little background: I had started taking pills when I was a teenager. I began by sneaking tranquilizers​—mom always had plenty of them around. A couple of years later, a friend at work introduced me to secobarbital, a very strong sedative. Now I could take fewer pills to get the same effect. Oh, mom and dad had warned me about heroin and marijuana. But the pills I was taking weren’t that dangerous​—or so I thought.

Within a year I was severely addicted, taking thirty pills a day.

It wasn’t that I wanted to be high all the time.a I needed the pills just to function. If I didn’t take them, I would become extremely nervous and anxious, shaking uncontrollably.

After I had smashed up several cars and been arrested, my parents sent me to a hospital for treatment. There I was slowly detoxified. The suffering I went through was indescribable. There were hallucinations, shaking, extreme and unreasonable fears. For instance, since my girl friend didn’t have a phone and I couldn’t receive calls, at a prearranged time I would call her at a public telephone. But I was always afraid she wouldn’t be there​—I mean extremely afraid.

Well, after about three weeks I was released from the hospital, ready to start anew. ‘My troubles are over now,’ I thought to myself. Actually, my troubles were far from over.

I began drinking. To my surprise, right from the start I was able to consume large amounts of alcohol without getting drunk. But it wasn’t long before I found myself sinking deeper and deeper into depression. I would have horrible attacks of anxiety in which I was afraid to drive or even speak to others. My hands would shake and I would break out in a cold sweat. Many days I would just barely make it to work, trembling and scared. Other days I didn’t make it at all. I was confused and paranoid​—a physical and mental wreck. Finally, one day I called my boss to tell him I couldn’t come to work. “You know this means you’re fired,” he warned.

“I know, but there’s nothing I can do. I think I’m having a nervous breakdown.” I hung up the phone and a few minutes later it rang.

“I don’t care how you do it,” said my boss, “but get yourself down to the company medical department​—right now!”

That’s what I did. I explained to the doctors my background with sedatives and that I thought I was having a breakdown.

“Fred, you’re not having a nervous breakdown,” explained one of the doctors. “You’re an alcoholic.”

“But that’s impossible,” I shot back. “I drink only three or four beers a night.”

“It’s not the amount you drink, but how the alcohol affects you as an individual. Your whole problem is that you have an addictive physiology. You must learn to live your life without any kind of drug​—be it alcohol or pills. You must learn to be happy without drugs.”

He then sent me away to an alcoholism rehabilitation center for several months. There I learned a lot about alcoholism. For example, I learned that as an alcoholic I should avoid all sedatives. It doesn’t matter whether they come in liquid form (alcohol) or pill form (such as tranquilizers). The effect upon the alcoholic’s body is almost identical. At the center I also learned the value of nutrition, vitamins and living an organized, structured life with self-discipline.

However, the real key to my recovery was found in the doctor’s words, “You must learn to be happy without drugs.” You see, an alcoholic is extremely anxious; he worries about everything. But through my study of the Bible I have learned to be “happy without drugs.” Oh, I had had some knowledge of the Bible before. But as a result of a more serious study, I have come to know Jehovah God, to get close to him in a Father-child relationship. I am able to cast my anxieties upon him so that I don’t unduly worry about life. (Matthew 6:34) I have also come into association with fellow Christians who treat me as a family member. I deeply appreciate their ongoing love and support.

Of course, I have come to realize that for me total abstinence from alcohol and mood-altering drugs is essential. It has been several years now. But I am truly content, happy. I have my God, Jehovah, my family and loving Christian brothers and sisters. What more could anyone want?​—Contributed.

Her Story

I had been a social drinker. As I recall, my husband and I rarely had alcoholic beverages in our home except on special occasions. But little did I realize then that as I continued drinking my body was building up a tolerance and eventually would depend on it to function.

My drinking gradually caused a drastic change in my personality. I found myself becoming aggressive and violent. I would beat my children, actually thinking I was fully justified in doing so. As I look back, I can see that I was really angry at myself. I became paranoid and suspicious. Upon entering a room, if I saw two people talking, I was convinced that they were talking about me because they didn’t like me. My children would try to reassure me, saying, “Mama, we love you.” But I was sure they couldn’t love me.

The horrible war that took place within me is more than I can describe. After each drinking episode the guilt and shame were unbearable. I would promise myself, “I’ll never do it again.” But I did​—over and over again.

Trusted and respected friends advised me to cut down, to be moderate. I tried everything imaginable to control my drinking. I moved to another location, thinking this would help. Then I was sure that switching drinks would be the answer. So I started drinking wine. Yet, no matter what I tried, I just couldn’t cut down or control my drinking.

As the years passed, I continued to drink secretly and more heavily than anyone knew. You see, I functioned adequately under the influence of alcohol. I could still hold down a job and take care of my family and home​—as long as I had my alcohol. To hide it from my family, I became a master at deception. The bottles in the liquor cabinet in the living room were just a front. My family would pour the liquor down the drain or water it down. But I had other bottles hidden. In fact, at one point, I had twenty-five bottles hidden in various places around our home​—the bathroom, the garage, the car, the linen closet, my purse and my dresser drawers.

By this time I was having trouble sleeping at night. The alcohol wasn’t enough to put me to sleep. So I went to the doctor and got a prescription for sleeping pills. (I didn’t tell him about my drinking.) I would take the pills along with the alcohol to put me to sleep each night.

Through all of this, my family couldn’t convince me that I was an alcoholic. “Look at me!” I would say in defense. “I’m not some skid-row bum! I’ve raised you children while holding down a job. How can you even think that I could be such a terrible person?”

Then one night I discovered that I had failed to replenish my supply of alcohol. For some eight years I had relied on it along with my pills to put me to sleep. That proved to be the most frightening night of my entire life. I hallucinated and heard strange things. I imagined, in fact convinced myself, that someone would kill me. As the night progressed it got worse and worse. I felt sure that I would die before the morning.

Nevertheless, promptly the next morning I was at the liquor store. And when I gulped down that liquor, what a change came over me! Suddenly I felt back in control. But later that day I really lost all control of myself. I beat my daughter very badly. At that point, I realized that I needed professional help and agreed to enter an alcoholism rehabilitation center. Oh, I still didn’t think alcohol was my problem! I was convinced I was losing my mind and that’s why I needed to drink.

“Do you drink?” asked the counselor at the center.

“Yes, but I don’t drink that much,” I said defensively. Then he showed me a chart outlining the various symptoms of alcoholism and asked me to check the ones that applied to me. By the time I finished, I began to think, ‘Maybe I am an alcoholic.’ I was frightened.

During my three-month stay at the center, I learned much about alcoholism and how it affected me as an individual, how it changed me. As I met with other recovering alcoholics and heard them talk I realized that they were just like me.

However, my ongoing program of recovery includes something else that has greatly aided me. In fact, in a letter about me the rehabilitation center said: “Her religion has given her more of a balance in her recovery program.” You see, as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses I regularly attend meetings each week where I learn how to apply Bible principles. This has enabled me to be happy without drinking. And my happiness is increased as I share with others the wonderful things I learn from the Scriptures.

As I have drawn closer to Jehovah God, I have experienced firsthand the truthfulness of Philippians 4:6, 7: “Do not be anxious over anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication along with thanksgiving let your petitions be made known to God; and the peace of God that excels all thought will guard your hearts and your mental powers by means of Christ Jesus.” Yes, the “peace of God that excels all thought” enables me to progress in my recovery ONE DAY AT A TIME.​—Contributed.

[Footnotes]

[Blurb on page 10]

“If I didn’t take them, I would become extremely nervous and anxious”

[Blurb on page 10]

“You must learn to be happy without drugs,” the doctor explained

[Blurb on page 12]

“I would promise myself, ‘I’ll never do it again.’ But I did​—over and over again!”