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    Get Smart About Alcohol
    Get Smart About Alcohol
    Get Smart About Alcohol
    Ebook95 pages1 hour

    Get Smart About Alcohol

    By Publishing Hazelden and Gould Jodie

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    About this ebook

    Learn the basic facts behind alcohol, including its history, its legitimate uses and legal status, signs of addiction and dependence, addiction treatment options, prevention tools for parents, and much more.Although drinking is legal and socially acceptable for adults, alcohol is still one of the most heavily used and abused addictive substances by both adults and young people. In this Hazelden Quick Guide, expert resources and information come together in an engaging and accessible e-book short.Topics include:What alcohol is and where various types of liquor comes fromThe history of alcohol’s use and abuseChanging cultural, social, and legal factorsDefinitions of normal use, abuse, and dependence, with information on prevention and advice for parentsHow alcohol works, including its health effects and what makes it so addictiveIntervention and effective treatment methodsRelapse prevention tools for those recovering from substance use disorder
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHazelden Publishing
    Release dateDec 30, 2013
    ISBN9781616495190
    Get Smart About Alcohol

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      Book preview

      Get Smart About Alcohol - Publishing Hazelden

      Get Smart About Alcohol

      A Hazelden Quick Guide

      Hazelden Publishing

      Center City, Minnesota 55012

      800-328-9000

      hazelden.org/bookstore

      © 2013 by Hazelden Foundation

      All rights reserved. Published 2013.

      No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the express written permission of the publisher. Failure to comply with these terms may expose you to legal action and damages for copyright infringement.

      eISBN: 978-1-61649-519-0

      Editor’s notes:

      The names, details, and circumstances may have been changed to protect the privacy of those mentioned in this publication.

      This publication is not intended as a substitute for the advice of health care professionals.

      Alcoholics Anonymous is a registered trademark of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

      17 16 15 14 13        1 2 3 4 5 6

      Cover design by Theresa Jaeger Gedig

      Interior design and typesetting by BookMobile Design & Digital Publisher Services

      Developmental editor: Peter Schletty

      Production editor: Mindy Keskinen

      About Hazelden Quick Guides

      Hazelden Quick Guides are short, accessible e-books that draw on the original work and best practices of leading experts to help readers address common addiction recovery and emotional health issues. The Get Smart collection describes each of the major drugs, its historical, cultural, and legal context, its addictive qualities, and information on prevention and treatment.

      Contents

      Introduction

      History

      Alcohol Basics

      How Alcohol Is Produced

      A Standard Drink

      Use, Abuse, and Addiction

      Types of Use

      Level of Risk

      Risk Factors for Alcohol Disorders

      Effects of Alcohol Use and Addiction

      How Alcohol Works

      Alcohol and the Brain

      Alcohol and the Body

      Alcohol and Society

      Mary’s Story

      Treatment for Alcoholism

      Types of Treatment

      The Role of Medications

      Spontaneous Recovery

      Technology and Treatment

      Post-treatment—Continuing Care

      Twelve Step Programs

      Other Twelve Step and Mutual Aid Programs

      Relapse

      Mary’s Story, Continued

      Prevention Practices

      Risk and Protective Factors

      Goals of Prevention

      Types of Prevention Programs

      What Parents Can Do

      Notes

      Introduction

      It seems impossible to encounter an adult nowadays whose life has not been touched in some way by problematic alcohol use. For many, the connection is faint, found only in the rough sketches they’ve been told about a distant relative. Others may deal with an unruly neighbor who parties long, and loudly, into the wee hours, then displays a look of gloom as he trudges to the mailbox the next day. Still others may find themselves face-to-face with the ravaging power of alcohol on a regular basis, when a spouse, child, other loved one—or even themselves—repeatedly picks up a drink and initiates a familiar cycle that includes out-of-control use followed by extreme pain and heartache.

      Alcohol is a legal, intoxicating drug currently available to anyone age twenty-one or older in the United States. Our country has a long history of problems related to this drug, including public drunkenness and inebriated driving, that has led to legislation restricting—and at one point outright prohibiting—alcohol use and its sales. Even so, problematic drinking persists in every segment of society, from underage youth and college students to senior citizens, from Ivy League–educated physicians, attorneys, and politicians to individuals living on the street, who are unsure of where they’ll find their next meal or drink. Alcohol consumption poses a danger not only to the drinker’s health, but also to public safety; it exacts a heavy cost from families, workplaces, and health care systems. Despite this, advertisers and much of society still suggest that alcoholic drinks should be part and parcel of nearly every celebration, holiday, and Sunday football game day ritual. Indeed, alcohol is a drug of contradictions: we defend our right to toast our accomplishments and unwind with friends over a drink, while at the same time we support widespread alcohol prevention programs aimed at our children. The paradox is not lost on our youth who often hear a do as I say, not as I do message from the adults in their lives.

      This e-booklet will provide a brief history of alcohol, outline the basics on how this central nervous system depressant is made and used, and discuss some of the consequences related to its use and abuse. We’ll also explore the nature of problematic alcohol use and dependence and how prevailing views of alcoholism are shifting, the numerous treatment options available today, and prevention efforts. The booklet will close by providing tips for parents whose children may be experimenting with or abusing alcohol.

      Alcohol Addiction or Disorder?

      In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association released the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5). Behavioral health professionals, such as psychiatrists and psychologists, use this manual as a guide to diagnose people with substance use and mental health disorders. In the latest edition, the terminology used for addiction disorders has changed. Instead of separating such problems into categories such as substance abuse, chemical dependency, or addiction, the manual now uses one term—substance use disorder—to include the full range of problematic drug use. To be officially diagnosed with an alcohol problem, then, someone would be classified as having an alcohol use disorder.

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