There’s a killer on the loose, a villain in our midst, a destroyer of dreams. There’s something very dangerous in our houses, a poison of sorts that we need to police with caution. This toxin is the cause for nearly 2,000 deaths, 696,000 assaults, 97,000 sexual assaults, and 1 in 4 college students reporting academic consequences in 2013 alone calculated by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. There it is: alcohol.
We hear the swarms of horror stories each year- alcohol taking the lives of our classmates or sending them to the hospital for a night of stomach pumping, but what concerns me most is the aftermath of college drinking for those of us who do make it out. We rage now with the rationale that college is partying hard, but after four years we’re left with nothing but an alcohol abuse disorder. I’ve seen firsthand what these disorders can do to someone and their family, but instead of yelling at you for the drinking or pleading with you for the sake of my sanity, I want to give you some information and tips to help your chances against developing an alcohol abuse disorder.
A peak into my world: someone very near and dear to my heart suffers from alcoholism. Even after forced rehabs, classes, and house checks, this person is going on over twenty years of battling this addiction. This person is the sole reason I chose to go to a school very far away from my home. I had the mindset I could run away from the terror that alcoholism brings, and yet I see it developing in my friends and strangers on a Saturday night in the local bars. This is a very common heartache as 1 in 12 adults suffer from alcoholism, according to the National Council on Drug Addiction and Alcohol Dependence. And gloomily, there’s only about a 50% success rate for curing this problem.
We need to stop it now. Stop alcohol from controlling the rest of your life and demolishing your loved ones. Stop it from hurting the innocent bystanders like me who can do nothing but watch it tear down every good thing built and darken every sliver of hope in the lives of those who are family.
Women: if you’re drinking more than three drinks a day or seven a week, you need to listen. Men: if you’re drinking more than four drinks a day or fourteen a week, you need to listen. Listen so I can save you from the fight rarely won, as I’ve had my boxing gloves on against alcoholism for nearly my whole life.
- Be aware of your amount intake. Tally your drinks throughout the week. Find the drink that pushes you overboard and cutback.
- Ask your friends to cut you off at your limit.
- Drink water and eat snacks in between drinks. Eat meals before going out.
- Don’t bring your debit and credit cards with you. Bring enough cash for a certain amount of drinks.
But what works best for me is thinking to myself as I’m downing another drink, what would my family think of me? After they’ve dedicated most of their lives helping someone that suffers from this disease, how will they feel when they see me following the same poisoned path? Ask yourself, what would your loved ones say?
HCXO,
Katie Kinslow