Alcohol Abuse or Alcoholism?

First and foremost, anyone who drinks – and all those who love them -- needs to recognize three things:

 The difference between abusing alcohol and alcoholism;

 How to recognize the signs of each; and

 How and where to get treatment quickly when it is needed.

Alcohol abuse refers to excessive drinking, whether a heavy drinker or a binge drinker. Alcoholism is a medical disease and though treatable, is incurable and makes it necessary for the drinker to attend to his sobriety all his life, one day at a time. He or she may have relapses at any time. It is not a path anyone would voluntarily choose but many youngsters become alcoholics when they are heavy drinkers because of inherent risk factors.

"The kids most likely to get addicted are the ones who also have other problems," says Dr. Mark Willenbring, who directs the Division of Treatment and Recovery Research of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

Problems might include family members who are alcoholics, anxiety, depression or other emotional difficulties; they may attend school or work where drinking is encouraged, or be suffering from many kinds of childhood trauma. Youngsters diagnosed as bi-polar are often alcohol abusers. If parents drink heavily or regularly, or use drugs, they are modeling for their children’s alcohol or drug abuse. Parents who argue a lot may be unknowingly pushing their kids into self medicating themselves with alcohol. When emotional pain strikes youngsters, they often embrace disastrous behavior, leading to more pain.

What are some symptoms of young adult alcohol abuse?

 Do you see a difference in his or her behavior at home or at school? Have his/her grades gone down? Does he suddenly have discipline problems at school? Has your child’s attitude changed towards school, family or life goals – and not for the better?

 Does he have new friends he meets outside and doesn’t seem to want to share with the family? Does she suddenly dress very differently?

 Has he or she lost interest in sports or other extracurricular activities they once liked?

 Secrecy. Is there suddenly a great devotion to the right to privacy, even insisting they install a lock on their room door?

 Is your child drinking alone secretly, and/or stealing liquor from your home?

 Is your child newly interested in purchasing mouth wash, breath mints and/or eye drops?

 Are there no kisses goodnight and quick exits into their rooms when they return from an evening out?

 Are you finding beer, wine coolers or liquor in his/her room, closet, or backpack?

 Do they gulp their drink at home, and then ask for more?

 Does he or she get cranky if there is no alcohol available or you try to eliminate alcohol from the family?

 Has he or she got into legal problems like shoplifting for fun; joyriding in a stolen car then returning it; acts of vandalism or other risky behaviors?

Incidentally, it’s been reported that 40 percent of youngsters who start drinking before 15 became addicted to alcohol.

Four signs that alcohol abuse has become alcoholism

According to experts in the alcohol abuse prevention/treatment field, they are:

 Craving – A strong need, or urge to drink

 Loss of control – Not being able to stop drinking once drinking has begun

 Physical dependence – Withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety after stopping drinking

 Tolerance – The need to drink greater amounts of alcohol to get "high."

This is also the time when alcohol can become a “gateway to illegal substances or illegally obtained prescription drugs.