Given that there was a 17% year on year increase in fatalities and that the number of alcohol-specific deaths is a significant underestimate of deaths in which alcohol plays a part, I wondered in a tweet why there was a more muted reaction to the alcohol deaths than to the drug deaths. This touched a nerve it seems. A lot of responses were generated and I wanted to share some of the themes here.
Tag: Alcohol
Nothing to mourn; just a drug addict
A tweet from a colleague affected me this week. The subject was stigma in substance use disorders and he related how, at the funeral of a relative who had died very young from a heroin overdose, a family member callously slandered the dead man and skillfully ‘othered’ him. The message was ‘he was not at … Continue reading Nothing to mourn; just a drug addict
Drinking when in recovery from other substances
Drink does not drown care, but waters it, and makes it grow fasterBenjamin Franklin When we consider the things that make us vulnerable to addiction – trauma, poverty, lack of opportunity, stress, stigma, genetics and environment, it’s no surprise that relapse and the development of problems with other substances occur after treatment. These problems don't … Continue reading Drinking when in recovery from other substances
Alcohol in the pandemic: the perfect storm
Are people drinking more or less in the UK since the pandemic started? The answer is ‘both’. While overall sales of alcohol are down (sales receipts from HMRC show a 2.4% drop Apr-July 2020), it looks like those who were drinking in the most hazardous fashion previously, are now drinking more. The British Medical Journal identifies a … Continue reading Alcohol in the pandemic: the perfect storm
Sentences to ponder
This headline is for all the legalization activists who point to the legal status of tobacco and alcohol. A sobering thought: One billion smokers and 240 million people with alcohol use disorder worldwide (source)
Living on the bottom
Debra Jay addresses the belief that families should let an addicted family member hit bottom: Hitting bottom is an old idea, still imposed upon families as if it were an absolute. Many families sadly believe that they must wait for alcoholics to hit bottom before there is any hope for recovery. They rarely stop to … Continue reading Living on the bottom
Women, Alcoholism and AA
An interesting new blog has a great post on Women, Alcoholism and AA. Admitting that I was an alcoholic has had a profound effect on my life. Most of my friends from the old days are not around anymore; they didn’t want to hear about my alcohol problem and some understood it so little that it … Continue reading Women, Alcoholism and AA
Seeking Safety + 12 Step Facilitation = good outcomes
The Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment looks at Seeking Safety plus twelve step facilitation. Good news: Objective The Recovery Management paradigm provides a conceptual framework for the examination of joint impact of a focal treatment and post-treatment service utilization on substance abuse treatment outcomes. We test this framework by examining the interactive effects of a treatment for … Continue reading Seeking Safety + 12 Step Facilitation = good outcomes
Alcohol’s place in our culture
Following up on yesterday's post, a few articles jumped out at me. First, the Michigan legislature is considering lowering the blood alcohol level for boats and other recreational vehicles to 0.08, so that it matches the BAL for driving a car. Sorta makes sense, right? Look at the comments in the Detroit Free Press and the … Continue reading Alcohol’s place in our culture
“look at alcohol!”
I frequently find myself in discussions about drug policy. I feel strongly that incarcerating people for possession is stupid and wrong, but I'm reluctant to legalize drugs. (I think there are a lot of options in between.) In these discussions, I inevitably hear someone say, "Look at alcohol. It's way worse and it's legal!" My … Continue reading “look at alcohol!”