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Alcoholism Impacts Everyone

Brad MadsenBy Bradley Madsen, Recovery Clinical Coordinator

You may think you are too strong, or somehow immune to alcoholism. After all, ‘things like alcoholism happen to OTHER people, it can’t happen to ME.’ But it can. Working in the addiction field, I’ve met hundreds of people who once believed that alcoholism could never happen to them, until it did.

‘But I’m different, I’m a successful/professional person.’ Alcoholism doesn’t care what you do for a living or how much money you have in the bank. It doesn’t care what race you are or how educated you are. If you have recent patterns of abusing alcohol, you are at risk. Take these statistics for example:

  • Lawyers: One in five attorneys struggle with drinking problems – twice the national rate.
  • Healthcare: About 4% of healthcare workers reported heavy alcohol consumption in the prior month. A 2014 study found that 15.3% of physicians struggled with alcohol abuse or dependence.
  • Construction: 16.5% report drinking heavily in recent weeks.
  • Hospitality/Food Service: 11.8% report drinking heavily in recent weeks.
  • Management: Roughly 9% of ‘white collar’ professionals in management positions reported heavy alcohol use in the past month.
  • Real Estate: 5% report drinking heavily in recent weeks.
  • Finance/Insurance: 7.4% report drinking heavily in recent weeks.
  • Education: 4.7% report drinking heavily in recent weeks.
  • Farming: Alcohol abuse among farmers is as high as 32% (over 3 in 10).

Addiction impacts everyone

I hope this illustrates the point that alcoholism truly does not discriminate.

Alcohol Awareness Month is a national public health awareness campaign sponsored by the National Council for Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) that takes place every April. It was developed to increase awareness and understanding of the causes and treatment of one of our nation’s top public health problems: alcoholism.

If you or someone you care about has problems with alcohol (or other substances), help is available. The sooner a person can get help, the better the long-term chance for recovery. Alcoholism is a disease, not a moral failing, a choice, or weakness. If you feel that you need help or guidance, reach out to your physician, or contact the Recovery Center at (712) 655-2300. Recovery is possible.

The Recovery Center at MRHC is a 16-bed, co-ed chemical dependency facility located in Manning. Services include detoxification, residential treatment, outpatient treatment and consultations or evaluations. For more information about the Recovery Center, visit www.manningrecoverycenter.com.

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