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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1975-01-23, Page 174 qt A ft rossroods 0 WeelalY baaaa *Year lobltowell alhtero Witlitain A0441100 - Mel *ad MOUS FOreat Mee - 000,4 la read -by 31209 people In the "heartland ot Midwestern Oatnrie# Based on 3.5 readers in each et 9,500 honaei.1) ,•• P11 1 Published every week in The Listowel Banner, The Wingham Advance -Times and The MOUnt Forest Confederate by Wenger Bros. Limited. —crossroads—January 23, 1975— • her facing a problem ... there is a way back Invited for whiff of a drug, most people will .flare up in anger, flinch in embarrassment, abandon a friendship or an acquaintanceship and, in some cases, call the police. Taking mostdrugs is not socially acceptable (unless they are prescribed by a doctor). in most cases it Els ille- gal. Those who take drugs are so s� i often to be avoided. Some of them are criminals, sought by the police and when caught, jailed by judges. Ironically, 86 per cent of all males and 75 per cent of all females in Ontario, using the latest figures available, sip, sip, sip a drug. That includes everyone over the age of 15: fathers, mothers, singles, teachers, doctors, engineers, business- men, policemen, judges, politicians, farmers, school- children and even, yes, preachers. Of those who sip, sip, sip this drug, 300,000 sip enough of it to increase-their-r-ksk-gfcontacteng organic disease5 such as liver cirrhosis (dying of liver tissue). Of this number, 145,000 are really hooked, and hooked badly. They are -alcoholic. They take the drug in form of beer, whisky and wines. And the drug is -legal for anyone 18 years of age and over. s •• Drinking is very, very socially 'acceptable i even ophisticated. : Yetdrinking breeds a disease (alcoholism) so seri- ous that it has wrecked homes, ruined careers, killed people or contributed to their death and cost the public in general millions of dollars in Ontario. In 1969, for example, 38 percent of deaths due to liver cirrhosis were connected with alcohol usage. Alcohol was implicated in the 22 per cent of those 'viihci-died of peptic;uicers, in 18 per cent of suicides, 15 per cent of pneumonia deaths, 16 per cent of cancer of upper digestive and respiratory tracts and five per cent of deaths due to heart and artery diseases. Alcohol was also involved in the 45 per cent of deaths due to poisoning, 43 per cent of accidental fire deaths, 25 per cent of deaths due to falls and other physical trauma and 11 per cent of all deaths were alcoholics. Commenting on those figures, H. David Archibald,' executive director of the Ontario Addiction 'Research Foundation, noted that an alcoholic has twice the chance of premature death than the non-alcoholic. More staggering is the amount of taxpayers' money (including alcoholics') that was spent on problems re- lated to alcohol by the provincial government in 1971. In terms of dollars, $89 million went through the Ontario Hospital Insurance Plan, $17 million through the mental hospitals, $9 million through the Family Benefits Act and $11 million through the Children's Aid Society. Of the more than $1 billion spent by the provincial government on retearch, $134 million was on illnesses and disruption attributed directly to alcohol. And these figures do not include physicians' fees, Feature by Chege • Mbitiru municipal welfare payments, cost to business and indus- try through loss of productivity, nor do they reflect damages resulting from traffic accidents involving alco- hol, which accounted for 50 per cent .of traffic death. FACILITIES FOR CURE It is, therefore, evident that alcoholism is as danger- ous a disease as any other and more costly than most dis- eases in modern times. It can also be cured and there are facilities and methods of curing it. • Such a facility in Wellington County is the Welling- ton-Dufferin-Guelph Health Unit, which operates an Ad- diction Services Unit. Its representatives frequent such locations as Fergus, Arthur, Mount Forest, Palmerston and Clifford. Before discussing the activities of the unit in Welling- ton County, it is appropriate to note that of all those treated for addiction, the largest number involves alcohol. • • Sip, sip, sip sometimes and, indeed often; begins innocently. The use ofalcohol has been around as long as mankind. Sometimes it's on ceremonial occasions, sometimes on social odcasions, sometimes out of curiosity (particu- larly in youth) and sometimes just to "go along" with a group that uses alcohol frequently. In general, though, most people sip, sip, sip to enjoy a "high feeling", to overtome "low" feelings, to relax or promote sleep, to relieve social or physical discomfort, to quench thirst, to increase appetite or to make a get-to- gether more enjoyable. What they take into their bloodstream immediately is ethyl alcohol. It needsno digestion. In Ontario beer contains 5 per cent alcohol, most table wines between 10 and 14 per cent, fortified wines (sherry, port and vermouth) between 16 and 20 per cent and•distilled spirits (whiskey, gin, rum) 40 per cent. Comparatively, a 12 -ounce bottle of beercontaini the same amount of alcohol as a drink containing an ounce and a half of spirits. The same amount is contained in a five -ounce glass of table wine or a three -ounce glass of fortified wine. Although alcohol contains none of the vital nutritious elements, such as vitamins, it has Aplenty of calories. Hence, "beer bellies". Comparatively, two glasses of beer contain more calories than a piece of pie or a cream puff. The short term effects of alcohol depend on the amount taken, the period of time in which it is taken, the body size of the individual, the mood of the individual and the amount and type of food in the stomach, (food slows the 'rate at which alcohol enters the blood stream). Generally, however, alcohol decreases the activity of the brain; there is a feeling of cheerfulness and well- being, dizziness and poor co-ordination with alcohol equivalent to three or four drinks. Wittr, between six and eight drinks, staggering, double vision and loss of balance begin. • Large doses can result in death by knocking out the brain's control over breathing. This, however, rarely happens since most people "pass out" before taking the fatal dose. WARNING SIGNS People; some with a great deal of profundity and backed with exhaustive studies, have attempted to determine when drinking becomes a problem. It is enough to say, though, that as a person slips into the habit of drinking more, his tolerance increases. That is, he needs more alcohol to get the same effect. Warning signs that sip, sip, sip is becoming a problem begin with frequent hangovers, blackouts, loss of interest in work, hobbies, friends and having alcohol- related incidents that one normally wouldn't take part in For treatment purposes, says Mrs. Sybil Gordon, the co-ordinator of the Wellington - Dufferin-Guelph Health Unit Addiction Services, drinking is considered a prob- lem when it begins to interfere with a "major aspect of one's life," These are financial, budgeting, dmployment, health, relationships With other people (particularly members of family and spouses) and legal: police charges for inci- dences related to alcohol. Inevitably, the family is one unit that is eventually adversely affected by alcoholism and, for that matter, heavy drinking. Lack of self-discipline shows up in impulsive, incon- sistent and indulgent behaviour to other people. There develops an over -dependency which can't be accepted and responded to by other people. Moreover, this over -dependency makes it difficult, if not impossible, for the alcoholic to meet the normal de- pendency of others, and particularly children, in a family. The alcoholic develops pre -occupation with him- self or herself and personal suffering that makes it impossible to accept or recognize the normal needs and pains of others. There is an unre'alistic, immature approach to the ordinary business of living and such irresponsible ac- tions like exaggerated buying and accumulation of un- necessary debts. The alcoholic's limited interest in others tends to iso- late him or her from other people and particular members of -the family leading to dedication_ in activities which demand very little of him or her. The cumulative effect of such behaviour is to disrupt normal relationships with other people and this leads to very damaging results in a family, affecting not only the spousg but also the children. • Relationships become shallow and often the alcoholic cannot communicate or demonstrate the love and affection necessary to the growth of hurnan relation. ship and particularly family life. -Children may learn to hate and resent people and their opportunity to grow into outgoing and understand. ing individuals may be curtailed. Spouses lead the chil- dren into a tug-of-war in their battles, and quarrels resulting from drinking episodes. CONTROL SUGGESTIONS Various ways of controlling alcoholism have been suggested and put into practice. They range from ban- ning alcohol completely and, by legislation, controlling the outlets and the hojrs of sale or drinking in public places and even heavy taxation of spirits. While there is evidence that total overall consump- tion of alcohol is related to the number of alcoholic related diseases and deaths, there is no evidence that changing of drinking hours or controlling outlets or even high taxation affect the consumption. People simply de- velop new drinking customs. Consequently, emphasis has been placed on edu- cating individuals and entire populations, for that matter, about alcohol: counselling, therapy (individually or involving all members of a family) ancHn provision of anti -drinking medicine. .41 The treatment for an alcoholic hinges on the fact that the individual must recognize that there is a problem, which is not always easy. Part of the reason in this refusal to admit that one has a drinking problem is attributed to a sense of failure most alcoholics feel in not being able to control their own drinking. Contributing to this is an over -emphasis in society that drinking is more of a moral than a physical illness. This, it has been argued, encourage S people with drinking problems to harden and often not to seek help. The admission of having a drinking problem has been compared with acceptance that one has a serious and maybe incurable disease. It is that trauniatic. Mrs. Gordon says that most people come to the at- tention of the •Addiction Services workers through members of family, family doctors, police, ministers, friends, kinds of people." Sometimes people will' refer their friends to the six Addiction Services workers but would prefer not to have their names mentioned, which is another example of emotional complications that go along with heavy drink; ing. • In such cases, the family doctor or a minister is used as a go-between. "And we have used ministers and family doctors very often," Mrs. Gordon says But most often 4I -ie problem is brought to the atten- • tion of the workers,by frantic family members who want the workers to "sto6" someone from drinking. "The first thing we tell such persons," says Mrs. Gordon, "is that we tan't stop anyone from drinking. -Each individual must want to do something about it." However, there is help open to, family members, and it is usually wives who draw the attention of the problem to the Addiction Services workers. "We do not tell them what to do," Mrs. Gordon notes. "We help their accept the situation and then help them handle it." • This heip comes ;i11 the formoftanaflonas to' • what different ways there are to handle the situation and leaving the choice of action to the persons concerned. For some married people, it may be permanent or temporary separation; taking a job instead of sitting around at home (for wives) worrying about the alcoholic \and his problems; social activities and exercise groups so that "they can start living again" and paying more at- tention to the children's needs instead of those of the al- coholic. VERY DEPENDENT Ironically, alcoholics are very ,dependent persons. Yet, they go around acting as if they are not. Once the alcoholic has admitted that he has a drink- ing problem and is willing to seek help, the first thing is to get him to stop drinking. "From there we can then start working with his other problems," Mrs. Gordon says. She notes' that most people the Addiction Services workers come in contact with have never had a family doctor and says, "We. encourage them to have one." There are anti -drinking medicines, known as preven- tive medicines, that sell under various trade name. These make the drinking of alcohol result in sickness. "They do not in any way stop a man from drinking," Mrs. Gordon says. "However, the knowledge that one may become ill after drinking may increase his determi- nation not to drink." • Treatment for alcoholics and their families, Mrs. Gordon explains, depends to a large extent on the indivi- duals and their families because personal and family adjustment before and after the problem begins plays a major role in the way they will respond to' treatment. •_Consequently, the relationship between the thera- pist, the alcoholic and the family members varies from one case to another. But the aim is always the same. To deal with all the problems that contribute to the disease that is -alcohol- ism. 14 It has been argued that members of a family, for example, encourage the alcoholic to continue with his in- dulgence. Wives, in particular, do contribute to the continued drinking since while they may nag and complain, they continually adjust to the situation, thus depriving the alcoholic of an opPortunity to deal with the problem. It is such factors that fail to deter an alcoholic from having to deal with, or face up to, his plight. While there are no figures related to those seeking .help from the Addiction Services for alcohol in Welling- ton County, it is clear that there is a drinking problem and that most people can be helped• . Figures for those who have been treated indicate an increasing number of persons who have, in the past six years, kept away from alcohol and resumed a normal life. The Addiction Services are experimenting with a process Mrs. Gordon calls "controlled drinking". It is a new concept still in experimental stages. It is meant for those who have a drinking problem but don't want to stop drinking. It's meant to determine how much to drink and when to stop. There is ample evidence' that alcohol has serious consequences for society, families and individuals, There is ample evidence also that It can be remedied. Ultimately, though, the extent to which it can be remedied depends on the Individual. Nearly every method of controlling alcohol consumption has failed. Consquently, only by exploring the effects of alcohol on an individual level (and there is literature avallabli) before the problem begins and by seeking treatment once it has, can the detrimental results be avoided.