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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1985)
perhaps by an employer warning of term ina tion, the alcoholic is backed into a corner so that she or he finally agrees to a treatment program. As part of my medical training, I was re quired to attend autopsies. I remember the autopsy of a 22 year-old Native .American man who had died technicallv ol pneumonia. Actually, he was a late state alcoholic who had probablv become drunk and vomited white lyinQ down so th<jt some of his vomitus held gotten down into his lungs which by Patrick Caplis, /YD Cary was nineteen when I met him. a beautiful vibrant blond-hz- red youth, who loved life and people and perhaps drank a little too much too often vi e had a brief affair and later saw each ether socially from time to time. When I last s<iw Gary, he was thirty. His handsome face is now badly scarred from injuries suffered in a motor cycle accident. His eyes watery, his face bio i his bulging muscles now hidden unt ol Is o f flab- He is unem ployed except when he works part tirnt ^ us father s construction business Cary is gay. and Gary is an alcoholic. Over the past several years, the AIDS epidemic has become the major health con cern of the gay community. Perhaps you are, as I was, largely unaware of the magnitude of another health problem, namely, lesbian and gay alcoholism. These are some of the facts: • One out of every three members of the gay community is either an alcoholic or well on the road to becoming one. This includes both women and men. • Experts estimate the number of alcoholics in America to be at least 10 m illion people. • Alcoholism is ranked the #3 killer in the United States, only cardiovascular disease and cancer rank higher. • Half of all homicides, 405 of all rapes, and as high as 60% of all suicides are alcohol- related. Alcoholism is an actual physical disease. It is chronic, hereditary, progressive and fatal. Historically, alcoholics have been labeled morally degenerate or lacking in willpower, but researchers now understand that alco holism is caused by certain metabolic de fects in the body which makes alcoholic individuals physiologically incapable of pro cessing alcohol normally. Over 80% of alcoholics are hypoglycemic and exhibit abnormal carbohydrate metabolism. Many alcoholics are also deficient in certain liver enzymes essential for the proper breakdown of alcohol in the body. By-products of abnor mal alcohol metabolism accumulate in the blood and eventually result in the classic symptoms of the true alcoholic: 1) increased tolerance for high doses of alcohol, 2) the total inability to stop drinking once the indi vidual starts, and 3) suffering severe with drawal symptoms if the individual tries to stop drinking. An estimated 10% of the general American population is alcoholic. So why is the inci dence of alcoholism so much higher among lesbians and gays? No one knows for sure. We speculate that it has to do with the fact that for a long time we have been a bar- centered community. We meet in bars, we go dancing in bars, we celebrate and commis erate in bars. And when we are not in bars, we are drinking at home or drinking at parties. Alcohol is a friend to the shy man who wants to feel less inhibited. Alcohol may help a lonely and depressed woman feel like she is part of the crowd, and perhaps only when she is intoxicated can she openly express her true homosexual self. We drink to get happy, and we drink and party in order to hide from the world, to escape the painful and anxious feel ing of being different, being gay. A sense of alienation and feeling of low self-esteem coupled in some individuals with a genetic tendency toward alcoholism has resulted in an enormous increase in the number of lesbian and gay alcoholics. For us, alcoholism is not only a physical disease; it is a m ajor symptom of our oppression as a people. Donna was bom to dance. It was obvi ous from ju s t watching her w alk across the room, sleek legs, supple gestures. She worked so hard at her craft, demanding so m uch o f herself cind her students. Then one i. 1 1 „.... Just Out, November T985 Alcoholism: The Unseen Epidemic day I came to the studio and someone w alked toward me sobbing. “Donna is no longer w ith us. ' she said. Booze and pills — those were her weapons. Hone o f us were aware that Donna had been an alcoholic. While I had been out celebrating m y birth day, m y friend had been home dying. So now every year I get to celebrate the bitter sweet anniversary o f m y birth and her death. Alcoholics often try to hide their drinking, their feeling about their drinking, or both. For this reason, alcoholism is often referred to as a “ disease of denial." People who really have no drinking problem do not find it necessary to defend their drinking to themselves or others. Most alcoholics are not the stereotypical drunken bum on Skid Road. In most cases, alcoholics are able to hold down jobs, some- times quite successfully. They have families and lovers, and often even close friends will be unaware of the drinking problem. Alcohol ics frequently choose fellow alcoholics as their friends. Most di inking alcoholics do not want to be helped. They are sick people, unable to think rationally, and usually incapable of perma nently giving up alcohol by themselves. They may understand that drinking is creating dif ficulties in their lives, but it is only when they try to stop drinking that the real trouble be gins. The tension, frustrations, tremors, irritaiiility and nausea finally become so un- bearaoie that they have to drink because al cohol is the fastest way to relieve the pain. Many alcoholics have had to be forced into treatment against their will. Either by order of a judge following a senous accident, or by a partner threatening to pack up and leave, or watermelon, weighing perhaps twenty five pounds. In order to have such a grossly en larged fatty liver, this 22 year old wouid have nad to have been drinking very heavily for ! nuny years. Most alcoholics die at a young age. Between the onset of any ol a variety of specific diseases: malnutrition, ulcers, pan creatitis. cancers of the throat and esopha gus, frequent infections, liver and heart dis ease. brain atrophy. Alcohol also acts as an immunosuppressant, and a large percentage of persons with AIDS have a previous history of alcohol and/or drug abuse. Statistically, women alcoholics are more likely than men to develop liver damage and other alcohol- related diseases. Most alcoholics will die of their disease. This is because substantially less than 10% of the victims of alcoholism will ever seek or receive treatm ent But it is important to bear in m ind that alcoholism, in proven fact is a readily treatable illness. The goal is to help the alcoholic individual stop drinking and stay sober. This often ini tially requires participation in an alcohol treatment program followed by regular attendance at meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous. Here in Portland, we are fortunate in having many community resources available ot help any gay person quit drinking. The Gay Al coholics Hotline (231 -3760) is staffed by vol unteers who invite you to call them between 10:00 P.M. and 7:00 A.M. any night of the week if you have a question or a problem about drinking — yours, or that of someone for whom you care. In December. Phoenix Rising will be offering a Chemical Depend ence Workshop. (Call 223-8299 for further information.) Another important community out-reach group is the Live And Let Live Club, located at 2403 S.E. Ankeny. The Live And Let Live Club is a non-profit organization established by a group of lesbian and gay members of Alcoholics Anonymous. The primary pur pose of the club is to rent space for meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous and other “ 12 -step programs,” such as Narcotics Anonymous and Overeater Anonymous. Meetings of A A take place three or four times daily at the Club. From its beginning to the present the Live And Let Live Club has received most of its support from the gay/lesbian community; however all Club events are open to the gen eral public free of charge. The Club will soon celebrate a half-decade of service to the les bian and gay community, and an open house is planned for December 1st (Please call 231 -3760 for further details.) For inform a tion about other Alcoholics Anonymous groups in the Portland area call the Portland Area Intergroup at 223-8569. Addiction is hating yourself, and the only way out of addiction is learning to love your self. If you have a drinking problem, at least consider the possibility of seeking advice or treatm ent If you are concerned about the devastating epidemic of alcoholism in our community, become informed. Somene you love may need your help — before it's too late. Patrick Caplis is a Portland area naturo pathic physician. ...... *