PAGE 8
HEALTH
(Teens - contnued from page 5)
Many young people will argue in defense of a lower
drinking age on the basis of adult rights. But the
purpose for the public policy issue of raising the legal
drinking ages across the country to 21 is for the protec
tion of all citizens. There are certain developmental
norms that people have to pass through before they
reach full maturity. As Dr. Jorge Valles explained, it
becomes evident that many people under the age of 21
may not have reached a true physical maturity. Just as
we would not allow a 4 year old to cross the street, or an
8 year old to drive a car, our public policy on the legal
drinking age should depend upon our consideration of
full maturity.
There are many things to consider when it comes to the
issue of teen alcohol use. Realistically, some young
people under the legal drinking age, are able to drink
responsibly. But the dangers and consequences for teen
drinking, far outweigh any benefits. It is important to
know how to respond to a teenager that chooses to drink
alcohol.
Many schools and parents have joined together to
sponsor "non-using" dances, activities, parties, etc. You
can help to show teens that they can have fun without
alcohol or other drugs. You may wish to allow our teen
to invite a friend along on a family outing or to have an
adult supervised party. Planning for a sober party with a
happy ending can be fun for everyone.
Alcohol use in our society is acceptable. Unfortunately
it has become a "right of passage" or symbol of matur
ity. This struggle will probably continue for some time.
But of notable consideration should be the fact that if
alcohol were discovered today it probably would not be
approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for
it is indeed a dangerous drug.
HELPING AN ALCOHOLIC
"HELPLESS" is the way most people say they felt when
they first found out that someone dose had a problem
with alcohol or other drugs. If you are worried about a
friend or family members, there are some things that
you can do:
Recognize that alcoholism is not a moral problem. It is
a disease, like diabetes or heart disease. Anyone can
become alcoholic...and anyone can recover with profes
sional help.
Talk to a school counselor or to a student who is a
member of the Student Assistance Program if you
school has one.
Look for help in the Yellow Pages under "Alcohol
Information and Treatment" or "Drug Abuse." Call
several sources to find one that is right for the person
you care about.
Confront the person with the problem. Your honesty
may not be appreciated at first, but it will force the
person to face the problem.
Ask a treatment professional about "direct alcoholism
intervention." Family members can force an alcoholic
to face the problem and seek help. Former First Lady
Betty Ford says that she owes her life to her family
because they got help from a professional and staged a
"direct alcoholism intervention."
Alcoholism is called the "family disease" because is has
an affect on every member of the family. All people in
an alcoholic family spouse, sons, daughters - need help
to deal with life, even if they no longer live with the
alcoholic. One excellent source of help is Al-Anon
Family Groups. Al-Anon Groups include Al-Anon for
family members, ACOA groups for adult children of
alcoholics, Alateen for teenage children or siblings, and
Alatot for very young children.
Talk about your problems. You are not the only person
who cares about someone with alcohol or other drug
problems. You will feel better, and you deserve the
emotional support that friends and professionals can
give.
POSITIVE SELF-IMAGE
Any person must have four specific conditions within
themselves to have high self-esteem, if any of these
elements is missing or if seriously damaged, it can result
in a sense of worthlessness, in turn leading to more
serious problems. The elements described are:
1. Having: A feeling of being connected -to your
heritage, to a group, to a certain role in life.
2. Being: Your sense of uniqueness. This can be
anything that is special about you something you know,
physical characteristics, lifestyle or a distinct ability.
3. Doing: This is a sense of power, an ability to feel
capable because of your skills, resources and the '
opportunity to influence the life around you and take
responsibility for your own life.
4. Knowing: This is your philosophy of life, sense of
value, and direction of where you want to go. Setting
goals, knowing how to do things and understanding what
standards you have to meet are all part of this.
This is often the elements most easily lost due to outside
influences or things that happen to you.
You self-esteem comes from the way in which people
react to you and who well you are able to cope with the
world around you. It is something that is built over a
period of time until you have a sense of how worthwhile
you feel you are.
In order to help re-establish self-esteem or to build it,
wc need to take responsibility for ourselves, let ourselves
know that we are important and help each other see that
we have choices and the ability to cope with our life
circumstances.
From Dr. Harris Clemes, Clinical Psychologist
ALCOHOLIC'S WORST
ENEMY
Alcoholics are masters at rationalizing, which is nothing
more than the science of arranging to do what we want
to do, then making it appear reasonable.
Rationalization is probably the greatest memesis of the
alcoholic. It plagues him before he gets into AA. and
often after he arrives. It is a mental process that
consigns him to his own private hell of worry and
frustration, of fear and loneliness.
Alcoholic rationalization is a built-in antidote to recov
ery. It is the process of illogical reasoning employed by
the alcoholic to justify unreasonable behavior and
attitudes in a (for him) reasonable manner. From the
first troublesome drink, this fantastic process is evident.
His startled dismay at the adverse results of drinking
cause him to blame anything and everything but the real
culprit...alcohol.
If the alcoholic applied logic to the situations, alcohol
ism would never get beyond the discovery state. PROB
LEM: When I drink, I get into trouble. SOLUTION:
Don't drink. It would be that simple.
However, at this point logic is seldom applied, because
the ego is shattered by what the alcoholic feels is a
humiliating discovery. His inability to handle booze
reflects on his manhood and the quality of his worth as a
person. So he convinces himself that if he refused to
admit to the facts it will somehow make the reality of his
discovery disappear. It is at this point that the alcoholic
rationalization begins.
Distorting the facts and unwilling to accept his inability
to learn, he must justify his decision. Reason won't do
it. So he isolates himself in a world of self-pity, defiance,
frustration and anger. He becomes totally self-centered,
hypersensitive to criticism or suggestion, resenting
intensely any interference with his God-given right to
drink.
Obviously the only thing that would induce any one to
deliberately continue using alcohol having a complete
awareness of its destructive qualities for him - is per
verted thinking, alcoholic rationalization. And just as
obvious is the only solution a complete reversal of this
kind of thinking.
Because it is so ingrained in many of us, our talent for
rationalization does not necessarily leave us when we
sober up. We simply divert that talent to other areas of
our lives. Constant contact with a solid sponsor is a
great way of holding rationalization in check.
(From High & Dry)