How to prevent alcoholism in adults and adolescents

Alcohol is the most consumed addictive substance among the population. Drinking is considered a cultural phenomenon, something essential to spend time with friends and have fun, and surely this is the belief that makes it perceived as something whose risk is low.

For this reason, frequent alcohol consumption is a fairly ingrained habit, and more and more people are crossing the delicate line between normal consumption and alcoholism.

The dangers of alcohol are multiple and, therefore, many people, especially heavy drinkers and concerned parents, wonder how to prevent alcoholism. Next we will see some strategies focused on this objective.

• Related article: "The 5 types of alcoholism (and associated disorders)"

How to prevent alcoholism?

Alcohol is, in many western countries, the most consumed addictive substance. Beer, wine, spirits and other alcoholic beverages are seen as a fundamental element in many social situations, such as dinners, hangouts with friends or important celebrations.

Given its ease of obtaining and its legality, alcohol is also

one of the drugs responsible for many cases of addiction. Although there are all kinds of addicts, alcohol, along with tobacco, are the most frequent addictions in the population, and it is for That is why there are not a few people who try to get out of this addiction or, in the best of cases, try to prevent a drug addiction.

There is no magic formula to avoid alcoholism. Each person is the way they are and there are many situations and the type of alcohol consumption that influence the development of alcoholism. However, there are several strategies aimed at helping parents of adolescents and adults concerned about their own consumption, which have been shown to be quite effective.

Although there are many people who believe that alcohol is a substance that can have some type of health benefit if consumed, the truth is that it only serves to disinfect wounds. What is said that a glass of wine helps prevent heart problems has been proven false.

There is no evidence linking drinking alcohol to improved health, quite the contrary. In addition to affecting concentration and other cognitive aspects, it damages the liver and also the respiratory tract. In fact, it has been seen that most laryngeal cancers are due to excessive alcohol consumption.

As for behavioral problems, alcohol consumption makes one lose heart. This means that bad decisions can be made, such as consuming other substances that are even more harmful, such as cocaine, designer drugs, or gambling pathologically (gambling). Greater disinhibition is synonymous with unprotected sex, and you can contract a transmitted disease sexual intercourse (STD), and problem behaviors such as smashing street furniture, which can lead to problems with law.

Why do teenagers drink?

In a society in which information and communication technologies are available to everyone, those who adolescents decide to drink alcohol it is clear that it is not because they do not know the effects that this substance causes in the organism. The reason they drink is, in addition to believing that what they have seen on the Internet does not have to happen to them, that value short-term advantages as more relevant than long-term disadvantages.

Among adolescent popular culture is the idea that alcohol helps to integrate into the peer group. It is seen as a way to gain acceptance among classmates. In addition, by drinking they manage to gain certain physical, sexual or psychological effects, in addition to a greater disinhibition that the most shy people see as something extremely attractive.

Prevention of risk behaviors with alcohol

The prevention of risky behaviors in adolescents basically focuses on preventing them from consuming alcohol. Although they may be close to the age of majority, alcohol still can cause serious cognitive disorders in your still-forming brain. As for adults, prevention focuses on re-educating the person who may be at greater risk for develop alcoholism, in addition to teaching you strategies that help you moderate or completely eliminate drinks.

Prevention in adolescents

To prevent alcoholism in adolescents, there are basically the following two strategies that parents and educators should take into account.

1. Encourage an assertive style

It is frequent that in adolescents who have tried alcohol there have been attempts to consume other substances, such as marijuana or, if they have had access, cocaine. Sometimes these cases are due to a notorious misinformation of the effects of these substances, but in most cases they are due to adolescents being curious and furthermore, in an attempt to be rebellious, they refuse to listen to what adults have told them.

Their normal communication style can be aggressive or passive, that is, answering with grunts or going overboard with what the parents say. This may be because they have seen it from their parents, who may have a tense relational style. This is why the best way to prevent drug use, especially alcohol, is to speak without taboos on the subject. In this way, the adolescent is invited to explain himself, to tell what she has been doing, as long as he is not approached with overly invasive questions.

The objective is to get the adolescent to have an assertive style of expression, saying what she wants in a sincere, direct and appropriate way, feeling that the parents respect her point of view that she is sharing as the adult that in a few years she will be. If they have been given, mention the specific and concrete behaviors that are related to possible alcohol abuse.

2. Set standards

Establishing rules, privileges, and punishments is fundamental to all good education. Parents and educators must actively intervene to avoid inappropriate behavior, including alcohol consumption. Supervision and control by adults should be aimed at helping adolescents learn more adaptive behaviors.

Watching the adolescent should not be taken as synonymous with controlling everything she does. The controlled adolescent either becomes frustrated or goes to great lengths to rebel. The appropriate thing is that, by speaking openly and without seeing it as a violation of her privacy, the parents ask how her day was, what she has done with friends and what she would like to do with her classmates.

Being good parents does not mean being friends with the adolescent. Rules, limits, and privileges must be established to influence adolescent behavior. One rule is that you cannot consume alcohol on weekdays. This rule, of course, must also be respected by adults, who should ask themselves if they are models of consumption or models of abstinence.

In case there have already been incidents related to alcohol, punishments can be imposed, such as withdrawal of privileges, decrease in pay, less time to meet friends ...

3. What to do on your first binge?

Addressing the first borracher is a very difficult situation for any concerned parent. Not only because it can be traumatic to see a child in this state, but also because it is difficult to maintain your composure. It is common that one does not know how to react correctly to this situation, anger, sadness, screaming, loss of nerves… Also, parents may miss hurtful comments that are not going to help.

The first thing to avoid is talking about it while you are drunk, that is, not talking to the adolescent when she cannot defend herself. In addition to the fact that it is difficult for him to remember what he is told in that state, the only thing we will do is make him behave more violently, opt for pasotism and "whatever you say." It is best to postpone the conversation until the next day, when the boy is in a position to carry on a dialogue without the world turning around.

The next day, when the conversation is taken, not discussion, you should avoid dramatizing, although you should show seriousness, since the situation requires it. The adolescent must understand that it is a serious matter, in which his parents are concerned about his health and that it is necessary to take action on it, in addition to talking about it.

Ideally, start with questions such as "what happened last night?", "What happened to make you feel bad?", "Who helped you get back home?"... It is very important to let him talk as long as he needs and calmly. What you should never do is make comments like "what have I done to make you come out like this", "you are irresponsible" "drunk" ...

During the conversation we should try to find out the reasons why she drank and the amount of alcohol she ingested. If it has been the case that the adolescent has not had enough information about the risks of abuse alcohol (which is difficult, although possible, despite ICT), we will facilitate it and take advantage of reflect.

At the end, you must be made aware that we support you, and that we are not in favor of having Drunk does not mean that we consider him an alcoholic, a failure as a child, or that we stop want. He has to understand that we are here to help him in whatever he needs, and that if it happens again, which is preferable if it does not, that you can call us to pick you up. Although the next day there will be a talk, you must understand that in a drunken state what you should worry about is not the fight your parents are going to give you, but your health.

• You may be interested: "The 14 most important types of addictions"

Prevention in adults

Although we are not as influential as adolescents as adults, the truth is that alcohol abuse disorder can catch anyone off guard, especially after having lived a very stressful or traumatic situation, such as the loss of a loved one very suddenly, a bad relationship breakup, mistreatment, a terrorist attack or abuse sexual. Many people take refuge in alcohol to try to endure all the pain and suffering that these situations may have caused them.

However, and fortunately, most adults consume alcohol for social reasons and without necessarily having psychological problems behind its consumption. Sometimes it can be due to simple social pressures and sometimes because we like to drink. But even in a controlled manner and for recreational purposes only, alcohol consumption is harmful, and you must know when to stop.

Here are some strategies to prevent alcohol from taking over our lives.

1. Alcohol away from home

The best way to avoid being tempted is to keep it out. Alcohol should be away from home to avoid consuming it when bored. If your pantry has all kinds of liquors, you are more likely to fall for tempting easily.

The first step is not to have alcohol to drink alone. You can buy a six-pack if friends come, but only drink it in front of other people.

After the party or social event in question is over, the leftover alcohol can be given to the guests to take with them or, if they don't want it, dumped it down the drain. We shouldn't feel bad about throwing out a drug.

2. Substitutes

Eliminated the alcohol from the pantries, to try to calm the desire you can buy other non-alcoholic beverages, such as sparkling water, tea, or soft drinks (preferably unsweetened) to fill the gap.

It is not a good idea to buy non-alcoholic beer or other beverages in their non-alcoholic version, since their consumption increases the desire to consume. It is better to try to adapt your palate to the taste of drinks that normally do not have alcohol, such as lemonade or those mentioned above.

3. Avoid drinking sentimentally

Alcohol consumption doesn't just happen. Many times we consume alcohol alone for various reasons, all of them related to feelings: we are bored, sad, we feel lonely, stressed... All these feelings are the emotional basis of many addictions and we drink waiting to see if the mood rises.

But the problem is that alcohol is a depressant. After a few minutes the high drops drastically, lowering our morale and sinking us even more. Basically, it makes things worse.

It is best to drink it only in some social situations, when we are having a good time and there is a reason to celebrate, or never directly, since alcohol drunk in a moderate way also damages health.

4. Try non-alcoholic activities

In many groups of friends, going to a bar is a tradition. But this does not mean that you cannot do anything new, such as going on a hike, riding a bike, trying a new sport, signing up for a language course ...

By doing these types of activities in which alcohol is not welcome, you can enjoy an experience with a group of friends., unforgettable and without being blurred from drunkenness.

5. Surrounding yourself with people who don't drink

As surprising as it may seem, there are many people in our environment who are abstainers, or who consume alcohol on very specific occasions.

It is very healthy to spend time with people like that, since they do not encourage alcohol consumption and they already know other ways of how to entertain themselves. It is very nice not to have to face people who invite us to consume every time we see them.

On the other hand, if you know someone who drinks too much and there is no way to lower their consumption, the best thing will be to get away from it to prevent it from harming us. You may realize that alcohol is making you lose friends and choose to cut back.

6. Exercise

Exercising is one way to deal with problems, as long as they are not too serious. As long as consumption is moderate but you want to lower it, exercise is one of the best strategies to prevent alcoholism.

Drinking makes us feel lazy and weak, in addition to causing weight gain, counterproductive effects with performing a sporting activity. If we want to be one hundred percent every time we go to the gym or run, it is best not to consume.

If we join a competition, such as a marathon, we will soon become aware that we must be as clear as possible and avoid, as much as possible, consuming all alcoholic beverages.

7. Alcoholic beverage diary

Avoiding binge drinking is easier for some people than for others. Some may drink it daily and decide to stop suddenly, others, on the other hand, find it more difficult.

Whatever the situation, the best way to be aware of how much you drink is to write down it, and for this it is very suitable make a diary of alcoholic beverages, where the amount, the type, the days, the place and the reason for the consummation.

The maximum daily alcohol limit recommended by the WHO is 30 g in men and 20 g in women, translating this into more or less 14 drinks a week for the former and between 7-10 for the latter.

Taking this data into account, we can find out if our alcohol consumption is well above what the health authorities recommend. In case it is not too high, but we still overcome it, it would be a good idea to set a goal to achieve, such as going down to about 10 drinks a week in men, for example.

When to seek help?

Everything explained so far is for cases in which there has not yet been a serious drinking problem, that is, an alcohol abuse disorder. Many people drink alcohol from time to time, but it is the quantity and frequency that determines, in addition to the effects on the body, the severity of the specific case.

If you have serious cognitive and organic problems due to excessive alcohol consumption, in addition to behaviors violence, problems with the law and loss of relationships due to this substance, is when the need to seek help should be raised professional.

Cognitive-behavioral treatment

Although there are support groups, Alcoholics Anonymous style, these groups are not as effective as a therapy carried out by an experienced addiction psychologist. The most common treatment is cognitive behavioral treatment.

One of the goals of this treatment is to have patients identify and correct problem behaviors, in this case excessive alcohol consumption, in addition to identifying the predisposing

All of this will be done by teaching them skills that will stop the abuse and address problems that may serve to increase behavior (fights with the partner, mistreatment, visiting friends alcoholics ...)

The strategies that are usually taught are oriented to the improvement of self-control, techniques which are usually continued by patients once the therapy has finished.

Lean on family and friends

Giving up drinking is extremely difficult if you try to do it alone, as it is with other addictions. If the right situation arises, if there are family members who do not have a drinking problem and who can serve as effective support.

In these cases, it is a good idea to ask the family for help, as long as they are aware of the seriousness of the situation. Inform them that you are going to a psychologist and follow the guidelines that the professional has recommended with the family is one of the ways to ensure that the treatment works.

Bibliographic references:

• Elzo, J. (dir) et al (2009): “Drug cultures in youth and parties”. Vitoria, Central Publications Service of the Basque Government.
• Ashery, R.S; Robertson, E.B.; and Kumpfer, K.L; (Eds.) (1998): "Drug Abuse Prevention Through Family Interventions". NIDA Research Monograph, No. 177. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
• Battistich, V; Solomon, D,; Watson, M.; and Schaps, E. (1997): "Caring school communities". Educational Psychologist, vol. 32, no.3, p. 137-151.