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June 11, 2008
Lindsay Cole
One of the most difficult aspects of addiction is that its causality is hard to trace. Chemical and psychological dependency, genetic disposition, personality, social networks, and combinations thereof are regarded as possible causes, but the day-to-day experience of addiction varies from person to person. Some use daily and others binge sporadically. Psychologists and scientists study, test and experiment, but conclude that there is no one path to addiction and no prototype to determine who will abuse, who will avoid, and who can successfully overcome addiction. The only thing that all agree on is that prevention is the best and easiest defense. This is a good starting point, until we consider the controversial issue of how to prevent addiction. There seems to be an automatic word association made between prevention and education. This seems an obvious connection, but most of us remember how seriously we took the drug- and alcohol-abuse assemblies we've been subjected to since grade school. Some cop that we don't relate to, let alone believe, harps on us and passes around booklets with illustrations of various substances with thick red circles around them and the big red line across the illustration-drugs, alcohol and tobacco are bad. That's not education. What those cops could have told us is that these things are chemicals. They are produced by a series of chemical reactions that not only effect but also control our bodies. Simply put, the effects that our bodies undergo if we sneak away at a party to snort speed is not so different from what would happen if we were to sneak away to the bathroom to snort, say, Ajax. It just isn't enough to say that these substances are bad or wrong. That's not education, that's moral judgment.
A close friend of mine is getting her master's degree in psychology and fulfilling her practicum requirements at a center for troubled teens. A great amount of her work revolves around drug and alcohol abuse. Many of her patients were born addicted to drugs, and for this reason, among others, their lives have revolved around drugs and alcohol literally since birth. These kids grow up feeling the effects of drug and alcohol abuse in the worst way. They have to contend with their own genetic predisposition to substance abuse, a harsh reality that is heightened by mixed emotions regarding being cheated out of healthy parent-child relationships. While their struggles are incomprehensible to the majority of us, our basic requirement in understanding substance abuse boils down to two familiar words: "Know Thyself." While this adage is multi-layered and complex, it is pertinent to our day-to-day lives. It is fundamental to our understanding of ourselves because it forces us to be aware of causality and effect.
Just as doctors suggest that we look into family history to determine our likelihood of getting cancer or high blood pressure, we must also look to the past to determine how prone we are to the disease of addiction. Most of us have that crazy uncle, or a grandma that locked herself in a bedroom from time to time when her stress was too much for her to manage. They weren't diagnosed or treated for any disease or tendency because the psychological and physical troubles they experienced had no name. In grandma's day, people that had symptoms of what was called malaise were treated by shock treatments or lobotomies. Today, we have terminology for these troubles, and treatment that doesn't require surgical removal of portions of the brain. We can glean meaning from what made our uncles crazy and our grandmas depressed and antisocial. Their behavior may indicate our own predisposition to depression, anxiety and possibly substance abuse. Paying attention to our family member's tendencies can give us a good idea of how we're likely to turn out. If we have family members with depression or substance abuse problems, we need to enter into the college party scene with extreme caution. We're in college to learn as much about ourselves as about our majors. Part of knowing ourselves is being honest with ourselves and knowing our limitations. We should have fun in college, but we should leave college with a clearer picture of whom we are, where we're going and where we're not going to go- the downward spiral of substance abuse.
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June 2, 2008
Allison Brummet
I'm graduating this month. It seems like it's taken forever to get here, even though I've only been at school for about 21 months. I can't wait to be home for the summer. I can't wait to work at my old job, have Friday night outings with my best friends, and take weekend trips to Chicago. This last class better go by faster than it has been. The first half has definitely taken its toll on me.
This summer will be my last full summer at home. The last one, can you believe it? I can't. Next year I'll only get three weeks off for summer. I've given up so much for this so called dream of mine. I've missed out on so many fun nights with friends and days at home with my family. Those are the biggest sacrifices in my opinion. I think I've missed out on a real college experience as well. It's hard to meet people here. It's hard to find an extracurricular activity that doesn't deal with food. Food, food, food. I feel like that's all I think about. Not that I mind, most of the time. It feels silly sometimes, giving up so much for a dream.
But here I am, at the end of another road. A road where days seem to blur and twist together. But then again, there are days here I wouldn't give up for anything. Days of learning and sharing and making new friends. Nights of laughing and dancing and making memories. Some of my friends here are not coming back for the bachelor's program. I will certainly miss them.
With all this stress and change and hope, there's no doubt in my mind what to do when it come to alcohol and other substances. It's not for me. Sure, they say everyone drinks. But it's not true. Everyone has a choice, no matter what road you are traveling down.
This is my last AlcoholEdu journal entry.
I thank you. I deeply thank you for reading my thoughts and opinions.
I wish you well.
I wish you an eventful and adventurous life, free from alcohol abuse.
You always have a choice.
I choose to live alcohol free.
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