22/01/2023
WHAT DOES ALCOHOLISM REALLY LOOK LIKE?
The answer might surprise you
For most people, when they hear the word “alcoholism” or “alcoholic” there’s usually a specific image that pops into their heads. What this person looks like, and how this person behaves.
Usually, this picture is of a person who is in obvious distress. They might be homeless, lacking in personal hygiene, or visibly drunk during the day. You see this person coming and you know to steer clear of them. For most people suffering from alcoholism, nothing could be further from the truth. Unbeknown to you, your neighbor, your work bestie, your child and yourself, might be an alcoholic or struggling with alcoholism.
There are 5 types of alcoholics.
• Young adult subtype
• Functional subtype
• Intermediate familial subtype
• Young antisocial subtype
• Chronic severe subtype
These types are categorized based on the age of the individual, the age they started drinking, the age the developed an alcohol dependence, their family history of alcoholism, the presence or absence of co-occurring mental conditions and the presence of other substance abuse disorders.
For most of my Facebook audience, I’d say we fall under the young adult, high functioning, and intermediate familial alcoholics. (Please read more about these on your own time) For most of us, we started consuming alcohol in our teenage years and have continued to do so into our adult lives. Whilst we may show up to work hungover, we can for the most part maintain employment and relationships despite our binge drinking come the weekend or as early as Thursday. We are a generation that is plagued by addiction, of all sorts. This coupled with the fact that we are a very liberal generation that has glamourized alcohol has seen us being the generation plagued with so much alcohol consumption, but we are not ready to accept we have a problem because we do not look like a stereotypical alcoholic. If we are to fully understand alcoholism and its traits, we would come to the sad realization that most of us are alcoholics. A very hard pill to swallow I might add.
So here we are, knowing what you know about your drinking habits, would you say maybe its time to reign it in a little bit and stay off the bottle? Be it seasonally, reducing your intake or maybe giving up the bottle altogether?
I for one know I have drank enough alcohol to last me a lifetime hence I decided to leave alcohol altogether. I understand that quitting may look different for each individual. Look into your life and decide what works for you and what you are able to give up now and for what?
An alcohol-free life is possible.
LOVE Funiwe Dlamini
The Sobriety Ambassador
