Every month Mark is interviewed by radio station 99.7fm to talk about topical issues in Psychology. This month he talks about Alcohol in society. See below for a summary transcript
Mark today you are talking on managing alcohol in today’s society?
Yes I am because I think it is such a huge issue in today’s society. Especially at this time of the year, with all of the Christmas parties.
Do Australian’s have trouble managing their drink?
In a nutshell yes we do. I think we are one of the more naughty nations in the world. When you go overseas we have this reputation of being alcoholics. Our view towards alcohol is a little bit scary. How much we accept it. Especially in regards to binge drinking and people behaving badly when they have had too much to drink. We allow a lot of people to slip through the cracks. There are people who might not be classified as being alcoholics but are not far off it. I find that they are the one’s slipping through the cracks and the ones we need to mindful of.
So tell us about those who ‘slip through the cracks’?
These are the people who I’m seeing in my practice. Alcohol for these people is actually having a negative impact on their lives. That’s what people don’t understand. These are the people who binge drink regularly, usually on the weekends. Often people don’t worry about them because they are a functioning member of society. They can hold down a full-time job. However things such as their personal relationships and their health is definitely suffering. Maybe not now but possibly in 3, 4, 10 years time.
Mark can you elaborate on Binge Drinking?
If you look at it technically, Binge Drinking is drinking more than about 3 standard drinks in the one sitting which really is not that many if you look at people’s drinking behaviour. I know there are people out there who regularly drink in excess of 10 standard drinks in a sitting. Often these people will binge drink every time they drink and that is the issue. They are unable to stop after 1 or 2 drinks.
So what’s the solution?
Firstly, changing our perception around what’s acceptable behaviour in regards to Binge Drinking. How do you do that? I don’t know. Maybe public education campaigns. And to be more strict in terms of what alcoholism is. Alcoholism is also Binge Drinking on a regular basis. And what we’ll probably find is that a lot more people will fit into that category. Also, changing the youth’s view towards alcohol. Take Schoolies Week for example, I think that it is getting worse and worse. And the age of drinking is getting younger and younger. Possibly we can adopt the European view towards alcohol and have a wine with our meal and do this from an early age. This way the youth get use to alcohol and don’t view it as some kind of ‘wonder drug’.
And a lot of people drink to drown their sorrows?
A lot of people are depressed these days and they are self-medicating through alcohol and they are using alcohol to feel better about themselves
If you have friend/ family member who you think has a problem with alcohol, what should you do?
This is a tough one isn’t it. They need to want to change. ‘Your can bring a horse to water but you can’t make it drink’. That metaphor is very apt for if you do have a family member or friend who you think has a problem with alcohol. As a practical thing you can bring the subject up with them. Communication is very important. Don’t do it when they are drunk cos they won’t remember the conversation in the morning. Often its good to talk with them after a big night of drinking, when they are sober and not feeling that fantastic. It is a matter of continually reinforcing that point. You can have the conversation once and they’ll probably forget about it 3 days later. I guess it’s a matter of having that conversation regularly over a period of time. Also, establishing some concrete goals with them. You might want to establish some goals around the amount of alcohol that they are to be consuming and to hold them accountable to that.
It is an extremely touchy subject isn’t it?
I actually talk about this through personal experience with friends and family. I don’t pretend to be the perfect person when dealing with this stuff. It is a very touchy subject. You have to tread very lightly around the topic. At the end of the day, the old adage is true.. ‘One drink is too many and a thousand is never enough’ and there are some people who just can’t control their alcohol consumption. They do need to be a complete tee toteler.
And I believe Alcoholics Anonymous is a great program?
It is, it’s a great program that they have there. That is what they say…’One drink is too many and a thousand is never enough.’ You have to work out what your personality type is. A lot of it is around personality types. And they think that those who have trouble with their alcohol are the addictive personalities. Doesn’t matter what it is, whether it is alcohol, sex, work, they get addicted to things quite easily.
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