Today's post comes from an article written by Elizabeth Wiese in the September 15, 2009 USA Today.
An estimated 17.6 million adults in the USA are either alcoholics or have alcohol problems, according to the National Institutes of Health. By some estimates, one-third of alcoholics are women. Yes one third of alcoholics are women. Yet if you were to ask a woman's friends and family if she had a drinking problem, they might very well say no.
According to the article female alcoholics face a double whammy of addiction and culture. Society is more likely to ignore drinking in women than it is in men. Women often don't equate the problems their friends are having in life to being drinking problems.
Do you have a woman friend or know someone that you expect is drinking enough that it is cause problems in their life? From the article this is advise from women who have been there:
Don't ignore signs that a friend is having trouble with alcohol and drugs.
Reach out. Write them a letter, call them by phone, or sit down and talk with them. Tell them your concerns.
Recognize that just because your friend isn't a maniac running down the street that she doesn't have a problem.
A doctor can help and will keep it confidential. If you don't want to tell your husband or wife or walk into a meeting where you know someone a doctor's office can be a good place to start the healing process.
Help the family members of the friend by taking them to groups like Al-Anon.
You can read the entire article here: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-09-14-women-alcoholism_N.htm
Are you surprised by the statistics in the article? Based on your social circle do the stats hold true?
TODAY'S TRIVIA:
Yesterday's answer. While the guesses of Annie Oakley and Calamity Jane were interesting neither were pardoned by Governor Brodie in 1902 which makes those guesses wrong. The answer is the last woman to rob a stagecoach, Pearl Hart.
Today's Who Am I?
I was born on June 10, 1895 to former slaves. My father fought in the Civil War and my mother sang gospel. I was the youngest of thirteen children. I was a professional singer-song writer, comedienne, stage actress, radio performer and television star. I was the first of my nationality to sing on radio in America. I have two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for my contributions to radio and one for motion pictures. I appeared in over 300 films but was only credited with eighty. I dropped out of high school to enter show business. I toured with my brothers in my father's Minstrel show. In 1910 I won a gold medal for reciting the poem, Convict Joe. When the stock market crashed in 1929, the only work I could find was as a washroom attendant and waitress at Club Madrid in Milwaukee. Despite the owner's reluctance to let me perform, I took the stage and became a regular. In my second film I got to meet the famous Mae West. Later I was in films in Shirley Temple, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Clark Gable, Irene Dunn, Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Lionel Barrymore, Bette Davis and many more. I once sang a duet with Will Rogers.
When the film that I had the role that I was the most famous for premiered in Atlanta I was forbidden to attend because of my race. Clark threatened to boycott the premiere unless I was allowed in but I convinced him to go anyhow. After being honored in 1939 for being my supportive self, I gave the following speech:
"This is one of the happiest moments of my life, and I want to thank each one of you who had a part in selecting me for one of their awards, for your kindness. It has made me feel very, very humble; and I shall always hold it as a beacon for anything that I may be able to do in the future. I sincerely hope I shall always be a credit to my race and to the motion picture industry. My heart is too full to tell you just how I feel, and may I say thank you and God bless you."
During World War II, I was the Chairman of one division of the Hollywood Victory Committee, that provided entertainment for soldiers stationed at military bases.
My first husband died within months after I married him. I divorced my second husband the same year I married him. I divorced my third husband after being depressed when my expected pregnancy was diagnosed as a false pregnancy. I divorced my fourth husband one year after marrying him.
I died at the age of 57 on October 26, 1952.
" I desire a white casket and a white shroud; white gardenias in my hair and in my hands, together with a white gardenia blanket and a pillow of red roses" I also wish to be buried in the Hollywood Cemetery." The owner refused to allow her to be buried there.
In 2006 I was honored with a postage stamp. Who Am I?
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8 comments:
I'm not particularly surprised by the stats. In my current social circle, I don't know of one alcoholic, or even a heavy drinker. There was a time when I did a lot of drinking, mostly, I think, because everybody around me was doing it. But it never got a real hold on me, and I finally just lost interest in alcohol and switched to too much coffee.
I hardly drink at all now, though somebody recently gave me a huge bottle of tequila, and I've had the occasional margarita since. Maybe if I started hanging around with drinkers again, I'd up my intake, I don't know, but I can't imagine it becoming a problem.
Hi Pat
I don't have a lot of drinking in my social circles either. Like you I uaed to drink because everyone else used to do it but I haven't even thought about drinking for over twenty years.
I do notice, however, when I am at mom's and go to buy a lottery ticket at the local liquor store there are tons of seniors in there buy a lot of booze.
Bill
Like Pat, I'm not too surprised by the stats. I'm not aware of any alcoholics in my group of acquaintances, but it's a habit that can be well hidden and unseen, as the article points out. A bit of observation indicates drinking is usually connected with men. Going out for a drink after work with the guys, whether execs having martinis or constrution workers drinking beer. Most commercials involving alcohol feature men and are directed at men.
Staying with observation, I suspect women drink to relax, just as men do. They just may have more opportunity. A day at home with small children, little adult conversation or interaction, dealing with homework and teenagers and a glass of wine to relax seems like a good idea, until it becomes half a dozen glasses of wine... one to get ready for the chaos when the kids get home, one to deal with homework battles, one to sip while fixing yet another dinner, one to relax after the kitchen is cleaned, one to help sleep better. I learned in all my researching that self-medicating with alcohol is a common occurrence for women who have anxiety, little support on the home front, feel overwhelmed, yet feel they "should" be able to cope with whatever is on their plate. So long as they keep functioning -- pick the kids up, supervise homework, maintain the house, fix regular meals, etc., no one notices.
Part of my education was a long-term relationship with a man who was a functioning alcoholic, altho it took me a long time to realize it. He was a Division Dir in the Dept of Admin for the state. He was never late for work, although I eventually learned he drank a bottle of nyquil every morning for breakfast. Lunch was a few bites of a hamburger and three beers. He started drinking as soon as he got home and continued until he went to bed. He made good decisions, lead critical meetings about human resources, spoke before legislative committee meetings, was an outdoorsman, excellent hunter, could handle a riptide in a canoe after an afternoon of drinking, drove as if he was purely sober. No one had a clue.
All of which is to say I'm not only not too surprised by the statistics but by the people who say they had no idea an acquaintance or neighbor had a clue.
Hi DR
I wonder if drinking could be changing the gender it is associated with because now there are more women in the work force then men and they are the ones do the work related drinking.
A bottle of nyquil every morning is kind of tragic. As is three beers for lunch and drinking until you go to sleep.
Good post, DR.
Bill
I don't think the drinking stats have a lot to do with more women being in the workforce, unless you're maybe talking single women or single moms, trying to handle sixty hour weeks and other responsibilities and going overboard after they get home and/or the kids are in bed. There are numerous studies -- pretty much ignored -- that could show these stats aren't new numbers. Again, a woman home alone, bored, frustrated, whatever, has opportunities men and women in the workforce don't have, in terms of drinking unobserved at any hour of the day, so long as she remains functional to observers. A woman working nine to five isn't going to be able to drink on the job, will be observed if drinking at lunch and drinks at home will be noticed by husband or children, as wwill social/business gatherings. Until we recognize that alcoholism is a disease often connected to emotional issues or disappointment and learn to identify those and get past them, I think we'll continue to see the problem.
Hi DR
I didn't state that very well. The latest stats show a lot more role reversals. Because of the economy men are being layed off and women are being forced out of the home back into the work force and are becoming the main breadwinner in many families. It is now more common for men to have the roles of cook, caretaker of children, etc. I think that leads to women using the same excuses men did for drinking. Interesting article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/business/06women.html?_r=1
I completely agree with you ending statement:
"Until we recognize that alcoholism is a disease often connected to emotional issues or disappointment and learn to identify those and get past them, I think we'll continue to see the problem."
Bill
Hattie McDaniel
Hi Anon
Welcome to the blog and you are correct.
Bill
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