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baby boomers' drinking patterns, alcohol treatment center in arizona

An Alcohol Treatment Center in Arizona Reports on Baby Boomers’ Drinking Patterns

An Alcohol Treatment Center in Arizona Reports on Baby Boomers’ Drinking Patterns

A recent survey conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism revealed several alarming trends in Baby Boomers’ Drinking Patterns.

High-risk drinking increased almost 30 percent over the past decade and alcohol use disorder jumped a whopping 49.4 percent.

Around 40,000 adults participated in the study. There were increases across all demographic groups, but those among baby boomers were the most dramatic.

Baby Boomers and Alcohol Abuse

Adults born between 1946 and 1964 consume 45 percent of the nation’s alcohol supply. The number of boomers who engage in high-risk drinking shot up 65 percent in a decade. High-risk drinking is defined this way:

  • For men, having five or more standard drinks per day, at least weekly, over the past year
  • For women, having four or more standard drinks per day, at least weekly, over the past year

The NIAAA survey also revealed that 3 percent of older people have alcohol use disorder, which encompasses mild, moderate or severe abuse. Given that alcohol problems are compounded by dual diagnoses such as depression and anxiety, this is nothing short of a public mental health crisis.

If you’ve noticed a tendency to drink more as you age, you could be at risk for addiction, poor health and a shortened life expectancy.

Alcohol abuse is a challenging brain disease, but it’s not insurmountable. The more you know about it, the less likely you are to spiral into addiction. Keep reading to learn more and find out how you can get help at a top-rated alcohol treatment center in Arizona.

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Baby boomers drinking, alcohol treatment center arizona

Why Are Baby Boomers Drinking More?

The researchers couldn’t offer concrete reasons for the spike in late-life drinking, but some concluded that the Great Recession of 2007 played a role. Anxiety over long-term unemployment, foreclosure or bankruptcy may have tempted many Americans to drink more.

Some experts pointed out that people in their 60s and 70s are more active and healthy than in past generations. Boomers might think that they can continue drinking as they always have — or drink even more — without consequences. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In older people, every drink causes blood alcohol levels to rise higher than they would in younger drinkers. This is because people lose muscle mass as they grow older. An aging liver metabolizes alcohol more slowly. Aging brains are more sensitive to alcohol’s sedative properties.

In other words, alcohol’s effects are more pronounced in a 60-year-old than in a 40-year-old.

There may be a generational explanation for the spike in older-adult drinking. Many Americans who grew up during Prohibition embraced abstinence as a value and continued to let it guide them. Boomers came on the scene long after drinking became socially acceptable.

Some theorize that the popularity of wines and winery tours is partly to blame. It’s more common for people to stock up on wine and drink at home every night.

Are Baby Boomers Drinking Themselves Into Poor Health?

Alcohol exacerbates chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure and diabetes that could easily be managed with a healthy diet, frequent exercise and medication. It is strongly linked to higher risk of stroke, heart disease and several types of cancer.

Drinking is especially dangerous for people who take medication. Alcohol either interacts or interferes with hundreds of prescription drugs. Even conscientious people make a common mistake: thinking that it’s safe to have wine with dinner because they’ve completed the prescribed dosage for the day.

Medications are designed to work 24/7. At best, your pills simply won’t perform as well. At worst, the combination of pills and alcohol will wreak havoc in your system.

The health consequences of late-life drinking are starting to show up in statistics. Cardiovascular disease and stroke, which had long been on the decline as Americans became more health-conscious, are holding steady. Deaths from liver cirrhosis are on the rise for the first time since the ‘60s. Emergency room visits for alcohol-related falls and accidents have increased.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 88,000 deaths are attributed to excessive drinking every year. Around half of them are the result of binge-drinking. For women, binge-drinking is consuming at least four drinks in about two hours. For men, binging is having at least five drinks in two hours.

Alcohol Treatment Center Arizona

Some of your friends can have a drink or two now and then and suffer no ill consequences. They observe their limits. They don’t have cravings when they’re not drinking. They don’t feel like they have to lie about their alcohol consumption. If they decide to swear it off altogether, they can easily do it.

If you’re drinking more as you age, we’re glad that you’re reading. You will have less and less control as time goes on. It’s not about willpower; it’s about an insidious disease that takes even the most careful drinkers by surprise.

Contact Desert Cove Recovery today. Our caring, experienced staff can help you make the coming years the best of your life.

How Drinking Too Much Can Affect Your Finances

How Drinking Can Impact Your Finances

Many people do not realize the extent of their drinking problem until it begins to negatively affect other aspects of their lives. Consequences like lost work, strained family relationships and damaged health are common side effects of alcoholism. However, another common and frequently overlooked problem is the effect of drinking on your finances.

You may not realize that problem drinking is negatively impacting your financial wellbeing until the effects have become severe. If you are a frequent drinker, it’s worth looking at both the obvious and hidden costs of too much drinking.

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drinking impacts finances

How Can Drinking Impact Finances?

The first and most obvious expense associated with frequent drinking is the cost of alcohol itself. If you go to a bar to drink socially, you can usually expect to pay $5-9 per drink. If you get two drinks per night, three days a week, you’re looking at $120 to $216 a month. If you drink more frequently or tend to binge-drink with four or five drinks per sitting, this number can easily double.

Even staying home and drinking can quickly become expensive. A six-pack of beer may cost around $5 to $15, depending on the brand, and you may go through two or three of these per week. Hard liquor, wine and other beverages can cost more.

As you can see, the occasional drink won’t break the bank. However, making a habit of drinking regularly or drinking too much can snowball into a much larger bill.

Drinking too much impacts your finances in other ways as well:

  1. You may be tempted to spend unwisely while under the influence. You may purchase rounds of drinks for friends or strangers in the bar, or you might order extra food and snacks. People drinking at home may be tempted to make online purchases or other expenditures that they otherwise would not have considered.
  2. Your work productivity can suffer. People who drink frequently are more likely to call into work or show up sick or under-slept. These can damage productivity and, over time, affect overall job performance and opportunities.
  3. Your medical expenses may rise. Alcohol can affect your immune system, leaving you more prone to getting sick. Alcohol-related problems, including issues with the liver and pancreas, can build over time and lead to costly medical expenses.

Excessive drinking also impacts the community. The CDC estimates that excessive alcohol consumption cost the United States $223.5 billion in 2006. These costs were attributed to:

  • Lost workplace productivity
  • Healthcare expenses
  • Motor vehicle crashes
  • Criminal justice expenses

The primary culprits in the study were binge drinkers, or those who drink more than 4 or 5 drinks per occasion. One in six people binge drink, and binge drinking accounts for 76 percent of costs associated with excessive drinking. 

Is Drinking Affecting Your Wallet?

Spending a lot of money on alcohol does not necessarily make you an alcoholic, but it is often a warning sing that your drinking has become problematic. It’s a good idea to sit down with your bank statements or receipts and tally up the real cost of your drinking. Consider:

  • The cost of drinks purchased in bars or consumed at home
  • The cost of purchases made under the influence of alcohol
  • The cost of cab fare or other related expenses

Also take an honest look at your recent work history. If you have had to call into work in order to nurse a hang over on more than one occasion, that could be another sign of excessive drinking.

If your drinking has led to problems with your finances or is otherwise impacting your lifestyle but you don’t know how to stop, it may be time to seek professional assistance. We can help. Contact Desert Cove Recovery today for more information.

SOURCES:
http://theweek.com/articles/457336/how-drinking-much-sabotages-finances
https://www.cdc.gov/features/alcoholconsumption/

sober dorms

Sober Dorms Provide Support for College Students in Recovery

The college years are a time when young people are exploring and finding out who they are, in addition to furthering their education. For many of them, this process includes spending time partying with friends and making decisions about drinking and using drugs.

The results of a 2016 report compiled by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) found that 1.2 million full-time college students consume alcohol. The same report also revealed that more than 700,000 students smoke marijuana on a typical day.

Binge Drinking Common on College Campuses

Binge drinking (defined as consuming five or more drinks in two hours for men and more drinks in two hours for women) is a common occurrence on college campuses, according to figures released by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Students who arrive on campus can expect that there will be a certain level of drinking and drug use going on. For young people with a history of substance abuse or addiction, this level of exposure may not be helpful for them.

Significant Percentage of College Students Have History of Substance Abuse

According to Lisa Laitman, the director of Alcohol & Other Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) at Rutgers University, up to 30 percent of college students have a history of substance use disorders. Research has also shown that substance abuse rates are higher for college students than for peers of the same age who are not enrolled in classes.

More Collegiate Recovery Programs Now Include Sober Dorms

Colleges are responding by offering “collegiate recovery programs” (CRPs) to provide help to students stay sober and stay enrolled in school. These programs include:

• Mental health counseling
• Substance abuse counseling
• Peer-to-peer support
• Recovery support group meetings
• Sober social activities and programs

A number of programs include sober dorms where no drugs or alcohol are permitted. These are environments where students support each other’s sobriety.

Transforming Youth Recovery, a non-profit organization, says the number of CRPs has grown from 35 to over 150 over the past five years. Approximately 50 have sober living residences for students.

In the wake of the biggest overdose epidemic in American history, it would be great to see every college and university campus to start creating sober dorms in recognition and support for the students who need ongoing help.

effects of alcohol on men and women

A Closer Look at Effects of Alcohol on Men and Women

Effects of Alcohol on Men and WomenScience is constantly evolving and shedding light on previous misconceptions or questions. And in the case of alcohol, a new study has shown how men and women react differently to the substance, specifically in their brains. After conducting a small group study on men and women who fit the criteria for heavy drinkers, but not alcohol abuse, the researchers were able to note a major difference between the two sexes in the type of receptors that were influenced when alcohol was consumed.

GABA receptors are responsible for shutting off brain activity, they are integral in preventing anxiety and problems with these receptors often lead to depression. There are two specific GABA receptors, GABA-A and GABA-B. GABA-A is thought to have more of a connection to drinking patterns, while GABA-B has been found to be responsible for the desire for alcohol.

“Generally, our work showed that alcohol causes more pronounced changes in both electrical and chemical neurotransmission in men than women. There are two types of GABA receptors, A and B. Long-term alcohol use affects neurotransmission through both types in males, but only one type, GABA-A, is affected in females,” explained Outi Kaarre, lead author of the study.

The findings were presented at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology conference earlier this month in France.

So, if men who are considered to be heavy drinkers show more activity in both A and B GABA receptors, while women who are drinkers only show activity in GABA-A receptors, what does this mean for alcohol medications and theories of addiction?

First of all, there are certain medications that have been designed to help alcoholics curb their cravings, but these medications have not reliably worked on women. This may be because the medications are geared to the GABA-B receptors, which do not appear to be a problem in female heavy drinkers. Secondly, this new information may shed more light on why women become heavy drinkers, and why men are more prone to becoming heavy drinkers, and the reasons may not be the same for both sexes.

Understanding this difference could change the approach to alcoholism treatment and medications, especially as science continues to advance in the understanding of the intricacies of our bodies and minds.

If you have a loved one struggling with alcohol abuse or alcoholism, contact Desert Cove today to find out more about our treatment program and how we can help.