10 Reasons a Person Develops an Unhealthy Drinking Pattern
One of the biggest stumbling block for people to get around is the notion of drinking as either “normal” or “alcoholic.” For those who struggle with their drinking, fear of the label, “alcoholic,” or disbelief of the “alcoholism is a disease” concept or simply not understanding what it takes to lose control of one’s drinking, causes them to develop an unhealthy drinking pattern, one that leaves a trail of havoc caused by their drinking behaviors.
To set the record straight, then, alcoholism is a developmental disease – one of the chronic, often relapsing brain diseases of addiction. It develops as a result of an unhealthy drinking pattern, which is what sets up the chemical and structural changes in the brain that makes the brain more susceptible to their risk factors for developing the disease. (These include: genetics, mental illness, childhood trauma, early use and social environment.)
Roughly one-third of the people with an unhealthy drinking pattern have alcoholism. This means two-thirds of those with an unhealthy drinking pattern do not have the disease, yet the drinking behaviors they exhibit cause grave consequences for themselves and certainly their families, friends and co-workers. (These consequences are the result of the secondhand drinking experienced by those in their sphere of influence.)
So How Does a Person Develop an Unhealthy Drinking Pattern and What Can Be Done to Change It
1. Not understanding that drinking is not just normal or alcoholic. Rather, it’s a progression: Use to Abuse to Dependence. Check out BreakingTheCycles.com YouTube > Alcoholism is a Disease and It’s Not Alcohol Abuse.
10 Reasons a Person’s Drinking Pattern becomes a problem…
2. Lack of awareness about the five key risk factors for developing a problem (genetics, social environment, childhood trauma, early use, mental illness). Check out the “Addiction” documentary > Why Do Some People Become Addicted.”
3. Not understanding the developmental stages that occur ages 12-25 and how those influence alcohol use and embedded brain maps around drinking activities. Additionally, the adolescent brain does not interact with alcohol the way the adult brain does. Check out the “Addiction” documentary > Adolescent Addiction and Partnership for Drug Free Kids > The Teen Brain
4. Now knowing what constitutes low-risk (normal) drinking limits. Check out NIAAA Rethinking Drinking > What’s Low Risk Drinking?
5. Not knowing standard drink sizes and that often bar and party pours are more than one standard drink. Check out NIAAA Rethinking Drinking > What’s a Standard Drink?
6. Not knowing how many standard drinks are in a container. Check out NIAAA Rethinking Drinking > How Many Drinks are in Common Containers?
7. Not understanding the third stage of drinking – alcoholism – and what makes it different than alcohol abuse, binge drinking or heavy social drinking (three unhealthy drinking patterns identified by NIAAA). See suggested follow-up for #1.
8. Not understanding relapse is a hallmark of the brain disease of alcoholism (addiction) and why this is true. Check out NIDA’s Drugs, Brains, and Behaviors: The Science of Addiction > Treatment and Recovery.
9. Shame, Stigma, Misinformation – lack of understanding alcoholism is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease and that it must be treated as other diseases with a 3-stage disease-management approach. Often fear of the label is what keeps people making excuses – whether they are the person drinking or the person experiencing Secondhand Drinking. Check out BreakingTheCycles.com > Do You Have to Call Yourself an Alcoholic and BreakingTheCycles.com > Rehab – What More Could You Want?
10. Not understanding effective alcoholism treatment, which often keeps a person relapsing or unable to get satisfaction out of being sober and in recovery, and not incorporating four key brain health activities as part of their daily lives: nutrition, exercise, sleep and mindfulness practices (which includes getting help for any underlying risk factors). Check out and NIDA > Principles of Effective Treatment and SAMHSA > Treatment Facility Locator.
Please feel free to call me at 916-241-3288 or email me at lisaf@BreakingTheCycles.com (no charge) if you have further questions.
Lisa Frederiksen
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[…] well. But it does have the ability to increase your comfort level with the facts about yourself. 10 Reasons a Person Develops an Unhealthy Drinking Pattern Lisa Frederickson writes over at breakingthecycles.com and I find many of her posts fascinating. […]