April is National Alcohol Awareness Month in America and provides an opportunity to increase awareness of alcohol addiction in an intense 30-day focus. The observance aims to bring an understanding of alcohol’s causes and the effective treatments available. The observance is also an opportunity for people to share their experiences with alcoholism, recover, and offer support to others seeking recovery. 

Alcohol Awareness Month was established in 1987 by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. The idea was then and now to help communities reach out to the public and provide answers to end the stigma associated with alcohol abuse. For more information, please visit: https://www.ncadd.org/

I gave it to God, because God wins!

Alcohol Abuse Statistics

Most American adults consume alcohol at least once in their lifetime. Among them, 6.7% will develop Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD).

• 10.2% of Americans aged 12 years and older had Alcohol Use Disorder in 2020.
• 24.0% of people aged 18 years and older reported binge drinking in the last 30 days; this is a 7.0% decline between 2019 and 2020.
• Every day, 385 Americans die as a result of excessive alcohol use.
• 83.9% of these deaths involve adults aged 35 or older.
• Alcohol causes 10% of deaths among 15- to 49-year-olds.
• Worldwide, up to 3 million people die every year as a result of alcohol abuse.
• Alcohol-related deaths account for at least 5.3% (some estimate as high as 6.0%) of the world’s deaths.
• Alcohol causes 13.5% of deaths among 20- to 39-year-olds.
• Men are 3 times as likely as women to die as a consequence of alcohol abuse.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has determined excessive alcohol use is responsible for 7.1% of disease among males and 2.2% among females.
• Collectively, Americans lose over 3.59 million years of potential life due to excessive drinking.

The Need for Counseling

Overcoming addiction is possible, but not easy to do alone. The medical community will refer you to addiction treatments including inpatient rehab, detox programs, outpatient treatment, and ongoing recovery. And sometimes these services are warranted and badly needed. But that’s not always the case.

In Crocodile Dundee, Sue was explaining “People go to a psychiatrist to talk about their problems.” Mick quipped back “Hasn’t she got any mates?” And he’s right. Sometimes, we just need a friend to get us through.