When we consider the nation in its entirety, it is estimated that more than 30 percent of adults in the United States abused alcohol in one way or another, according to recent government surveys. That’s almost a third of the entire nation. That’s over 73 million people. Compare that with the amount of alcohol-related deaths in the United States reaching to nearly 90,000 people last year alone, we start to view alcoholism as not so much of a disease anymore but rather as an epidemic. We view it as a veritable plague, taking the lives of people in staggering numbers year by year.
We recognize national organizations such as the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). They “seek to address alcohol-related issues across the lifespan,” to prevent alcoholism and addiction. Part of NIAAA reaching their major initiative concerns itself with first preventing children and adolescents from beginning and continuing to drink alcohol. The second part of their initiative is centered on offering effective intervention techniques which aim to bring people into treatment who are suffering from alcoholism.This is where we can meet NIAAA halfway with their major initiative. We are far from the preventive stage when it comes to our clients who suffer from alcoholism. However, education in itself holds power to battling any form of addiction, including alcoholism. That is why we feel it's important for our clients to understand the extent that alcoholism effects this country. These figures and statistics, though staggering, should not discourage or disheartened anyone, but rather educate them.
Taking advice from Sun Tzu, the Chinese general and author of the classic The Art of War, it's important for us to “Know thy enemy.” Organizations, such as NIAAA, supply us with knowledge. At Oregon Trail Recovery, we know no greater enemy than that of alcoholism and drug addiction. That's why we arm ourselves with as much knowledge as we possibly can. Not only does this better our addiction recovery programs, but it helps our clients as well. In fact, the addiction recovery process will empower our clients to find success in rehab.– John Dalton Williams. BAReference:https://www.niaaa.nih.gov