Every day 350 Americans die because of alcohol abuse and alcoholism, and thousands more are admitted into hospitals, psychiatric facilities, or jails and prison. Alcohol places thousands more at risk for divorce, unemployment, bankruptcy, and physical and emotional problems such as depression. Because it affects so many people, alcoholism is considered the number one public health problem in America - even surpassing cancer and heart disease, and is the third leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.

Alcohol Awareness Month is a national grassroots effort that was started by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence in 1987, and it quickly spread throughout the country. AAM highlights the need to support education, prevention and treatment for alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. It is an opportunity for families and communities, together, to educate themselves about the critical issues of alcohol abuse and alcoholism, and reach out and educate their children on the reasons to stay alcohol free.

Alcoholism is a disease that affects children, families and communities across the nation. In fact, most people know someone who has been affected by this disease as over half of all adults have a family history of alcoholism or alcohol problems (Position Paper on Drug Policy, Physician Leadership on National Drug Policy -PLNDP, Brown University Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, 2000.) In this regard alcoholism does not just affect the alcoholic but others around him or her, and therefore it is also called a family disease.
Alcohol is a toxic and addictive drug. Each year there are well over 100,000 deaths because of alcohol, and according to the fact sheet “Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Are America’s Number One Health Problem” (National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence), there may be as many as 18 million individuals with an alcohol problem or alcoholism in the United States. Alcoholism was, is, and remains one of the most pervasive and tragic diseases affecting society.

Prevention is the Best Policy
Although it is among the nation's most deadly diseases, alcoholism is preventable. Each year AAM offers an opportunity to work in a unified effort to raise awareness about the negative consequences of drinking and to do something about it. It also asks families to look at the level of emotional pain that alcohol has caused in their lives and encourages adults to talk about alcoholism with a spouse, children, and friends. The best prevention is to help send the message to youth that one does not need not drink to enjoy leisure activities and have a fulfilling and healthy life. In fact, at least 34 percent of Americans do not drink at all.

Referral Information
AAM also encourages individuals with an alcohol problem to seek treatment. Help is only a telephone call away. If a person believes that he or she or a family member may have an alcohol problem or if one is hurting or in emotional pain because of alcohol, it is best to contact a local treatment agency or call the national referral helpline operated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) at 1-800-662-HELP.

My Boss was recently shopping at a store, and found a booklet with coupons for various vacation destinations and attractions. One of these coupons was for a “fun house” called The Loony Bin. The ad for this attraction invites you to “leave reality behind” and “join the madness.” As well, it informs you that the “doctor is in, but out of his mind.” The pictures in the add are of aliens, ghosts, and “mad scientists’ floating around what looks like an old, scary, hopeless, building. This family activity is stigmatizing in that exploits and perpetuates old ideas about mental illness, the symptoms involved, and the hospitals where treatment is received.

This attraction, advertised as being “fun for all ages,” makes it seem like it is fun to leave reality behind and be a part of madness, that it is an enjoyable experience to see or hear things that others don’t. In reality, these experiences can be scary, confusing, and frustrating.

Mental illness is a real thing. It is a serious issue, not an amusement park pull. This fun house makes it seem like a joke, a choice, and an exciting ride. Hospitals and treatment facilities for mental illness should not be scary places, but instead places where people get the help they need to recover from their mental illness. The hallucinations and delusions involved in psychosis are neither jokes nor make-believe. They are a symptoms experienced by some people dealing with mental health challenges. They require treatment, compassion, and understanding.

As a society, by taking these serious issues and our misunderstandings of them, and advertising them as family-fun, we not only deny those experiencing them the respect they deserve, but we rob ourselves of truly understanding the issues involved. Places like The Loony Bin remind us that we need to continue working to eradicate stigma, spread knowledge, and foster hope.

Last month we discussed the first step on the journey towards emotional self-empowerment or perhaps, we might say good mental health. So I thought this month I might share with you some notes I took while listening to a speech given by Dr. Philip O’Dwyer in 2006. Dr. O’Dwyer is President and Clinical Director of Brookfield Clinics, Inc. at Garden City Hospital. He is an addictions counselor and Adjunct Professor at Oakland University. He had been invited to discuss the “symptoms of mental illness.” Instead he told the audience that he would prefer to address the topic of “the signs of good mental health.” Here is the list of indicators he drew, from the American Psychiatric Association, as those of a mentally and emotionally healthy individual. 

1. Do you have the ability to recover quickly from the stresses of life? Things happen in all our lives that disturbs our world. No ones life is immune from stress, pressure, and disappointment but emotionally resilient people have the ability to bounce back quickly. Such natural recovery occurs for the emotionally healthy and seldom for those with mental health deficits.

2. Can you judge reality accurately?  Some people misread the behavior of others and may see harmless comments or gestures as threatening. Healthy people can allow for the missteps of others without overreacting or harboring simmering grudges. Disturbed thoughts often underpin frightening displays of rage.

3. Can you see the long range effects of the choices you make? The decisions we make have implications that can extend into the future. A youth who phones in a prank bomb threat to a school may find a significant jail term awaiting him. Impulsive people seldom think through the implications of their decisions.

4. Do you have the ability to love and sustain relationships? The ability to be vulnerable is central to all love relationships. Emotionally healthy people do not seek to control others; they do not see themselves as too fragile to risk entering a relationship of equality with another. Failure to trust loving often results in a life of isolation.

5. Do you have the ability to work cheerfully and productively? Work has meaning and adds a sense of purpose to life. Finding work that one likes makes it easier to be cheerful. Troubled people have difficulty working with others or taking directions from authority figures. sions.re. A youth who calls in a prank bomb threat to a school  

6. Do you have the ability to gratify your physical and emotional needs without being
compulsive? Dealing with impulses of hunger, sex, or the use of alcohol in ways that do not harm oneself or others is a sign of emotional stability.  Those who struggle with these impulses usually exhibit addictive behavior.

7. Do you have the ability to exercise your conscience effectively?  Healthy people know right from wrong, at least in broad terms. They experience guilt when they violate a personal value.

8. Do you know the difference between making a living and making a life?  Wisdom and knowledge differ from one another. Knowledge helps you make a living but wisdom helps you make a life. 
In closing, Dr. O’Dwyer reminded us that no one is perfect. In fact, our human condition is flawed. Everyone needs help to get along. Persons who suffer from mental disturbances especially need and deserve help. Unfortunately, although such help is available, we all know that access to it is often blocked by inadequate money, stigma and failure of early identification of psychologically disturbed people. Clinical counseling, combined with the judicious use of modern medications, is a powerful strategy to prevent tragic events.
We should all applaud and support the Stomp out Stigma Team who has met with elected officials to advocate for mental health treatment parity and been a driving force for education in our community and beyond!

Jacqueline Castine, B.A., is a Community Education Specialist at the Oakland County Community Mental Health Authority. She is the author of I Wish I Could Fix It, But … (Phoenix Publishers, 2005). She can be reached at castinej@occmha.org