For many people, January is a time for new changes and a fresh start. It’s an opportunity to reassess, create goals, and work towards a better you. If you want to step back and re-evaluate your relationship with alcohol, Dry January might be a great way to do it and start the year making healthier choices.
It’s not uncommon for people to use drugs to deal with stress, fear, or other complex emotions. But over time, this behavior can grow into addiction and cause serious physical and mental health problems.
Addiction, depression, and suicide are all very closely related. People who suffer from severe depression and other mental health issues often engage in risky behaviors or turn to drugs and alcohol to numb their negative feelings. However, chronic alcohol or drug abuse also produces toxic side effects, including mental health issues like anxiety and depression. As a person continues to use alcohol or drugs to cope with depression, they’re likely to experience depressive episodes more often, increasing feelings of hopelessness and despair.
Alcoholism is a complex disease that is difficult to understand fully. When you hear the word “alcoholic,” it may conjure a specific image in your brain based on stereotypes commonly associated with alcohol abuse and addiction. However, things aren’t so cut and dry.
According to a national survey, about 14.1 million adults had alcohol use disorder in 2019.1 Despite how common the disease is and the havoc it wreaks on people’s lives, alcoholism is a treatable disorder. With the right kind of support and treatment, people of all backgrounds recover from alcohol use disorder.
According to a recent analysis of survey data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), military members drink more than workers in any other job.1 These results aren’t all that surprising, as the evidence reports what has already been known for years: the military culture is one of alcohol abuse and members struggling with alcohol use disorder is nothing new.