The best way to stop doing something may be to start doing something else in its place. For those of us who have struggled with addiction, we know just how easy it is to confuse addictive behavior with habit. In most cases, addictions start off as habits before moving into destructive territory. Separating the two […]
2020 brought major disruption and change to almost every area of our lives. Among the biggest: changes in our work and travel patterns. With many businesses temporarily closed and offices emptied of workers assigned to work from home, traffic on our highways thinned out temporarily, too. Given that change, it’s concerning that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that traffic fatalities actually went up during that time. 2020 also saw a bump in substance abuse, and part of that increase, they attributed to an increase in drunk and drugged driving.
When someone struggles with alcohol addiction, it is almost always inextricably connected to another battle: a battle for the mind. Often referred to as co-occurring disorders or dual diagnosis, alcoholism and co-occurring disorders are in at least 50% of cases, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), like two sides of the same coin
Why are co-occurring disorders so common? Simply put: Physical health and mental health are intricately connected. Chemical imbalances, which occur when the body and brain become alcohol dependent or addicted, exacerbate mood swings, anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders. The pervasive nature of these conditions can often lead you to self-medicate.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic caused a 25% spike in alcohol-related deaths, which had already been increasing by 2% each year, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). While the stress of the pandemic was a clear contributor, The New York Times reports that some states made it easier for consumers to access alcohol during lockdown seasons, increasing the likelihood of heavy drinking.
As alcohol abuse problems haunt communities across the US, lawmakers explore ways to combat the alcohol crisis brought on by the pandemic.