Reflection Paper On Alcohol Abuse And Alcoholism

While watching the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [NIAAA]’s online training activity for assisting with screening for and helping those with alcohol abuse disorder, the case that stuck out to me most was that of Darryl. At 35 years of age, Darryl was coming in for a routine health checkup and discovered that his drinking rate was considered to be on a scale of alcohol abuse (NIAAA). Much as in my own personal life, I had a moment of shock when I was undergoing a regular health screen during my tour of duty in the United States Marine Corps and realized that my level of drinking was considered a health concern. Much like Darryl who had friends who drank with him and did not feel as though their drinking levels were causing personal or professional harm, and thus not at risk for abuse or …show more content…
While I am not yet in a professional setting with clients, I am in college, and the culture and environment that I am surrounded by has a heavy exposure to alcohol consumption. As in the example of Heather, a 21-year-old college student who came to a health clinic for a physical ailment, many college students are so enmeshed within a culture that so normalizes abnormal, unhealthy levels of drinking, the idea of excessive alcohol use is often not something individuals within it consider (NIAAA). Not only are many unaware, often people will not acknowledge that the behavior is abnormal or unhealthy due to the fact that it appears to them that it is, in fact, normal. Normal, that is, in relation to their peers, who may be an unrepresentative sample of the larger college community or society. In fact, according to a 2005 NIAAA manual, the vast majority of people (at 72%) never exceed the daily or weekly limit of