According to The Bacchus Network, a health and safety initiatives organization, many young adults don’t see alcohol as being an addictive drug, much less a danger. However, alcohol’s propensity to become a dependency when combined with stress, joy, depression or a combination of the three, is serious. On Wednesday, Karen Adkins from SCAD Atlanta’s Counseling and Student Support Services sat down to talk about the misconceptions of alcohol and the line between recreation and dependency.
“Before I came to SCAD I worked at a mental health and substance abuse clinic for about three years,” said Adkins. She received an undergraduate degree in psychology and an M.A. in professional counseling. She is currently a licensed professional counselor and recommends that students who think they have a problem make a consultation appointment.
“The first sign of crossing the barrier between recreation and addiction is if you ask, ‘am I starting to lose things?’, ” said Adkins. The loss of friends, schoolwork and family can be a sign that there is a problem. According to Adkins, even the thought that a student might have a problem is enough to raise a red flag.
“Some people know that they have a problem, but some people are kind of on the borderline. If a student is in the ‘I’m not sure’ mode, then come in and talk to us. [Students] don’t have to commit to coming in every week if they come in. It’s just a consultation, and we just talk,” Adkins said.
Personal problems, such as family or work life, may be factors that contribute to a problem with drinking. The counseling and student services department can help students with a wide variety of problems, whether it is substance abuse, sleeping issues, anxiety, depression, stress or eating disorders.
“Drinking and substance abuse is a problem at all levels — high school, adults and in college,” said Adkins. She explained that college students in particular, may be at a disadvantage when it comes to coping with stress in a healthy way. “They are under a great deal of stress between work, class, personal issues and just the growing [up] process,” Adkins said.
Adkins encouraged students to talk with a counselor, before something that might be a problem becomes a real dilemma. “[Students] really do need someone that’s not partial to be able to sit and answer questions about things that they don’t feel comfortable asking other people,” said Adkins. “College students, undergraduates especially, who are away from home for the first time and building a support system, really need someone to help them through those hard times.”
Another danger is the tendency for students to drink more than their own body can handle. Alcohol can affect different people in different ways. Gender, mood, body weight, type of alcohol, speed of consumption and use of any other types of drugs can have a significant affect on the user’s impairment. Thus, drinking contests and comparisons are dangerous, since alcohol tolerance and reactions differ depending on the person.
“A lot of students, if they have a history of substance abuse in their families, they don’t have good coping strategies, or they hang around people where drinking is okay. They are put in a situation where they may be more prone to become addicted to alcohol,” Adkins said. She suggested that students make decisions about alcohol based on their own reactions and feelings, instead of on peer pressure or what other people are doing.
“With a traditional college, if [students] are going to a ‘party school,’ there’s the expectation that everybody drinks and this is normal,” said Adkins. “Here [at SCAD Atlanta], it’s not so much like that. A lot of times it’s due to stress.” The heavy workload causes come students difficulty in finding time to relax, explained Adkins. However, Adkins pointed out that this kind of stress-related drinking can be dangerous territory for substance abuse, as well as causing student’s school life to suffer.
The Bacchus Network also shows that students who stay out late partying and drinking are at an increased risk of missing class and being unable to complete their assignments. Going out and partying several times a week can easily leave a student behind in schoolwork and cause their GPA to suffer.
Adkins suggested talking with the counseling services group Hooked, or a peer adviser, if students are worried about substance abuse. Hooked is a weekly, confidential support and educational group for students that are interested in receiving additional support for positive life changes. It meets in room 177 at the main building on Fridays from 2-3 p.m.
