The Health Report
So she turned to drugs—“just marijuana,” she nonchalantly says—and alcohol as an attempt to “make the pain go away.” I went to class high, smoked instead of doing my homework, and in the evenings, if I wasn’t getting drunk before a party, I’d drink and cry until I fell asleep. I’ve always been a good student, and the book worm in my circle of friends, so most of them thought I was burying myself in my studies to take my mind off of him. Now that I think about it, school should have been my addiction, not
counselor at Texas A&M UniversityCommerce, says. “Shopping, the Internet and sex can also be sources of addiction too.”
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o, what is addiction anyway? According to WordNet, a large lexical database for the English language, addiction is defined as “being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming.” Dalrymple adds, “Most of the time, an addiction stems
too much!’, the person you’re trying to help could interpret that as an attack, and immediately, they will become defensive,” Dalrymple says. Instead, she advises, go to the core of the addiction. “Emotionally, something’s going on and that addiction is an escape for that person—a way for them to not have to deal with what’s really going on in their life. It’s easy to focus on the addictive behavior, but if you are trying to help someone, you have to dig deeper.” And experts like Dalrymple sug-
drugs and alcohol, which, I think, made things worse.” Though Danielle’s situation, may be extreme to some, her coping mechanism, which has lead to addictive behavior, is all too common—look no further than AddictionAnswers.com, a part of the Addiction Recovery Management Service, that reports about 40 percent of college students reported binge drinking (5+ drinks for men; 4+ drinks for women) in the past month; and according to According to data from the 2006 National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 112 million Americans age 12 or older (45 percent of the population) reported illicit drug use at least once in their lifetime; 15 percent reported use of a drug within the past year; and, eight percent reported use of a drug within the past month. “Drugs and alcohol aren’t the only things that young people are addicted to,” Rhonda M. Dalrymple, Ph.D., a
from something deeper—perhaps a life-changing event like a death occurred in someone’s life or they grew up in an environment where they were exposed to an addict—and it’s important to realize that addictions are easy to develop, but hard to diagnose.” “I knew I had a problem when I started missing class and not turning in assignments,” Danielle reflects. She also references her declined performance at work and lighter pockets. “I was always broke! It’s hard to pay for an addiction.” Dalrymple agrees: “When other parts of someone’s life starts to be affected by whatever the addiction is, there may be a need for intervention.” Intervention—when to step in and how—is a tricky proposition for most, and should be handled delicately. “Let’s say someone you know has a drinking problem, if you begin a conversation with ‘I think you drink
gest that you make sure you’re in a proper place to offer support to someone before intervening. “You have to know how to separate yourself from the situation and not take things personally. All you can do is offer support and provide them with options. Selfawareness is so important—don’t get lost in their situation and don’t find yourself falling victim to those same addictive behaviors. It’s a balance: you want to be there for the person whom you’re trying to help, but you also have to take care of yourself too.” * For privacy, the name of the subject was changed.
120 JAYE | AUGUST 2009
opening spread: cocaineaddictiontreatment.org. this page: hiddenepidemic.com. opposite page: blogcdn.com.
“It’s easy to focus on the addictive behavior, but if you are trying to help someone, you have to dig deeper.” –rhonda dalrymple