Mental health counselors focused on Nebraska’s high rate of binge drinking during Alcohol Awareness Month, which just wrapped up.
Alcohol abuse is often associated with other addictions. Nebraska’s binge drinking rate is among the highest in the nation and the number of alcohol-related deaths is on the rise. Alcohol was blamed for at least 720 fatalities in 2020, the latest year data were available.
Aileen Brady, CEO of the Community Alliance in Omaha, said alcohol abuse and addiction affects families and friendships but can also lead to safety issues among employees who may be alcohol dependent.
“If their reactions are not as sharp, if they’re not sleeping well and if they’re distracted with the sense of needing to have that drink, it’s going to affect our workplaces, as well,” Brady explained.
Brady adds alcohol and other substance abuse disorders affect at least 65% of Nebraskans seeking mental health treatment at Community Alliance. Nationwide, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health said more than 224-million people 12 and older report having consumed alcohol during their lifetime.
Brady added it is common among alcohol addicted people or those who abuse it to assume drinking will improve their mood, which she said can happen temporarily, but long-term, has the opposite effect.
“That might last for a period of hours, and then once they stop the drinking and they are coming down off of that use of alcohol, then the depressant sets in,” Brady observed.
Brady added Community Alliance continues to dispel myths about the effects of alcohol and raise awareness about the negative physical and mental health outcomes of drinking too much.
