Underage Females Drinkers Now as Likely to Die in Car Crash as Male Peers

Texting, Drinking

Underage female drinking drivers are now as likely to die in an alcohol-related car crash as their male counterparts, a new study suggests. In 1996, underage males had a higher risk of a fatal car crash than underage females. By 2007, the gender gap had closed, according to Health Day

The total number of young men who are involved in deadly alcohol-related crashes is still greater, because males drink more, the study notes. At any given blood alcohol level, however, young women have the same risk of a fatal car crash as males.

While the reasons for the increase are not clear, young female drinkers may be taking greater risks while driving, said lead researcher Robert B. Voas, PhD, of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation in Calverton, Maryland. “Young women who drink and drive may be behaving more like young men who drink and drive,” he said in a news release.

The study found drivers ages 16 to 20 with a blood alcohol level of .02 percent to .049 percent were almost three times as likely to be involved in a fatal crash, compared with sober drivers of the same age. Their risk of dying in a single-vehicle crash was almost four times as high as that of sober drivers.

Sober male drivers in the study were twice as likely to be involved in a fatal car crash in 2007 compared with 1996. While the reason is not clear, the researchers speculate that distracted driving, including texting, may be the cause.

They reported their findings in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

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Some methods A.A. members have used for not drinking

About that title…

Even the words “stay sober” -let alone live sober-offended many of us when we first heard such advice. Although we had done a lot of drinking, many of us never felt drunk, and were sure we almost never appeared or sounded drunk. Many of us never staggered, fell, or got thick tongues; many others were never disorderly, never missed a day at work, never had automobile accidents, and certainly were never hospitalized nor jailed for drunkenness.

We knew lots of people who drank more than we did, and people who could not handle their drinks at all. We were not like that. So the suggestion that maybe we should “stay sober” was almost insulting.

Besides, it seemed unnecessarily drastic. How could we live that way? Surely, there was nothing wrong with a cocktail or two at a business lunch or before dinner. Wasn’t everyone entitled to relax with a few drinks, or have a couple of beers before going to bed?

However, after we learned some of the facts about the illness called alcoholism, our opinions shifted. Our eyes have been opened to the fact that apparently millions of people have the disease of alcoholism. Medical science does not explain its “cause,” but medical experts on alcoholism assure us that any drinking at all leads to trouble for the alcoholic, or problem, drinker. Our experience overwhelmingly con-firms this.

So not drinking at all-that is, staying sober-becomes the basis of recovery from alcoholism. And let it be emphasized: Living sober turns out to be not at all grim, boring, and uncomfortable, as we had feared, but rather something we begin to enjoy and find much more exciting than our drinking days. We’ll show you how.

(Introduction; Living Sober, Alcoholics Anonymous 1975)

See also;

• 5 Alcoholism Myths
• Alcoholic, Addictive Behaviors
• Are there Patterns to Denial Behavior?
• What is AA?
• HALT being Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired

Living Sober

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Brief Twelve Step Facilitation (BriefTSF) alcoholism coaching is research based and written by a long term recovered alcoholic who is a professionally trained welfare therapist.

It is a method to begin to create awareness of alcoholism, break down denial and connect alcoholics or problem drinkers with Alcoholics Anonymous.

By using the processes in this manual you can start and give ongoing support to a person on the road to recovery from alcoholism. It is suitable for treatment resistant, previously treated and newcomers to treatment. The processes are gentle incorporating Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Twelve Step Facilitation.

It may also be complimentary to your 12 Step peer helping.

Buy and down load the e-book; now only $7.00 a copy.

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Recovery Characteristics and Practices of Alcoholics Anonymous Sponsors – research

Objectives: Sponsoring another member of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is associated with improved substance use outcomes, but little research examines who is asked (and agrees) to sponsor another member. The objective of this exploratory study is to describe the recovery-related characteristics and practices associated with AA sponsors.

Methods: AA members (263) completed an anonymous online questionnaire about their background and recovery behaviors. On 9 characteristics and 4 practices tests were used to compare (a) current nonsponsors with sponsors; and (b) lifetime nonsponsors with those who had sponsored at some point.

Results:

How and when members entered AA had no association with the sponsor role.

Sponsors, past and present, were characterized by

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Russians Warily Turn to Alcoholics Anonymous in Battle With Alcohol

One-time Russian prisoner Andrei tried to quit drinking 22 times, going for cures that lasted from one to six months. But each time, he went back to the bottle. Then 14 years ago, the 58-year-old tried Alcoholics Anonymous, attracted by the different approach, which was not about doctors reprimanding the drinker, but taking personal responsibility.

And after going through the 12-step programme five times, the Muscovite with deeply-furrowed face and intense dark eyes, said he felt confident he could stay dry.

The Alcoholics Anonymous method of treating alcoholism first came to Russia from the United States more than 20 years ago, but is still not mainstream in a country where hard drinking is often viewed as inevitable and ingrained in the national psyche.

The AA movement of “mutual aid” groups created in the United States in the 1930s first came to Russia at the end of the 1980s during the perestroika era, as the country opened up under the last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Yet more than 20 years later, Russia has just 400 AA groups with 10,000 members—a tiny number for a population of 143 million where alcohol abuse and its social effects are a national scourge.
Read more at: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-russians-warily-aa-alcohol.html#jCp

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Spirituality and purpose in life in alcoholism recovery.

We examined the relationship between spirituality and recovery from alcoholism.

Spirituality was defined as the extent of practice of Alcoholics Anonymous Steps 11 and 12 and was measured by a Step Questionnaire developed for this study.

AA Step 11 suggests prayer and meditation, and Step 12 suggests assistance of other alcoholics. It was postulated that the extent to which Steps 11 and 12 were practiced would be positively correlated with the extent of purpose in life reported by 100 AA members.

Positive correlations between practice of Step 11 and purpose in life scores and between Step 11 and length of sobriety were found.

Number of AA meetings attended was significantly correlated with purpose in life scores and length of sobriety.

Carroll, Stephanie. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, Vol 54(3), 297-301.

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My best friend was going through some tough situations in her life. I was in the midst of a hard stretch too. We didn’t particularly like the things we had to do in our lives. We talked about our feelings and decided that what we were going through was necessary and important, even though we didn’t like it. We expressed gratitude for our lives.

“It’s still a dreadful time,” I said.

“Brutal,” she said. “I guess we’re back to the old one-day-at-a-time approach. We’re so lucky. What do people do that haven’t learned that gem?”

There are times when we can look at the stretch ahead and like what we see. Taking life one day at a time is still a good idea, even when things are going well.

Taking life one day at a time can be particularly useful when the road ahead looks dreadful. We may not even know where to start with some challenges. That’s when taking life one day at a time is essential.

“I’ve been using alcohol and other drugs every day since I’ve been twelve years old,” I said to my counselor years ago in treatment. “Now you’re telling me I need to stay sober the rest of my life. Plus get a job. And a life. How am I going to do that?”

“One day at a time,” she said. She was right. Sometimes I had to take life one minute at a time or one hour at a time. And all these years later, it still works.

You are reading from the book:

-0-

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Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Recovery

I was told early, in my alcoholism recovery, that recovery was a gift from my higher power, an unwarranted unconditional gift of love and that all I had to do to keep it was embrace it and give it away. I soon learned that the more I gave it away the more I had.

I also learned, after much pain, that recovery was not only about not drinking or drugging, but rather, a process by which I learned to change those things in my life and in me that could lead me back to active use of substances.

The process is an ongoing journey that brings with it joy and happiness as well as allowing me to experience the pain of growth. It is a two edged sword that in time we learn to embrace with caution over time.

Recovery is 3 fold: Physical, emotional and spiritual. The physical recovery begins when we stop using substances and begin to allow our body to heal. That healing may include hospitalization for detox and stabilization. In other cases, we may sweat it out cold turkey at home or with another friend in recovery. But, physical recovery doesn’t stop after our system is substance free. We need to continue to take care of it by proper nutrition and plenty of rest. For those folks familiar with the saying HALT (don’t get too hungry, angry, lonely or tired), this is about the Hungry and Tired part of that equation.

The emotional part of recovery is ongoing and is more intense at different stages. This is when we learn to deal with life on life’s terms, and begin to experience feelings that we buried for a long time or thought we would never experience. Some of these include fear, self-doubt, insecurity, guilt, remorse, shame, love, compassion, overwhelmed, happy, sad, angry, loss, lonely, belonging, etc. and the list goes on. Feelings are not facts; they are based on our perceptions, old beliefs and life experiences. Therefore, in the recovery process we learn to embrace these feelings and put them in proper perspective in our lives. We no longer have to fear the feelings but rather face them and move on. This part of the recovery process deals with the Angry and Lonely part of HALT.

The third part of the recovery process deals with the spiritual. Spiritual is not just about embracing a God of our understanding, or for some folks a return to or a new beginning in a structured religion. It is about who we are, our sense of values and self-respect. It’s about balance in our lives and love in our hearts. It’s about being a good person who is sick working on getting well. It’s about self-forgiveness and forgiveness of others. It’s about peace of mind and calmness inside that is felt by others. You may be able to tell when someone is in recovery because you can see it, hear it and feel it. There is a life and joy that cannot be missed.

That is the gift of recovery in one person’s view. Enjoy it, Embrace it and most of all Share it. The more you share it the more it grows

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Hazelden: New ‘Sober24′ Online Community for People in Recovery.

See full details at Recovery Is Sexy

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A.A. is concerned solely with the personal recovery and continued sobriety of individual alcoholics who turn to the Fellowship for help.

Alcoholics Anonymous does not engage in the fields of alcoholism research, medical or psychiatric treatment, education, or propaganda in any form, although members may participate in such activities as individuals.

The Fellowship has adopted a policy of “cooperation but not affiliation” with other organizations concerned with the problem of alcoholism.

Traditionally, Alcoholics Anonymous does not accept or seek financial support from outside sources, and members preserve personal anonymity in print and broadcast media and otherwise at the public level.

A.A. experience has always been made available freely to all who sought it — business people, spiritual leaders, civic groups, law enforcement officers, health and welfare personnel, educators, representatives of military establishments, institutional authorities, representatives of organized labor, and many others. But A.A. never endorses, supports, becomes affiliated with, or expresses an opinion on the programs of others in the field of alcoholism, since such actions would be beyond the scope of the Fellowship’s primary purpose.

A.A.’s relations with professional groups, agencies, facilities, and individuals involved with the problems of alcoholism are handled by the trustees’ Committee on Cooperation with the Professional Community/Treatment Facilities. Mutual understanding and cooperation between A.A. members and others who work with alcoholics are the concerns of this standing committee of the General Service Board.

A.A. FACT FILE; PREPARED BY GENERAL SERVICE OFFICE OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS at www.aa.org

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