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Show Alcoholism Dear Editor: During the week of June 20 to the 25th, I attended the University of Utah School on Alcohol and other Drug Dependencies. The Uintah County Commission, through Rose Miller's Prevention-Education office at Social Services, provided me with one of four scholarships and a valuable experience. I recognized my own ignorance about alcoholism and I realized the public need for better dissemination of accurate information concerning the research, treatment and prevention of drug dependency. Society has not generally been successful in treating alcoholism. Perhaps the lack of success can be attributed to our attitudes. First, many of us find it hard to accept that it is a disease. Our definition of illness is very narrow, and we tend to expect some "medication or surgery to take care of illness." Secondly, those of us who actually accept it as a disease, tend to believe that it is hopeless, or at best, only a few can be helped. That is incorrect. Thirdly, we believe alcoholics are mentally ill. That is true of very few! Lastly, we see alcoholism as self-infliced. We judge these people responsible for becoming alcoholics. In reality, they are no more responsible for being alcoholics than the diabetic is responsible for his or her disease. They should be held responsible for the treatment of their disease. Research shows that any creature can become physically dependent on alcohol. That was proven in the early 1900s. What happens in the body is no mystery to science. It's hard for us to accept, but it is fact. In the treatment area, the students at University of Utah were reminded who traditionally treats the alcoholic and why. The police are the first people involved with the alcoholic. One third of all arrests in the USA in 1978 were for public intoxication. Since then many states are ruling out the jailing of the publically intoxicated individual. The clergy have traditionally been called in to intervene in the lives of alcoholics because alcohol involvement has implied low moral character. Unfortunately, no results have come from clergy involvement. Doctors, though they receive no training in how to deal with the alcoholic, are generally expected to "help." This has resulted in a growing store of knowledge concerning the treatment of the complications of alcoholism. Fortunately, finally, we are using alcoholism counselors. We are using them more all the time, in conjunction with detoxification centers, instead of jail. In the withdrawal state, intoxication is serious and can be fataL In the Prevention Department, the last seven years have produced 6 studies dealing with the dependency on alcohol and other drugs. Our efforts to understand juvenile suicide, crime, delinquency, drug and alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancy, and other problems afflicting our youth have resulted in findings which have great significance for parent educators. Probably the most important item is the recent development of a profile of the "high risk" young person. There are seven factors by which we can identify most likely to have problems. The first three are basic perceptions of ourselves and our relationship to our environment. The last four are inadequacies in basic skills of dealing with ourselves, other people and different situations. The changing structure of family life in the US has placed American families as great risk of both disintegration and having problem children. As parents, we have to be aware of the changes that have weakened the structure of today's family and we must be responsible for the impact of these changes on ourselves and our children. We can, as parents and educators learn to provide the basic training in the concept of self-respect, self-discipline self-discipline and responsibility, and in the skills of self-control, communication, cooperation, making sound decisions, and handling different situations in an increasingly mature manner. We can recognize the changes that have occurred in family structure and learn how to develop capable people with the present structure. We must no longer presume the process will take place naturally, or that someone else will handle it. The process of developing capable people needs our attention. There is nothing more important than the next generation of Americans having the confidence and skills to survive and thrive in the world they will unavoidable inherit. Alcohol and drug dependency is a national problem. There is a clear need to channel public energy and resource into the prevention of dependency. The future of our society may depend on it. VERA DUDLY Probation Dept. 3rd Dist. Juvenile Court |