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Show Pear Johnt by John Waterbury . ... 4 k - m Question! or comment! regarding alcoholism, drug abuse, or the related life-problemi may be sent to, 36 South State Street, 2 1 st floor, Salt Lake City, Utah 84 1 1 1. These letters form the basis of the "Dear John" column. DEAR READERS: For years, denial of alcoholism, drug abuse, nr what has been termed "el. .2 Jc idency" has been so strong here in Utah that these p oblems have sone unnoticed un-noticed and unheeded. The belief that the influence of the LDS Church alone would protect everyone every-one from these terrible things was prevelent but it overlooks one basic concept: that we all suffer from human nature. That fact alone seems to lead to several problems and chemical dependency is one of the most nefarious. WHILE UTAHNS rank 50th in the country in terms of alcohol consumption, con-sumption, we rank in the top ten for use of prescription medications. This is logical since there is such a stigma attached to drinking alcohol. alco-hol. The result is the development of a more "acceptable" dependency. dependen-cy. A chemical dependency. Chemical dependency develops not because people are bad, or immoral, im-moral, or crazy. We all do what we think is in our best interest, or at least what makes us able to function func-tion most comfortably. And it's interesting in-teresting that no one ever starts using us-ing drugs with the intention of becoming be-coming addicted. I have never met a young child who said, "When I grow up, I want to be the town drunk!" In reality, we live in a "plop plop, fizz fizz" society. IN OTHER words, if anything aches, burns, or itches, we have a pill, cream or suppository that takes care of the problem instantly. instant-ly. Immediate gratification is what we expect! And we'll get it, or else. Too often, what we get is "or else." The fact is that about 100 thousand Utahns abuse alcohol or drugs to the point where they be-. be-. come chemically dependent. That by itself is bad enough but then we make matters even worse when we ignore, or deny, or rationalize ration-alize the situation. Alcoholism, drug abuse, chemical dependency, or whatever term we choose to call it will not go away simply because we choose not to deal with it. For all too many, it has become a fact of life. WE USE drugs for several reasons: to deal with pain, to sleep, to be alert, to deal with anxiety, stress or depression. There are several legitimate reasons for using cription medications or over the counter medicine. But it is sometimes difficult to know when you cross the line between taking enough, and taking too much. This is often the point where chemical dependency becomes noticeable in adults. On the other hand, with adolescents, adoles-cents, chemical dependency is a problem long before it is recognized recog-nized by friends or family. It is a process that begins when drugs are used, and it is found that the effects are desirable. This may result in increased in-creased pleasure, or decreased pain, or altered states of reality. INITIALLY, few problems are recognized, and the drug is used infrequently. Sometimes this progresses prog-resses to a point where the drug is sought out to provide the altered state. Next comes the preoccupation preoccupa-tion with the drug. Without it, normal nor-mal activity seems dull and unexciting. unex-citing. Family, friends, and school lose priority. Barriers develop as the adolescent is drawn more toward to-ward a drug oriented lifestyle. Perceptions Per-ceptions become distorted, and beliefs be-liefs and values become confused or discarded. Both self-esteem and self-concept becomes damaged, and e itional growth stops. Once the physical addiction has developed, many people are aware that something is wrong but few know what to do. As a result, no one does anything differently. Relationships Re-lationships become strained, families fami-lies become fragmented, and problems prob-lems develop in all major areas. Traffic fatalities, suicides and drug overdoses are the result. WHEN PROBLEMS occur, it is not necessary to sit back and let things run their natural course. We're, talking about lives, not a phase that people outgrow. And it is not necessary to sit back and wait for the chemically dependent individual to ask for help, to "hit bottom." It is possible to bring the SoUom to the individual. With the .uowledge and assistance from professionals in the chemical dependency de-pendency field it is possible to turn things around, rather than have them cave in. Confidentially: Inv your life as if your life depended1!! on it--because il does! |