Survey: Heavy Drinkers Lie About Their Drinking
Here's a hot news flash: people who drink excessively lie about it. That's the finding of a British government survey of nearly 2,000 people which found that 39 percent of people who drink more than the recommended daily levels lie about it to almost everyone.They conceal the amount they drink from their partners, friends, colleagues and, most significantly, their doctors.
Those surveyed who drank at safe levels do not minimize their consumption when talking to their doctors, but almost 40 percent who drink more than two pints of beer for men or one large glass of wine for women underplay their consumption to their healthcare providers.
The fact that heavy drinkers downplay the amount they drink is not new news. After all, denial is one symptom of having an alcohol abuse problem.
Not Smart To Lie to Your Doctor
But lying to healthcare providers about the amount of alcohol you drink is like going to an auto repair shop because your engine is making a strange sound then telling the mechanic to check the tires. Doctors cannot address the real problem unless they have all of the information.
In the U.K., the government is making a effort to increase screening for alcohol problems in hospitals and physician offices so that problem drinkers can be given information about the dangers of alcohol abuse. This practice is known as screening and brief intervention in the U.S.
The British Department of Health has commissioned research into the best ways of identifying heavy drinkers who have come before the courts, or who are receiving health treatment, "to give drinkers on-the-spot advice about the potential dangers of alcohol abuse," according to the BBC.
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Comments
Hi Buddy,
I just found this site and will be having a good look around.
I wondered if you might be interested in my blog – I am an alcoholic, currently practising but waiting to recover (genuinely on a waiting list that is and taking steps). I’m writing a diary of the process and what it’s like to be a drunk.
All the best,
The Drinker.
This is such an important topic because the sooner the denial is halted, the more likely a successful change in alcohol use or abstinence is possible.
Often health care professionals need guidance in how to ask and probe the questions that can better get at the actual alcohol use. Two resources that can add to this discussion include:
* NIAAA’s Clinicians Guide, “Helping Patients Who Drink Too Much.” As stated in its introduction, the Guide is written for primary care and mental health clinicians. It has
been produced by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA),
a component of the National Institutes of Health, with guidance from physicians,
nurses, advanced practice nurses, physician assistants, and clinical researchers.
Source: ,http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/
practitioner/CliniciansGuide2005/Guide_
Slideshow.htm>
* World Health Organization’s AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test)
Source:
I didn’t add the source for the AUDIT. Here it is:
whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2001/WHO_MSD_MSB_01.6a.pdf
This is a news flash? So glad you said it is not. We will do anything to protect our addiction, becoming expert liars is crucial. I was frank with my doctor over time and yes, he found that to be unusual. It only enhanced our doctor/patient relationship and his ability to treat me.
The medical establishment is working to become better informed but frankly, when we are active in our addiction, we cause havoc in an ER setting (the focus of screening and brief intervention). The ER is not a place for treatment of chronic illness, but acute illness, so no wonder alcoholics are given the bum’s rush once medically cleared. So referrals are now being made before discharge and hopefully will work for some.
The attitude of the medical community remains judgemental. Physician’s are soon jaded, it is their form of self preservation.
BTW, I think this site is full of wonderful information and resources. I am a regular on the alcoholics forum and am grateful it is here.
Thanks Buddy.