Alcoholism and/or drug addiction is completely a matter of choice. Fact Fiction
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Research has shown that addiction is a disease that is rooted in brain chemistry.
You can sober up by drinking coffee, taking a cold shower or making yourself throw up. Fact Fiction
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Alcohol enters your bloodstream very quickly, and once it’s there, only time will reduce its effects on your judgment, coordination and reflexes. For example, it takes 4-5 hours for two drinks to get broken down by your liver and leave your system.
Drinking can interfere with sex. Fact Fiction
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While alcohol can lower sexual inhibition, heavy drinking dulls sensation, numbs nerve endings and hinders a person’s ability to reach orgasm.
As long as my grades are good, my drinking and/or drug use isn’t a problem. Fact Fiction
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Alcohol and/or drug use doesn’t necessarily have to affect your ability to function academically to be a problem. You should also consider how they impact your health, relationships, overall behavior, as well as the potential to become dependent.
Alcohol affects women and men in different ways. Fact Fiction
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Women’s bodies have less water and less of the enzyme that breaks down alcohol. So, women get drunk faster than men.
Memory loss is just part of drinking. Everyone blacks out at some time or another. Fact Fiction
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Actually, many people never experience a blackout as a result of alcohol use. During a blackout you can have sex, drive a car and get into a fight with no memory of it the next day. Blacking out and memory loss are signs that you may have a problem with alcohol.
You can’t overdose on alcohol. Fact Fiction
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Drinking too much alcohol can cause you to stop breathing either because of its toxic effects or by causing you to choke on your own vomit.
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Repeated inability to meet obligations
Repeated dangerous behaviors
Repeated legal problems
Repeated interpersonal problems
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Alcoholism is a disease. The craving that an alcoholic feels for alcohol can be as strong as the need for food or water. An alcoholic will continue to drink despite serious family, health, or legal problems.
Each year, alcohol-related accidents kill 1,700 college students, more than all illegal drugs combined. Each year, 600,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are unintentionally injured under the influence of alcohol.
More than 97,000 college students are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape every year; in fact, alcohol is the most common “date-rape drug.”
A study of college students has shown that critical skills related to attention, memory, and learning are impaired among people who use marijuana heavily, even after discontinuing its use for at least 24 hours.
Marijuana can promote cancer of the lungs and other parts of the respiratory system.
A recent study found that, between 1993 and 2005, college student use of drugs such as Percocet increased over 300 percent, while the use of tranquilizers such as Valium was up by over 400 percent.
This same study showed that the use of illegal drugs such as cocaine and heroin increased by over 50 percent.
Binge drinking means having five or more drinks on one occasion. Studies show that more than 35 percent of adults with an alcohol problem developed symptoms, such as binge drinking, by age 19.
Alcohol is a depressant, so if you are depressed before you start drinking, alcohol can make you feel worse.
Have you ever felt you should cut down on your use of alcohol or drugs (illegal or prescription)?
Yes No
Over the last couple of weeks have you felt badly about yourself, such as thinking that you are a failure of have let someone down?
Have you noticed recent changes in your behavior, such as sleep pattern, eating habits, mood or interests?
Over the last couple of weeks have you had trouble concentrating or felt your thoughts came more slowly or seemed mixed-up?
Have you found yourself in situations where you felt more anxious than usual?
Have you been having difficulty managing stress in your daily life?
Have you been feeling tired, sad, blue or depressed lately?
Your answers indicate that you may be dealing with one or more problems that you should explore further. Use our anonymous Check Yourself tool to learn more or contact your campus health or counseling center for support.
Your answers indicate that you may not be struggling with the most common student mental health issues. If you're still concerned about recent feelings or behavior, use our anonymous Check Yourself tool to learn more.
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www.alcoholics-anonymous.org
(212) 870-3400
www.marijuana-anonymous.org
(800) 766-6779
www.na.org
(818) 773-9999
www.drugabuse.gov
(301) 443-1124
www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov
(800) 789-2647
www.spanusa.org
1-202-449-3600
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