2023-12-21 18:00:09
The tall alcohol consumption continues to be a problem in Mexican society and even more so in times like Christmas. The statistics confirm this. Without knowing the data for 2023, according to the 2022 National Continuous Health and Nutrition Survey, 40.4% of the Mexican adult population consumed alcohol excessively during the past year.
The data are also worrying among the adolescent population, whose figure in terms of excessive consumption reached 13.9%. By sex, in both adults and adolescents, the prevalence was higher in men than in women, with more significant differences among the adult population.
“It is not that a specific excess of consumption implies an addiction to alcohol, but obviously we are talking about a behavior that implies a greater risk of falling into an addiction to it than that of someone who does not consume it or knows very well when they should stop. to drink. Addiction, by definition, is the direct consequence of excessive and prolonged consumption of alcoholic beverages,” says Bernardo Ruiz Victoria, psychologist specializing in Clinical Psychology, founder and director of the Victory Program for addiction rehabilitation.
With the festivities of Christmas the intake of alcohol usually increases considerably. Drinks of this type seem to have to be part of the celebration no matter what; as if it couldn’t be celebrated any other way.
Safe consumption does not exist
As a rule for the general population, this addiction prevention and treatment expert advises drinking very little and very infrequently. “It is best to keep alcohol consumption within the context of meals, but never daily, and always in very small quantities. It is also very important not to use alcohol as a “remedy” for negative moods or emotional difficulties of any kind. That kind of consumption is a direct path to addiction,” he says.
For him, safe consumption does not exist. “In the best of cases we can speak of low risk, and that with many precautions,” he warns. “By the time a first point of intoxication is reached, the limit of moderation has already been exceeded. Continuing to drink after that first sensation, which is usually pleasant, is an obvious risky behavior.”
Various studies carried out in recent years consider four units (glasses or glasses of wine or beer) per day as low-risk consumption, without exceeding 20 per week in men; and three a day – no more than 15 a week – in women. But the specialist insists again… “Low risk does not mean safe. And, being within those limits, for some people it is still “high-risk” consumption. For example, for pregnant women, people under medical treatment with anxiolytics and other drugs incompatible with alcohol, people with liver and pancreatic ailments, etc. And, of course, for people who have stopped drinking because they had developed an addiction. In all these cases the only safe consumption is zero,” he insists.
Social pressure to drink
Precisely, in the midst of so much partying, addicts who have stopped drinking and do not want to fall back into alcohol are especially sensitive to this pressure to consume it. Does this mean that these people are at greater risk of relapse during the Christmas holidays?
For Ruiz Victoria, “it is true that at Christmas there is greater social pressure towards alcohol consumption, but if a person has correctly followed a therapeutic program, they should have learned to handle these situations without problems.”
And how to avoid a relapse? The specialist maintains that the person in question must have previously prepared in an effective way. “He must know the risk situations that may affect him and have adequate responses prepared for each of them. That is part of the therapeutic process necessary to overcome addictive behavior,” he comments.
Avoiding risky situations is, without a doubt, an appropriate strategy in many cases to avoid relapses – maintains this psychologist – but it is not the only one. “The person who becomes aware of their addiction and decides to stop drinking has to learn to function without alcohol in normal social contexts where other people do consume alcoholic beverages.” However, he insists, “this is part of the therapeutic work and must be individualized and personalized in each specific case. “I am not in favor of giving a general rule.”
As a conclusion to face the Christmas holidays, Ruiz Victoria gives two fundamental guidelines to be taken into account by people who do not want to fall back into alcohol consumption. “To live Christmas soberly you only need a sincere desire to do it that way and have the clear determination to achieve it.” Of course, if these holidays are difficult for anyone who has given up alcohol, he advises them to seek individualized therapeutic help, since “it may be necessary in some cases to avoid relapses.”
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#Christmas #potential #risk #alcohol