(KMAland) – During Alcohol Awareness Month, which recently ended, mental health counselors highlighted Nebraska’s high rate of binge drinking.
Alcohol abuse is frequently associated with other addictions. Nebraska has one of the highest binge drinking rates in the nation, and the number of alcohol-related deaths is on the rise. Alcohol was blamed for at least 720 fatalities in 2020, the most recent year for which data were available.
According to Aileen Brady, CEO of the Community Alliance in Omaha, alcohol abuse and addiction affect families and friendships, but they can also cause safety issues among employees who are alcohol dependent.
“If their reactions are not as sharp, if they are not sleeping well and if they are distracted with the sense of needing to have that drink, it is going to affect our workplaces, as well,” Brady told me.
Brady adds that alcohol and other substance abuse disorders affect at least 65% of Nebraskans who seek mental health treatment at Community Alliance. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more than 224 million people aged 12 and older have consumed alcohol in their lifetimes.
Brady added that it is common for people who are addicted to alcohol or abuse it to believe that drinking will improve their mood, which she said can happen temporarily but has the opposite effect over time.
“That might last for a period of hours, and then once they stop the drinking and they are coming down off of that use of alcohol, then the depressant sets in,” according to Brady.
Brady added: The Community Alliance continues to dispel myths about the effects of alcohol and raise awareness about the harmful physical and mental health consequences of excessive drinking.