Addiction month is fresh chance for addicts

September was National Addiction Recovery Month, but college students shouldn't just rely on a month to cut back on alcohol, if they decide to do so. However, if it takes a reason like Addiction Recovery Month to get an addict on their way to a fresh start, then go for it.

"If people do not want to become addicts, they need to drink normally now," said Dr. Janice Bending, an Addictions professor at the University of Cincinnati.

But what is normal drinking? One would think having a few beers at a party wouldn't cause too much damage. However, if you drink in college, your drinking behavior may not be considered "normal." You may even be classified as a binge drinker.

"Our United States model recommends that a woman should consume no more than one drink per day, and that a man should consume no more than two drinks per day," Bending said. "And that doesn't mean you can save all of your drinks up during the week and use them on the weekend."

Anything over the daily-recommended limit could be considered binge drinking. I know people who have put away 11 to 14 beers at parties. Would they consider themselves binge drinkers? Not likely. Some students do more than transition into adulthood; many transition into the shaky world of addiction via easily accessible alcohol and little self-control.

Yet, more and more young adults seem to consistently disregard this model, setting themselves up for serious alcohol addictions and possible premature death down the line- or maybe even sooner, especially for women. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAA) reports that death rates are about 50 to 100 percent higher in female alcoholics than male alcoholics.

As an occasional drinker, these statistics scare me. What girl who goes out on the weekends sticks to one drink at a party? I thought I was safe with having a few beers at a time. Since my family doesn't have a history of alcoholism, I figured I was home free on the addiction front.

What makes females so different from men? The answer is simple: body composition. According to Jean Kinney in Loosening the Grip: A Handbook of Alcohol Information, women have more body fat and less water in their bodies than men. A woman would absorb alcohol far faster than a man would, even if both the man and the woman were the same height and weight. Women are also more susceptible to liver disease due to this faster absorption, thus raising the mortality rate of female alcoholics.

However, men aren't off the hook just yet-although women may be dying faster from alcohol abuse, the number of male alcoholics outweighs the number of female alcoholics in the United States.

"A male alcoholic can go out drinking every night with his friends and it would seem totally normal." Bending said, "If a woman were to do the same thing, there would be a stigma attached to her and she would be looked down upon. That's why more women turn to prescription drugs to control their problems rather than alcohol, it's more socially acceptable."

While this stigma may be true in our society in general, in college, there is actually a lack of stigma attached to women drinkers. If a girl wants to go out and get drunk, who's going to stop her? Guys certainly won't, and her friends won't because they'll be going out and getting drunk with her.

Girls in college generally don't feel looked down upon when they drink. In fact, girls who drink are oftentimes very well liked. Since the stigma placed upon women drinkers is so much less in college than it is in the adult world, college can be even more of a catalyst for addictive behaviors in the future.

On the other hand, if you do feel you legitimately have a serious alcohol addiction, there are plenty of ways to get help on and off campus.

UC hosts closed Alcoholics Anonymous meetings on campus, and there are always guidance counselors available to talk to about problems that could be masked by an alcohol addiction.

So if you need help, and, most importantly, you are willing and ready to get it, don't wait. Good mental and physical health is bound to be more satisfying than that tenth Margarita during Happy Hour; no hangovers, either. If you don't feel you need help, or not yet, anyway, just be careful. Don't let what's supposed to be a fun time turn into a risky addiction.