April is Alcohol Awareness Month

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

As part of Alcohol Awareness Month, CareSouth Carolina is working to increase awareness and understanding of alcohol addictions and its causes, as well as provide effective treatment that leads to full recovery.

One in every 12 adults, or 17.6 million people, suffer from alcohol-use disorder or alcohol dependence, according to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. In rural areas, those numbers are higher and they don’t just stop with adults. Nearly 40 percent of youth ages 12-20 drink alcohol regularly in rural counties, according to the Rural Health Information Hub.

Though moderate alcohol consumption by adults may provide some health benefits, the NSDUH says that drinking too much increases a person’s risk of injuries, violence, drowning, liver disease and some types of cancer.

Celebrated every April, Alcohol Awareness Month is an opportunity to decrease stigma and misunderstandings to dismantle the barriers to treatment and recovery, and thus make seeking help more readily available to those who suffer from this disease.

Alcohol addiction is a chronic, progressive disease, genetically predisposed and fatal if untreated.

CareSouth Carolina is home to world-class behavioral health care and works to provide help to those struggling with depression, anxiety, substance dependency or other psychosocial needs.

“We screen for alcohol use disorder and have counselors on-site at all clinical sites,” said Director of Behavioral Health Elizabeth Kershner, LISWAPCP. “If the patient were to require more intense treatment, we have help to obtain that. We work with the local alcohol and drug agencies as needed and we also use, as indicated, medication to assist with alcohol-use disorder.”

Counselors can be found at each of the CareSouth Carolina sites and are able to provide a “whole patient experience,” working with the patient’s medical provider. One does not have to be a patient of CareSouth Carolina to make appointments with the Behavioral Health Counselors.

“It’s all at one location,” Kershner said. “We can work in conjunction with the medical providers at the site to assist in using medications with alcohol-use disorder. You can see both providers on the same day. Overall, it’s good coordinated care.”

An estimated 88,000 people (approximately 62,000 men and 26,000 women) die from alcohol-related causes annually, making alcohol the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States. The first is tobacco, and the second is poor diet and physical inactivity.

If you or a loved one is struggling with alcohol dependency or substance abuse of any kind, please visit caresouth-carolina.com for more information.