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Life “On the Rocks?”
National Alcohol Screening Day is April 6, 2006
Thousands of sites across the country will offer free, anonymous screenings for
alcohol use disorders on April 6, 2006, National Alcohol Screening Day (NASD).
The goal is to help people recognize the signs of an alcohol problem and learn
where to get support and treatment locally.
One in every 13 adults suffers from alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence.
Millions more drink in ways that can place themselves or others at risk. And
for those who don’t personally have a drinking problem, they may be directly
affected by someone who does – approximately one-half of U.S. adults report a
family history of alcoholism or problem drinking.
As part of the program, attendees will have the opportunity to complete a brief,
written questionnaire assessing their alcohol use and talk privately with a
health professional about their results and next steps. The program is free and
confidential. To find a local screening site, visit
www.nationalalcoholscreeningday.org. For areas where there are no local
in-person screening events, community members can take a special online
screening, which will be posted at
www.nationalalcoholscreeningday.org from March 27 to April 10, 2006.
“Research indicates that brief interventions – such as talking about your
drinking with a health professional at an NASD event – can help resolve mild to
moderate alcohol problems as well as encourage those with more serious problems
to seek treatment,” says Douglas G. Jacobs, MD, President and CEO of Screening
for Mental Health and an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard
Medical School.
Signs that you, a friend, or a loved one may have an alcohol problem:
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Drinking to calm nerves, forget worries, or boost a sad mood
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Guilt about drinking
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Unsuccessful attempts to cut down/stop drinking
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Lying about or hiding drinking habits
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Causing harm to oneself or someone else as a result of drinking
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Needing to drink increasingly greater amounts in order to achieve desired
effect
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Feeling irritable, resentful, or unreasonable when not drinking
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Medical, social, family, or financial problems caused by drinking
Held in April as part of Alcohol Awareness Month, NASD is a program of the
nonprofit Screening for Mental Health, Inc. Last year, an estimated 221,000
people attended a National Alcohol Screening Day event. Of those that completed
a screening form, 45 percent scored in the hazardous or harmful drinking range.
For more information about National Alcohol Screening Day or to find a site
offering free, anonymous alcohol screenings near you, visit
www.nationalalcoholscreeningday.org.
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Screening for Mental Health, Inc.
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