TOGETHER WE LEARN, TOGETHER WE HEAL

What Are You Passionate About?

By Ralph Provenza

I’m passionate about lots of things—our two sons, good food, and United Counseling Service, to name a few.

Surprisingly, some people can’t tell you what they’re passionate about—not because it’s top secret but because they just don’t know.

I’m referring to people with drug and alcohol addiction. We’ve seen many people with this problem. They are so consumed by the addiction that they don’t really know what they like or dislike, or even really who they are. They are too busy managing their substance abuse.

Julie is a perfect example. She was heavily involved in alcohol and drug abuse and became an unfit parent. At one point Julie lost her daughter, who spent several years in the care of a foster family.

In fact, I know Julie was passionate about her daughter, but because of drug and alcohol addiction, she was unable to do her job as mother.

I’m sure you may have heard a story like Julie’s — an adult who suffers from apparently self-inflicted wounds caused by a very poor decision.

But before we blame Julie for her problems and close the book, it’s important to know that Julie started experimenting with drinking when she was 14. Hardly a grown-up decision. Her family went through a divorce at that time. For Julie it was very alienating and she grew emotionally apart from her warring family.

We’ve learned that youth who drink before the age of 15 are five times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who don't begin drinking until age 21. Early alcohol use is especially detrimental to the development of the brain which continues to develop until age 25.

Not to say that Julie had the deck stacked against her, but she took on much more than she realized by starting to drink beer with friends.

She went to class in high school, but instead of developing her interests and finding her passions, she hustled out after class to the woods and vacant lots where she and her group chugged beers.

Graduation and a lousy job left her plenty of time and enough income to concentrate on drinking. It wasn’t long until she had her child. In many ways that experience brought a new maturity to Julie, but it was too little too late.

Years passed. Julie drank, lost jobs and friends. She lost relationships, and finally lost her daughter. That’s when she came to United Counseling Service and began to get help.

Now, after years of work to recover from alcoholism, Julie is sober, has her daughter back, holds a good job and is learning what she’s really passionate about.

She would also like to have a “do-over.”

Julie’s story takes place in all communities in Bennington County. Someone like her is probably your neighbor right now. Since local youth begin to drink now around age 13 on average, we see problems in ever younger individuals.

To raise awareness about underage alcohol and drug use, local organizations are conducting activities and holding events during September to promote National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.

UCS, The Southshire Substance Abuse Coalition, The Turning Point Club, and youth groups will be working to remind us all that underage drinking and drug use can cause a lifetime of troubles.

UCS provides successful treatment programs to stop drinking and drug use. But we can’t help people recover the years they lost to addiction.

So this September, let’s get passionate about prevention. Let’s recognize the problem and talk to each other about how to prevent underage drinking and drug use in our community. Let’s understand the causes of addiction and respond to the emotional needs of our children. Let’s help our kids develop healthy alternatives to getting high.

We’ll all be the better for it.