Thousands of students graduate from college and begin full time careers each year in the professional workforce. Most are excited and unaware about the levels of extremely high stress workers can go through to manage performance expectations and pressing deadlines in their industry. After months to years of difficult work and anxiety from life wearing on their mental health, many people become vulnerable to alcohol dependency as a method of stress management. One recent health study found that almost 8.7 percent of professional workers from the ages of 16 to 64 consumed alcohol in extreme amounts during a one month period. It also found that at least 8.6 percent used illegal drugs as well to cope with their mountains of stressful work. A high percentage of the wealthy and student population also turn to drugs to fit in a desired social group or to seek a thrill from an otherwise mundane lifestyle they feel stuck in. Over time, harsh consequences come with self-medicating for stress using alcohol and illicit drugs.
Wealth, College, and Addiction
Not all substance addicts are obvious, as they can come from all walks from life. Often, living in constant stress to finish heavy workloads, having disposable income, and consistently making impulsive choices leads to alcohol dependence and drug abuse over time. On a college campus, I’ve witnessed many students start their taste of alcohol with a few mild drinks here and there for stress management. Drinking alcohol is considered socially acceptable and doesn’t have the same stigma attached to it as addiction to harsher drugs like marijuana or cocaine. Since many wealthy individuals also have a lot of spending money and unwarranted financial freedom, they easily fall into a vicious cycle of purchasing drugs out of spontaneity and seeking social support. When money is a given freely from a family name, it becomes difficult to find one’s personal passions and discover genuine friends who don’t just value their wealth. Combined with stressful assignments and social pressure, these factors lead to low self-esteem and boredom which spark the fire of alcohol dependence and harmful self-medicating with drugs. Substance abuse is a long term problem and no one is completely safe to preventing it seeking trained help.
Stressful Careers and Addiction
No matter their age, many workers unexpectedly turn to alcohol dependency to manage their stress and anxiety. People in professions like advertising, music, general labor, cooking, and especially bartenders are all up to two times more likely to die to substance abuse. An estimated 10 percent of all healthcare professionals are also prone to abuse drugs with sectors ranging from pediatricians to anesthesiologists. That’s a scary statistic to think about, as these are the professionals the mainstream population turns to for aid with their own health related issues. With the rising acceptance and romanticizing of alcohol dependency in the media, there is no room for wondering why the number of alcohol and drug related fatalities are climbing on an annual basis.
High Functioning Addicts
If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulty with a drug or alcohol addiction, first make sure to recognize that it is a significant problem. Almost a fifth of all young adults who frequently consume alcohol as a form of self-medicating are considered a highly functional addict. High functioning alcoholics are hard to identify since they can mask it easily. Some tell-tale signs of one, especially if they’re a student, is if that they imbibe alcoholic drinks on a daily basis, become more confident at larger social gatherings, drink alone for no reason, desire to black out, run into legal consequences for their behavior, or often joke about having an addiction to others. Chronic drinking can lead to a negative change in how they look physically, think mentally, or interact with people who may not agree with their destructive lifestyle. Although some lucky high-functioning alcoholics might never experience severe problems with their repeatedly harmful choices, they need to be exposed to some form of an addiction recovery program to know how they could be sabotaging their future.
The Next Steps
If you feel that you have an alcohol dependency problem to deal with stressful work, explore the resources that are out there to learn more about how to implement positive habits. While making changes are hard, healthy choices and a better lifestyle can reinforced after enough consistency, dedication, and faith is applied over time. Just as the saying goes, “We miss 100% of the shots we don’t take”, one will never improve and see results if they don’t put in the effort to reevaluate their life themselves. Start being proactive and pursue holistic, group, or exercise based recovery through a program that fits your lifestyle. The best part is that by joining a rehab program that fits your needs, you won’t have to sacrifice any of the activities that you love. Make the leap and you’ll never want to turn back!