April is Alcohol Awareness Month. As a mental health provider and alcohol and drug counselor, I ask but one thing: we do just this: gain awareness. And NO, I am not necessarily talking about facts and statistics about how many youths are drinking alcohol or how many deaths are alcohol-related.
I am talking about internal awareness: Are you aware of how much you drink in a day, week, month, or year? What are the reasons you drink? Has anyone identified this as being problematic? Do you have a loved one struggling with excessive usage? Are you motivated to change anything about your alco-hol usage? How does your usage impact your health, mental wellbeing, relationships, and work production?
We live in an area where alcohol usage and even misusage are normalized.
