The Bond of Alcohol and its Negative Consequences

Linda, a troubled 17 year old, sat in her room wondering what she should do next. She had always been a happy and focused individual, until she met Danny a boy with whom she had fallen in love.  She had gone from a good student with no problems, to one with failing grades and numerous problems.  Linda knew that her binge drinking, on weekends and sporadically throughout the week, was  dragging her down, but how could she stop when this was  one bond that kept her and Danny together?  Hanging out with him was what she lived for, what she enjoyed, and to give it up would be preposterous! If she quit drinking with him, their relationship might end. In fact, Danny had so much as told her so!

Linda had a decision to make, one that would affect the rest of her life. Was she going to let Danny call the shots and keep their recreational time spent together full of alcohol abuse, or was she going to resist and take control of her life?  She had already lost the support of many of her friends, her grades were drastically suffering, and her relationship with her parents was full of argumentative discussions.  She had to do something!

After a period of much thinking. Linda desired to persuade Danny to get help.  They could both join a support group such as Alcoholic Anonymous. That night, when Linda met Danny, she tried talking with him on this matter; however he did not want to hear about it. He told Linda that he had no problem and that he just liked to drink to unwind and relax. After Linda returned home, she thought about their conversation and how much she loved him, but also how she hated her lifestyle.  She wanted to stay with him; however she felt that her condoning his drinking was only encouraging him to negatively engage in this abusive behavior. At the same time, her participation in this substance abuse problem was ruining her life, so Linda decided to seek help, and that is just what she did!

Today, Linda is back on the right track, and is a senior at Elmwood High School where she is actively engaged in school activities. She is an honor student and has taken charge of her life. Although she is and always will be in love with Danny, she knows that she made the right choice. Danny dropped out of school and is an alcoholic with no interests or goals. Linda has tried to help him  numerous times, but his denial pertaining to  his alcohol problem  has made  it impossible .Linda  will be graduating in May and plans to enroll in college classes to pursue a career in counseling, which  she hopes can be used to help others to  abstain or “ beat the habit” of  alcohol substance addiction. Although she was unable to help Danny, due to his resistance, Linda hopes to help others who will accept and respond to treatment, so that alcohol will not consume their lives, as it once did hers.