Well also have with us an expert with some safety tips on travel thats whether you travel abroad or stay domestic. But first, we bring you some new information on alcohol addiction. It was a recent study by jama psychiatry that shows that although a third of americans suffer from some type of alcohol abuse, only about 20 actually seek treatment. Joining us in the studio from Summit Behavioral Health are dr. William stanley, the medical director, jim kane, their c. E. O. , and maria ulmer, whos the executive director of clinical services. Thanks so much for being with us. Doctor, lets start with you. Why is that so many people dont seek treatment when they drink on a regular basis or maybe drink too heavily on a regular basis . I think when we start looking at alcohol in the context of society today, it is socially acceptable to some degree. However, at the same time, people arent aware of their tolerance levels and sometimes becomes more of an issue where encumbered, they know that the
Thanks so much for being with us. Doctor, lets start with you. Why is that so many people dont seek treatment when they drink on a regular basis or maybe drink too heavily on a regular basis . I think when we start looking at alcohol in the context of society today, it is socially acceptable to some degree. However, at the same time, people arent aware of their tolerance levels and sometimes becomes more of an issue where they know theyre becoming encumbered, they know that theyre becoming impaired, but they dont want to recognize or accept that. So at what point theres the big question. At what point is it encumbering on a person . Does it sneak up or do they just wake up one day and say, all right, todays the day . Or is it just little incremental steps, shades of gray, and do they not realize and thats the problem . Very well. To a large point, it is incremental shades of gray. Dont want to accept that it is a problem, and they will go ahead and, whatever their tolerance level, cont