How to Prevent Alcohol Abuse in College

With all the newfound freedom that comes with the college experience, it's easy to take the sudden increase in independence a bit too far -- especially when confronted with a culture that promotes parties and drinking. According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, more than 49 percent of college students ages 18 to 22 drink. There are numerous reasons why, from peer pressure, to the stress of all that coursework, to simple cases of not knowing personal limits. Regardless, knowing how to recognize a serious drinking problem can help to prevent alcohol abuse in college.

Instructions

Know When To Get Help

• 1

  Assess your drinking habits. Signs of a serious problem include: "Pre-gaming," or drinking alcohol before going out to drink at a bar or party in an attempt to get drunk quicker, "binge-drinking," or drinking more than four alcoholic beverages in one sitting, and drinking alone, early in the day or throughout the day.

• 2

  Think about how your drinking affects your life. If your drinking causes you to become abusive or hostile, has negatively affected your grades and/or finances, has affected the quality of your appearance, or has alienated people you were once close to, then your drinking has likely spiraled out of control.

• 3

  Honestly ponder how drinking has affected you physically. If you no are no longer as physically active as you once were, you've gained weight, your stamina has decreased, or you find yourself sleeping most of the day away (and shirking other responsibilities as a result) then your drinking may well have spiraled out of control. It's time to get help.

Getting Help

• 4

  Visit your college's counseling center. Every college employs psychologists or counselors that can help you assess your drinking problem and point you to the right resources for help.

• 5

  Consult Alcoholics Anonymous or another program that can help you get on track toward sobriety. Attending a 12-step program can help you recognize the situations and emotions that will tempt you to drink and, in turn, avoid them.

• 6

  Take a break from college and enter a rehabilitation program for alcoholism. Acknowledge that it may not be possible for you to continue your studies AND get sober at the same time. Your physical and emotional health comes first, and once you take care of your problem, you can go back to college armed with strategies for avoiding situations where you may be more likely to abuse alcohol.

Preventing Alcohol Abuse

• 7

  Learn to say "No." Just because other people around you are drinking, that doesn't mean you have to drink. If you can't resist the temptation to drink, avoid situations where other people will be drinking around you.

• 8

  Distract yourself by staying active. Make a list of activities to do instead of drinking. Use the time and money you would normally devote to drinking to do those activities with family and/or friends.

• 9

  Evaluate your relationships and cut out the ones that make you more likely to drink. If you have a friend or family member who likes to drink, or ignites emotions in you that tempt you to drink, you may no longer be able to be around that person, because they may threaten your continued sobriety.

• 10

  See a counselor or mentor on a regular basis who can help you stay on track with your sobriety. Your college may have these people already on staff to help you, or they will be able to find these resources for you.