By Lisa Frederiksen
We are all familiar with the term secondhand smoke and how it refers to the negative effects someone experiences as a result of being exposed to another person’s cigarette smoke. However, we generally do not give as much thought to what happens to people whose paths cross with those of a person who misuses alcohol, beyond the obvious, such as an auto accident caused by a drunk driver.[1] It is unlikely most of us have ever encountered the term, Secondhand Drinking (SHD).
Yet, the effects of secondhand drinking can forever alter people’s lives. This is especially true if they are the family member or close friend who, over the course of their ongoing exposure to SHD, become victims, suffering their own consequential physical and emotional impairments. We all know someone, if not ourself, who is forever changed by the fact that he or she grew up in a home in which somoene abused alcohol.
As an example, secondhand drinking is what happens to the spouse and children of a veteran who turns to alcohol after his/her tour of duty ends – alcohol to relieve his untreated PTSD,[2] fears he or she will never find a job, and confused feelings about returning to civilian life. This throws the family into a tailspin as they all try to figure out how to get the drinker to stop or get help.
Secondhand drinking is what happens to that veteran’s son at school after a particularly rough night of parental arguing about the drinking. He can’t concentrate in class and is embarrassed by his schoolmate’s snicker when he fails to answer the teacher’s question. He’s fuming by recess and tracks his classmate down, punching him in the face. For that he’s sent to the office, only to have his parents called because he’s a behavioral problem – again.
The physical and emotional impairments caused by repeated exposure to SHD are due to the brain changes caused by the chronic activation of the fight-or-flight stress response system. This system engages when confronted with stress, danger, fear and anxiety. As a result of these brain and physical changes, family members and close friends repeatedly exposed to SHD often suffer anxiety, depression, stomach ailments, skin problems, obesity, sleep difficulties, migraines and a host of other conditions. They experience quality-of-life changes that are beyond a “healthy” person’s comprehension.
These innocent sufferers have no idea that secondhand drinking is the cause of their symptoms, relationship problems or work/school performance issues. Rather, they blame some other issue or just assume it’s “them” or accept the diagnosis, “migraines with no known cause” or “migraines due to stress,” for example (the latter of course being true, but often the stress source is identified as the job or kids). They don’t think to associate it with another person’s drinking behaviors because they’ve never had an awareness of the concept of secondhand drinking.
Is Secondhand Drinking a Problem in Your Life?
Because secondhand drinking is caused by another person’s alcohol misuse, looking at the habits of those around you will help you determine if it’s an issue in your life. Ask yourself:
- How many times in the past year have you had a female family member consume 4 or more standard drinks in a day?
- How many times in the past year have you had a male family member consume five or more standard drinks in a day?
You can also take an anonymous alcohol use self-assessment at www.DrinkingIQ.org.
An answer of once or more indicates the potential for alcohol misuse and therefore drinking behaviors that cause secondhand drinking. To learn more aobut alcohol use and secondhand drinking, check out www.BreakingTheCycles.com. You can also receive daily updates on a variety of substance misuse topics at the organization’s Facebook page.
[1] Alcohol misuse refers to binge drinking, heavy social drinking, alcohol abuse and alcoholism. These drinking patterns cause brain changes – especially in areas of the brain responsible for judgment, memory, coordination, pleasure/reward and reasoning. These brain changes cause drinking behaviors as described in the sidebar above. (See Image Showing Brain Changes at conclusion of this Summary.) For the person experiencing secondhand drinking, the label does not matter. It’s the drinking behaviors that are of concern.
[2] Untreated PTSD and other mental illnesses often “cause” a person to drink. The alcohol helps them self-medicate the symptoms of the mental illness because it works on the brain’s dopamine pleasure/reward pathways.
Lisa Frederiksen is the author of nine books and a national keynote speaker with 25 years experience in public speaking. She has been consulting, researching, writing and speaking on substance abuse, addiction as a brain disease, education/prevention/intervention and treatment, dual diagnosis, secondhand drinking|drugging, underage drinking, and help for the family centered around 21st century brain and addiction-related research since 2003. Her 40+ years experience with family and friends’ alcohol abuse and alcoholism, her own therapy and recovery work around those experiences, and her research for her blog posts and books, including her most recent – “Crossing The Line From Alcohol Use to Abuse to Dependence,” “Loved One In Treatment? Now What!” and “If You Loved Me, You’d Stop!” – frame her work.
