Alcohol Use Disorder
This content is for informative purposes only and is not intended to be used to diagnose a disorder. If you think you may have an alcohol use disorder, please call or text Aaron Grusonik at 408-482-0323, or contact your team physician or MSU Counseling and Psychological Services at (406) 994-4531.
Athletes and Alcohol Use
Student-athletes may be at a greater risk for abusing alcohol than their non-athlete peers.2 A recent systematic review also suggested alcohol abuse and related violence rates may be higher among athletic populations compared to non-athletes. Researchers noted that masculinity, violent social identity and antisocial norms connected to specific sports could be potential factors that may impact this connection between sport and violence among athlete populations.3 Athletes also may experience more frequent negative consequences of substance abuse. For example, the "hangover effect" after a night of heavy drinking can reduce athletic performance by 11.4%. This decrease in performance can be extremely distressing for athletes. Student-athletes with the heaviest drinking patterns are also 6.15 times more likely to experience unintentional alcohol-related injuries compared to other athletes, including injuries that may be season- or career-ending.2 On the topic of injuries, substance use is a common problematic response to athletic injury. Often, substances are used to self-medicate in an attempt to improve the mood disturbances or depression often associated with the psychological effects of an injury.4 It is possible that this could create a feedback loop, where athletes have an alcohol related injury, then self-medicate mood disturbances with alcohol, get injured again, and so on. In essence, athletes need to take extra caution regarding alcohol use and abuse, because the physical and psychological consequences can be quite severe.
About Alcohol Use Disorder
*Adapted from https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/alcohol-use-disorder Addiction to drugs or alcohol is a mental illness. Substance use disorder alters normal desires and priorities. It changes normal behaviors and interferes with the ability to work, go to school, compete in sports, and to have good relationships with friends and family. Problem drinking that becomes severe is given the medical diagnosis of "alcohol use disorder" or AUD. AUD is a chronic relapsing brain disorder characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health consequences.
An estimated 15 million people in the United States have alcohol use disorder (AUD). Approximately 5.8 percent or 14.4 million adults in the United States ages 18 and older had AUD in 2018. This includes 9.2 million men and 5.3 million women. Adolescents can be diagnosed with AUD as well, and in 2018, an estimated 401,000 adolescents ages 12–17 had AUD. Unfortunately, less than 10 percent of people with AUD receive any treatment.
For most adults, moderate alcohol use is probably not harmful. However, drinking causes distress and harm among persons with AUD. AUD can range from mild to severe, depending on the symptoms. Severe AUD is sometimes called alcoholism or alcohol dependence.
AUD can cause:
- Craving - a strong need to drink
- Loss of control - not being able to stop drinking once you've started
- Negative emotional state - feeling anxious and irritable when you are not drinking
Athlete Experiences with Substance Use
- Brett Favre: https://landmarkrecovery.com/stories-of-recovery-brett-farve/
- CC Sabathia: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/articles/cc-sabathia-yankees-alcohol-addiction-recovery
- From Medal to Chip: 5 Olympic Athletes Who Have Spoken Up About Their Recovery
Signs & Symptoms of AUD1
According to the DSM–5, the current version of the DSM, anyone meeting any two of the 11 criteria during the same 12-month period receives a diagnosis of AUD. The severity of AUD—mild, moderate, or severe—is based on the number of criteria met. To assess whether you or loved one may have AUD, here are some questions to ask. In the past year, have you:
- Had times when you ended up drinking more, or longer than you intended?
- More than once wanted to cut down or stop drinking, or tried to, but couldn't?
- Spent a lot of time drinking? Or being sick or getting over the aftereffects?
- Experienced craving — a strong need, or urge, to drink?
- Found that drinking — or being sick from drinking — often interfered with taking care of your home or family? Or caused job troubles? Or school problems?
- Continued to drink even though it was causing trouble with your family or friends?
- Given up or cut back on activities that were important or interesting to you, or gave you pleasure, in order to drink?
- More than once gotten into situations while or after drinking that increased your chances of getting hurt (such as driving, swimming, using machinery, walking in a dangerous area, or having unsafe sex)?
- Continued to drink even though it was making you feel depressed or anxious or adding to another health problem? Or after having had a memory blackout?
- Had to drink much more than you once did to get the effect you want? Or found that your usual number of drinks had much less effect than before?
- Found that when the effects of alcohol were wearing off, you had withdrawal symptoms, such as trouble sleeping, shakiness, irritability, anxiety, depression, restlessness, nausea, or sweating? Or sensed things that were not there?1
- Are you wondering if you have an alcohol use disorder? Complete this Online Screening.
Resources
- On-Campus Resources
- Off-Campus Resources
- Alcoholics Anonymous: This is a group of fellowship with no political, religious, or other affiliation. There are no membership dues. The only requirement for attendance is a desire to stop drinking. Meeting Times
- Treatment for Alcohol Problems: Finding and Getting Help (PDF)
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: Treatment Navigator
More Information
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: Alcohol Basics
- NCAA Resource: For the Athlete: Alcohol and Athletic Performance Pamphlet (DOCX)
- NCAA Student-Athlete Substance Use Study: Executive Summary August 2014
- NCAA: Mind, Body and Sport: Substance Use and Abuse
References
1. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (n.d.) Alcohol Use Disorder. Retrieved from: https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/alcohol-use-disorder 2. National Collegiate Athletic Association. (n.d.). Substance Use. Retrieved from: https://www.ncaa.org/themes-topics/substance-use#:~:text=Those%20student%2Dathletes%20with%20the,season%2D%20or%20career%2Dending.&text=Heavy%20drinking%20can%20result%20in,performance%20by%2011.4%20percent4.
3. Sønderlund, A.L., O'Brien K., Kermer, P., Rowland, B., De Groot, F., Staiger, P., Zinkiewicz, L., .Millera, P. (2013). The association between sports participation, alcohol use and aggression and violence: A systematic review. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 17(1), 2–7. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2013.03.011
4. Putukian, M. (2016). The psychological response to injury in student athletes: a narrative review with a focus on mental health. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(3), 145–148. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2015-095586
Developed 2021 by Quinn DeStefano, OTD Student
Reviewed 2021 by Aaron Grusonik, MA, Psy.D
