Being a teacher I enter my classes and see the future, the coming generation, those who will form the society we will live in tomorrow. I look at them and I see an increase of loss of values, loss of orientation, loss of sense. All of these are visible via many symptoms among which a very alarming one is the increase of alcohol abuse among students. Not all are into drinking of course, but over the years the number of those who are, has remarkably grown. I have found this a bit disturbing, so I was prompted to do some research on it.
Almost all peoples on earth have ever since thousands of years produced alcoholic drinks, as those were known to disinhibit, to relax and intoxicate. Yet only in the Middle Ages and after developing the knowledge on how to store and distill alcohol, its importance as an available drug grew. In the 19th century the abuse of alcohol became so severe that many measures were taken in European countries to decrease alcohol consumption. In the States this was the time of Prohibition. Today in many countries alcohol celebrates an almost unlimited availability. Some already consider it the number 1 drug.
In our societies many would drink "to your health" which is in fact funny enough as alcohol is known as cytotoxin, which has a harming effect on organs and organ systems. An acute and chronic alcohol abuse colors your face red and makes your lips and eyelids swell. It increases the risk of mouth, throat, larynx, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, colon and even breast cancer, causes heartburn and stomach ulcer, grows a fatty liver, promotes alcoholic Hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer. Indicated pancreatitis, intestinal occlusion and kidney failure can equally finally lead to death. Alcohol abuse affects almost all blood vessels which then cause what is known as the drinker's nose or more harmfully hemorrhoids, varicose, arteriosclerosis or hypertension. Even the heart muscle is affected. Erythrocytes production is disturbed, wound healing is impaired. The damage caused on the nervous system shows up on numbness mainly of the legs, disorder of perception and muscle spasms. The memory is interrupted and so is fine movement, attention, ability to concentrate. Depressions are frequent and psychosis is a late consequence. Even the reproductive system is harmed by alcohol abuse as it goes with a loss in libido and fertility.
All of these are well researched and well known and yet the availability of any alcohol supply is still a reality in regular stores or super markets. There is but a law-based and a voluntary self-restraint for the young but statistics show that in Germany it is the youth who are the large consumers of alcohol. A research made by the Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung BzGA (German Federal Centre for Health Education) shows that a meager 14% of all 12 to 25 year olds are abstinent of alcohol. 37% of them consume drinks with high-proof alcohol several times in a month. Recently the so called "binge-drinking" or "coma-drinking" has become a trend among the young. 47% of them have already experienced drunkenness before the age of 17.
These figures are as alarming as can be and it has already become a less surprising announcement on the news that 13 year olds are caught either completely drunk or even already in coma.
One would wonder why the youth is so prone to alcohol and being asked about it they stay they drink out of curiosity, to escape problems, to gain the feeling of pleasure, they do it out of boredom or as an experience of limits, they like the euphoric effect or the numbness, they love being with and appreciated by their peers and it tastes good. But the question remains: What would the young want to escape from and why? Why would they seek numbness and pleasure via alcohol? Why are they bored and what drives them to test their limits?
It is true that the tasks that need to be shouldered by them in their adolescence are many, like accepting their appearance, learning about their abilities and limits, their gender and identity, creating their social web and standing their ground within it, figuring out their life's perspective, moving towards independence from their parents and developing their own values, norms, sense and purpose, facing life risks and becoming responsible for their doing and being. All of these are considered a burden by them. Yet this is the "regular" adolescence crisis, but how does a society respond to these needs? Are we, the ones who are already beyond this state, not asked to help and support the ones still in need? We, the parents, the teachers, the neighbors, the aunts, uncles, the relatives? And if we are, what actually could we at all do on the matter?
Now the answer to these might be surprisingly easy and yet really difficult at the same time. If we indeed want to help out it is time that is asked from us above all. Time to discuss strengths and weaknesses, options and limits, time to engage in mentorship or friendship, time to educate on how to argue and what conflicts are about, time to listen to problems, concerns, fears and experiences, time to endure pains and time to explore new terrain, time to dream and time to face reality, time to realize what life is all about and time to figure out how to make the best of it.
We are called make time for them. They are the future - theirs and ours. They are the ones to carry on the values we are ready to stand up for. How could they do that when they use alcohol as an escape?