AL-ANON News:

Problem drinkers often say that their drinking is not as serious as people think.

Even people who are in close relationships with problem drinkers tend to minimize how seriously the drinker’s behavior has affected them. “Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism 2015” magazine, complimentary from Al-Anon Family Groups, offers ways to evaluate whether Al-Anon can help people cope with the drinking behavior of a family member or a close friend.

 “Often, people think if the drinker cared about you, he or she would stop drinking to please you. Unfortunately, it is easy to avoid dealing with the issue of problem drinking until something tragic happens. It can be a real challenge for family members to think about problem drinking as a disease called alcoholism,” Information Analyst for Al-Anon Pamela Walters said.

In a Gallup Poll, researchers found that ore than one in three Americans (36 percent) say drinking alcohol has been a cause of problems in their family at some point, one of the highest figures Gallup has measured since the 1940s.

Al-Anon Family Groups are for families and friends who have been affected by a loved one’s drinking. Nearly 16,000 local groups meet throughout the U.S., Canada, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico every week. Al-Anon Family Groups meet in more than 130 countries, and Al-Anon literature is available in more than 40 languages. Al-Anon Family Groups have been offering strength and support to families and friends of problem drinkers since 1951. Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. acts as the clearinghouse worldwide for inquiries from those who need help or want information about Al-Anon Family Groups and Alateen, its program for teenage members.

For more information about Al-Anon Family Groups, visit al-anon.org, or call toll-free: 1.888.4AL.ANON. Local Al-Anon meetings take place Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in Los Alamos. See the In and Around Town Calendar in the Los Alamos Daily Post for meeting times and places.