Views
Growing Up Gay in a One-Street Town
School Choice for Marginalized Students
The Tip of the Iceberg
The Tip of the Iceberg
by Alexander Renault
Icebergs
are dangerous for ships because only 20 percent of the total mass can
be seen above the waterline. The classic example is the Titanic, the supposedly
unsinkable ship doomed when an iceberg's sub-surface bulk ripped through
its side.
In the same way, most people know of at
least one other person who has developed a drug or alcohol problem and
the symptoms that slowly crept to the surface over time. Drug and alcohol
use can be a symptom of multiple problems underneath the visible surface,
including a variety of emotional symptoms the person may be self-medicating.
A person's substance use can be floating above problems that are 80 percent
submerged.
Drug and alcohol use by members of the gay
community is staggering as so many people attempt to numb themselves to
the myriad psychological attacks against our sense of wellbeing: job discrimination,
family pressure to conform, attempts to remain hidden, sexual frustration,
lack of social support, and the unattainable 'perfect' gay body.
Initially researchers were finding rampant
drug and alcohol abuse among young gay men who were trying to achieve
some kind of peaceful, yet fun level while hitting the dance bars. They
combated their fear of HIV and AIDS with the numbing effects of club drugs
and alcohol. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we find older gay
men who feel themselves evolving into complete invisibility within the
gay community by middle age. Add to this all those who have lost friends
and lovers to AIDS re-entering the social scene, and you have a maelstrom
of anxiety and approach - avoidance.
One of the most popular drugs in the gay
community is methylene dioxymethamphetamine, otherwise known as Ecstasy.
People who use large doses of this drug are often seen carrying water
bottles to combat dehydration or pacifiers to ease the strong tremors
and jaw grinding that go along with amphetamine abuse. Dehydration makes
you extremely ill, and can lead to death.
Ecstasy also depletes the brain of an important
neurotransmitter, seratonin. This brain chemical affects mood, appetite,
temperature regulation, and sex drive. It is the primary chemical targeted
by prescription antidepressants including Prozac, Celexa, Wellbutrin,
Zoloft, and Paxil.
The drug referred to as "Special K"
is ketamine, an animal tranquilizer. It has some hallucinatory effects
and can induce feelings of euphoria and floating, or feelings of being
emotionally disconnected, or stuck in a "K-hole." The latter
effect is preferred by some users who wish to avoid painful feelings or
who otherwise have
an intense desire to escape reality, if only for a few hours.
Heroin use has dramatically increased over
the past decade and has become the drug of choice among high school and
college students in many parts of the U.S. It is cheaper than ever before
and much stronger. Most heroin users begin using the drug intra-nasally
("snorting") but opiate tolerance increases incredibly quickly.
Eventually most users turn to an IV method, or "shooting" the
heroin directly into the bloodstream (the needle marks are referred to
as "tracks.")
Oxycontin is the prescription name for a
time-released morphine-based opiate painkiller that is increasing in popularity.
Some refer to it as "Beverly Hills heroin," and it is often
used intra-nasally, by mouth, or liquefied and injected directly into
the bloodstream.
The line between alcohol abuse and dependence
is found in a person's ability to control the amount of drinking in which
they engage. College students who drink themselves into acute intoxication
every weekend are not necessarily alcoholics, but they are certainly abusing
alcohol.
The criteria for alcoholism are the inability
to control the amounts used, an increase in tolerance (how much you have
to drink to reach the desired effects), and the appearance of symptoms
of detoxification when use is discontinued. An expression often heard
in rehab circles; "one drink is too many and a thousand isn't enough,"
refers to the fact that alcoholics cannot drink alcohol and remain sober,
or "on the wagon." This is because the trigger of a single sip
of alcohol will bring on a full-blown relapse into alcoholism.
Alcoholism within the gay community has
been steadily increasing for the past several decades. No one is sure
exactly why this is happening but researchers and addictions specialists
speculate upon the effects of socio-economic changes, fears revolving
around HIV transmission (from barhopping to dating), and the propensity
for members of the gay community to structure their social events around
alcohol, e.g. bars, dance clubs, and private parties. An important future
task will be developing a better understanding of why drug and alcohol
addictions remain so prevalent in the gay community, and the development
of better strategies to cope with these problems.
The most successful treatment for addictions
is the twelve-step method of Alcoholics Anonymous, which has spawned a
number of recovery movements such as Narcotics Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous,
and twelve-step programs for sexual addictions and compulsive eating.
An important word of caution: alcohol detoxification
should never be attempted without professional help. Alcohol withdrawal
is extremely dangerous, and many people die from withdrawal seizures,
as opposed to heroin withdrawal, which is painful but not life threatening
in and of itself. Benzodiazepine (anti-anxiety medications including Valium,
Xanax, Ativan, and Klonopin) withdrawal is also dangerous.
If you think you may be developing a problem
with alcohol or drugs, or know someonewho is, call your local drug and
alcohol abuse hotline. It is never too late to get help while you are
still breathing.
Copyright © 2003 Alexander Renault. All rights reserved. Alexander
Renault is the pen name for a writer who has published in multiple genres.
He has worked in the mental health and drug and alcohol fields for the
past fifteen years. Mr. Renault is currently editing the non-fiction anthology
Walking Higher: Gay Men Write About the Deaths of Their Mothers
from Renault Publishing, Inc. He invites you to visit him at AlexanderRenault.com