Melissa - Good Friend - Case

My good friend Melissa, who is currently attending GVSU is drinking a lot, more then just socially and I am worried about her. She drinks frequently during the week and gets completely wasted on weekends. I think there are many things that could possibly cause her to be preoccupied with alcohol. First of all, I would say the number one influence on her drinking is peer pressure. In college drinking is considered the “cool” thing to do. I think she feels insecure about her self and she thinks that by drinking she will fit in and to be accepted. Secondly, another reason Melissa drinks is because of curiosity. She goes to these parties and sees all these people having fun and being drunk. I believe she is curious, and wants to experience what it is like to be drunk. Also, by drinking gives Melissa a way to escape and almost take a mental trip. When she is drunk she probably feels that all her problems go away, all her failures go away and she is happy, which can be an addictive feeling. Drinking is also a great way for Melissa to rebel, against authority and her parents. Many teenagers feel the need to rebel in some way or another and often they use drinking and drugs to do it. In addition, Melissa might be drinking because of boredom, lack of meaningful standards, because her parents drink, or just because she has the money and can do it. However, none of these reasons make what Melissa is doing okay.

Melissa drinks a lot, and is showing the signs of being an alcoholic. Melissa often will loose control over how much she drinks. She can not just drink one to two beers and then stop. Not only does she loose control over how much by she will often pass out and wake up in the morning and not remember what happened the night before. She also does not control when she drinks, she is often drinking 4 or 5 nights a week. When people talk to her about her drinking she will often try and rationalize and come up with elaborate reasons of why it’s okay for her to drink and that she is not doing anything wrong. At parties she will often gulp down the first drinks, and I have noticed she has a rather high tolerance of alcohol. Sometimes I will notice her sneaking drinks in between classes, and sometimes even taking mixed drinks into classes. These signs make me think she is becoming