Alcoholism in Cape May County-

(From Page i)

It was tearing the family apart. We all

suffered.”

DR. MALONE was also combining drugs and alcohol. He started drinking

Why do people drink so heavily in the county? DISCUSSIONS WITH Leo and Shirley Green, who are active in educating the community about alcoholism, with Dr.

moments that are forgotten, lost; forfeited Alcoholics find relef. and thus to for the temporary high that always rasper, by seeking a power greater than plummets loan abysmal low. alcohol. This attachment to a greater Sometimes the pressures individuals P ower “ ^ beginning of rehabilitation, place on themselves cause them to seek Next ' ^ series on Alcoholism in Cape

“It’s amazing how you can be perceived as successful by society but really have a problem ’

heavily when he was in college. It would take him and his friends six hours to drive from Philadelphia to the Jersey shore. "We used to stop at every bar on the way down,” he recalled. "I was in with a crowd who likbd to drink...” Melanie, the doctor’s wife, interrupts: "He graduated second in his class from medical school. I thought because he was a physician he knew what he was doing. It was hard to detect the drugs. I figured that he had good reason for taking them. We were both under so much pressure. But I wasn’t taking anything. Our life was okay for a while. "You can function but..." "I was in half a dozen car accidents,” the doctor continues; "I always had a hangover. I would drink and go to work but I couldn’t have the alcohol on my breath, so I would take drugs. I had been in six psychiatric hospitals. When I finally went to treatment I was working about eight or ten hours a day. It’s amazing how you can be perceived as successful by society but really have a problem." FOR EVERY alcoholic who is perceived as successful, there are five that aren’t. Bill is one of the unlucky people who everyone knew to be a lush. "I grew up in a very strict family. Once I reached 21, I could legally drink. I became an instant alcoholic. I found that I couldn't hold my liquor; I always got drunk. I was suffering. I quit many, many times. Some periods were very bad — car smashes, lock-ups. Then when I finally quit I was looking for accolade. I was being a good boy but nobody cared." Tom, a 23-year-old, blond haired, barrel chested lifeguard wasn’t present for the discussion. He was down at the local hangout cuddling a draft, slowly drinking himself into his nightly oblivion. "It’s only on weekends." he joked on this Thursday night. "I have a great time drinking," he said, as he beat his beefy chest with his fist. "You don’t think I'm an alcoholic do you? The weekend is coming — Atlantic City, all the people coming into town. Even alcoholics can drink this weekend.” MIKE AND JOE were sitting on the boardwdalk railing, talking about the summer. Mike is a surfer, Joe gambles and does what he has to do to get by. Both are young Mike drinks occasionally, Joe doesn’t drink at all. "It's boredom. There is nothing to do. It’s sort of a pastime. Everybody goes to the bars and hangs out," says Mike. "Guys go up to the bar and drink hoping to meet someone — someone new.” Harvey, Cheryl, Dr. Malone and his wife, Bill, Tom, Mike and Joe. Each is different. A mixture of young and old, professional and unemployed. What ties them together are their experiencs and problems with alcohol. ACCORDING TO statistics and polling, 4 the problem of alcohol abuse is abundant * and severe in Cape May County. Dr. Jim Manlandro. founder of the Cape May County Advisory Council for Alcoholism, quotes from a 1979 state survey that more than 11,000 Cape May County residents, 13.6 percent of the population, can be considered alcoholics "And that is a very conservative estimate," the doctor notes. "The state average of alcoholic abuse is 6.2 percent. We are double here in the county. This is a target area for the prevention of alcoholism. So, out of every 100 residents, over 13 are considered alcoholics." YOU DON’T NEED a study to see that drinking is prevalent. Who hasn’t seen empty beer cases stacked high beside trash cans after a weekend? Or the patrons queued up at the liquor stores, bars and nightclubs. Or the tennis players and sailors sitting glaze-eyed on their sundrenched decks at 11 a.m. drinking Bloody Marys. Or the big pitcher of martinis served every night before the dinner that never comes. Maybe its the senior citizen who has a little ’pick me up" at lunch and stays high until falling into bed. Or it may be the high school kids who charge the bars Friday evening and lay like burnedout zombies on the beach all day Saturday, only to blitzkrieg again on Saturday night and start all over Sunday. Just what defines an alcoholic? A working definition provided by Maureen Manlandro; "Someone who continues to drink disregarding the problems that alcohol is creating for them."

Manlandro and his wife, and with local residents and vacationers reveal several contributing, although inconclusive, factors: Loneliness. Let’s face it, the winters can be lonely for Jersey Cape residents. While there are many who are not bothered by the seclusion, many others experience a feeling of isolation during the winter. Drinking as a pastime. "Besides going bowling and gossiping, drinking is a major activity," was the consensus of a group of local residents. "We’re not alcoholics; we just enjoy sitting around together and drinking." Unemployment. The high rate of unemployment in the county contributes to alcohol abuse. People gravitate to where other people drink. Perhaps a circular argument: "Well, people drink here because their friends drink here." Nevertheless, this does contribute to making the county an accepted watering hole. Summer residents Just come down to the shore to have a good time and drink. Definitely a major factor contributing to the problem of abuse. The prevailing party attitude that is present all summer may affect attitudes during the rest of the year. Referred to by experts as the "Tahiti Syndrome," a resort may experience problems establishing a non-drug dependence identity. There are many retired residents living in the county. Some of the experts questioned felt that some retired persons may abuse alcdhol because of loneliness, having too much time on their hands, or feelings of neglect. ALCOHOLISM IS CALLED the disease of denial and delusion. Those with a drinking problem often deny it exists. For those around an alcoholic, the problem is often not recognized or ignored. "Cops protect the local people. They don’t have time to do much else,” opined one local resident. “It’s not an unwillingness by the community; they re not recognizing the disease of alcoholism" said Dr. Manlandro. "But at the same time the alcoholic tendency is so prevalent that either people cover up for the problem on a large scale or they simply dismiss it." In addition to denying the problem, many who are afflicted suffer from a fixed, false mental conception that a problem doesn’t exist. Unfortunately, the drinking problem usually has progressed so far before it is acknowledged that the drinker’s life has become a nightmare. A PATTERN SEEMS to develop, similar to h bell-shaped curve, where the drinker starts with a very low tolerance to alcohol but gradually builds up a high tolerance to the drug. Beyond a certain point, the tolerance dips back to where one or two drinks will get the abuser high. The younger the user starts his habit, the faster the pattern develops. A fact usually overlooked is that alcoholism is a metabolic problem whose symptoms manifest themselves as societal problems. "It is an addiction, a chemical insanity that you can't control," said Manlandro. But society doesn't see it that way and that's what leads to problems in the community — and the individual. Relates Harvey: "There have been nights when I didn't know how I got home. You’re doing things that you don't even realize you're doing. Jails are full of people like that. Once I went to Hawaii and I didn’t realize I was there until I was on the way home. I saw more of Hawaii on "Hawaii-Five-O" than I did when I was there." THAT SEEMS TO be the biggest per sonal tragedy of alcoholism — beautiful Fire Claims Life WILDWOOD CREST - An elderly local woman died here last week when a fire — apparently caused by careless smoking — swept thru her Seaview Ave. apartment. Marie M. Moore, 79, was pronounced dead at the scene by county assistant Medical Examiner Robert Renza. According to police the July 28 blaze was contained to the victim's apartment and was brought under control by local firefighters within minutes.

refuge in th^bottle: "Things were building up-bills, debts; I knew that I had to work harder to I started to wrok a lot of hours I had passed the point where I could ask for help," recalls Dr. Malone.

May County will address the medical I problems of addicUon and explore what services are availabk? to the alcohol abuser Terry Xughps iso freelance writer.

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