"More young women are binge drinking - Aug 23, 2012 TNP
Never mind that the teen's parents had locked her up in her room in their fifth-storey HDB flat.
The 18-year-old girl unlocked her window grilles and climbed out - all because she needed her alcohol.
She was unscathed in the ordeal, but her family decided that it was time for professional help.
This case was cited by Dr Munidasa Winslow, a psychiatrist in private practice, to illustrate the problem with alcohol addiction and binge drinking among women here.
Just how bad is it?
According to an article published in the Singapore Medical Journal last month, binge drinking among young Singaporeans is reaching US levels.
And the fastest-growing group is women aged between 18 and 29.
Binge drinking is categorised by the Ministry of Health as having six or more alcoholic drinks on a single occasion.
Dr Winslow said that most people who binge drink may be dealing with underlying issues.
Referring to the case of the 18-year-old girl who indulged in binge drinking often, he said: "She was from a broken home and couldn't speak to her parents.
"She felt the only people she could relate to were her drinking friends. After the (climbing) incident, her grandmother got her to seek treatment."
Dr Winslow, who specialises in addiction, used to be the chief of the Institute of Mental Health's Addiction Medicine Department.
As with the teen, intervention may be needed for other young women who are addicted to alcohol or who engage frequently in binge drinking.
Drop by places like Clarke Quay on a Friday or Saturday night and chances are that you'll spot intoxicated young women sprawled on the ground.
Jane (not her real name), 45, started drinking when she was in the university.
An occasional mug of beer quickly grew into a habit."
Lessons for me:
1. if people drink to forget something unpleasant or to numb their senses, psychological help is definitely the way to go. No amount of sermonizing and demonizing the evil of alcohol addiction can help if the emotional needs is fulfilled or the emotional wounds healed!;
2. if the authority want to help these people kick the addiction voluntarily it MUST refrain from sermonizing or demonizing. A hard HABIT for the authority to kick as in Singapore, authority gets its way! So, be aware. Be in-your-face to remind the authority you are dealing with emotion and NOT rationality!;
3. will the Addict want to kick the habit? I am sure everyone want to IF he or she can see a better future! If he or she can find it, great. If not, perhaps igniting his or her imagination or opening up his or her horizons for the suggested possibilities may work. There is NO guarantee as the ultimate cure can only come when the addicts themselves WANT to stop.
Drink if you must and be merry instead of being a slave to it.
About Me

- LU Keehong Mr
- I am a Practitioner of 'The 7e Way of Leaders' where a Leader will Envision, Enable (ASK for TOP D), Empower, Execute, Energize, and Evolve grounded on ETHICS!
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