Socialization

Habitual use can have its genesis in our social environment. If we live in an environment that normalizes and even expects substance use, we can use too much for too long. It can become anchored in our central nervous system and our biology, and become an addiction.

Often, substance use is a bonding feature for groups. Sales meetings, work dinners, and celebrations commonly call for drinking or drug use. A social group might form around marijuana use or other drug abuse.

I recall when I was in graduate school in Baltimore, I'd often walk down to Jimmy's Diner and then up to school. The first time I did that, I saw a man pounding on the door of a corner pub. Since I was studying alcohol programs in school, my thought was that the guy's got a problem.

Never clear on why he was trying to get into the pub, I soon learn about morning drinking as a social necessity. I lived in a waterfront neighborhood, and there were a lot of longshoremen. They informed me that part of being in the group was getting together for breakfast and having a beer with a hard-boiled egg dropped into the glass. If you didn't participate, you weren't one of the gang; you were less likely to be hired for the day. Social "alcoholism." This pattern is common in lots of places. Today, that pressure is loosening up in many places, but it is still a player in substance abuse.

People I work with often fear the consequences of stopping drinking or drug use on their socialization. Most often, especially with alcohol use in professional settings, people don't care if you don't drink. They may ask at first since it's your usual, but I counsel my clients to keep it simple and say they just don't feel like it. That is usually the end of that.

Sometimes, though, a person may push you and keep it up. In that case, they have a problem, and the answer is still no. There is a lot more to say about this type of pressure, but enough for now.

Socialization and substance use have been part of human history since there was human history. Likely before that, as well. Even animals sometimes figure out how to feast on fermented berries. Cats and catnip like a mood change as well. Social use is normal. The issue, as always, is how much, how long, and how it impacts your life at every level: relationships, health, functioning, legal, careerwise? Investigating this is where honesty or help with evaluating the impact is crucial. We get used to things, and they normalize for us.

Knowing this leads us to a much larger area of concern that we will discuss in more depth in upcoming posts. This area of concern? The larger social milieux surrounding and even encouraging the development of substance use disorders. That's a story for another day.