Screening for Mental Health's Annual National Alcohol Screening Day to Focus on Dangers of Binge Drinking

WELLESLEY HILLS, Mass., April 6, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Screening for Mental Health, Inc. (SMH), the pioneer in large-scale mental health screenings for the public, today announced that its National Alcohol Screening Day, held April 9^th, 2015, would focus on the dangers of binge drinking, particularly in the middle-aged adult population.

The 18^th annual screening and education day raises awareness about alcohol misuse and abuse, while providing the public with beneficial screening and treatment resources. To help individuals assess their drinking patterns, SMH is promoting www.HowDoYouScore.org, an online resource that offers anonymous screenings for alcohol abuse as well as resources for treatment and recovery.

This year's National Alcohol Screening Day highlights the dangers of binge drinking in the adult population, particularly in adults beyond their college years. According to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), an estimated 2,221 people died of alcohol poisoning after binge drinking each year from 2010 to 2012. Seventy-six percent of those who died were men and nearly 77 percent were ages 35 to 64. While binge drinking tends to be more common in young adults, binge drinkers aged 65 years and older report binge drinking more often—an average of five to six times a month.

"An individual does not have to be an alcoholic, or physically addicted to alcohol, to suffer the negative effects of drinking." says Douglas G. Jacobs, M.D., associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and medical director of Screening for Mental Health, Inc. "Most binge drinkers are not alcoholics and this risky pattern of drinking is having a significant negative impact on the adult population. National Alcohol Screening Day highlights this important issue, and the anonymous, online screenings provide a non-threatening way for individuals to assess whether they may have a drinking problem."

Some sample screening questions include:

• How often do you have four or more drinks on one occasion?
• How often during the last year have you found that you were not able to stop drinking once you started?
• How often during the last year have you failed to do what was normally expected from you because of drinking?

More than 42,000 screenings were taken online and in-person at events during National Alcohol Screening Day 2014. To take an anonymous and free screening online, visit www.HowDoYouScore.org.

Screening for Mental Health, Inc. (SMH), the pioneer of large-scale mental health screening for the public, provides innovative mental health and substance abuse resources, linking those in need with quality treatment options. SMH programs, offered online and in-person, educate, raise awareness, and screen individuals for depression, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, alcohol use disorders, and suicide. Thousands of organizations worldwide including hospitals, military installations, colleges, secondary schools, and corporations, utilize our educational and screening programs, and in turn, have reached millions of people ranging from teenagers to adults.

SOURCE Screening for Mental Health

Related Links

http://howdoyouscore.org/

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