Need Advice?
Send us your underage drinking-related questions
and we'll post the answers here! (We will only post questions anonymously, and we
will not keep your e-mail address. Please note that we may not be able to post all
of the questions we receive).
My friends say that drinking alcohol is no big deal. Everybody is doing
it, and I should, too. What should I do?
People try to get me to drink at parties. I don't want to break the law
or violate my parents' trust, but I don't want to be seen as a "square" who doesn't
do what everyone else does. How can I do the right thing?
I'm shy and have a hard time making friends. The idea of going out on a
date makes me break into a sweat. Someone told me that a drink or two would give
me more confidence and lower my inhibitions. Is this true?
I started drinking with my friends whenever we got together away from our
parents. Now I want to drink even when I'm by myself. I wonder if I am turning into
an alcoholic. How can I find out?
I did something stupid when I was drinking with my friends recently. Now
some of them treat me differently and aren't as friendly as they used to be. What
should I do?
Some friends of mine do things I know they don't mean to do whenever they
drink. I don't want to get them in trouble or be a snitch. What can I do to help
them?
Some adults in my family drink too much and act badly. They don't think
their drinking is a problem, but I do. Their drinking bothers me a lot. What can
I do?
To view or print a PDF you need to download free Adobe Reader software.
Advice: Is Drinking No Big Deal?
My friends say that drinking alcohol is no big deal. Everybody is doing it,
and I should, too. What should I do?
Back to top
A. First, be assured that the great majority (84.1 percent) of
12- to 17-year-old youth do not drink.1
Alcohol plays a significant role in risky behavior, various types of injuries, and
suicide.2
Remember, too, that underage drinking is illegal. If you are caught drinking, you
could delay your chance of getting a driver's license or lose the one you already
have. You could also be barred from playing on an athletic team.
Learn about some of the myths and facts about drinking
(PDF 1.26MB)
Advice: What's Right?
People try to get me to drink at parties. I don't want to break the law or violate
my parents' trust, but I don't want to be seen as a "square" who doesn't do what
everyone else does. How can I do the right thing?
Back to top
Make sure you know what the consequences will be if parents, police, and other adults
find out that you have been drinking.
Learn more about
peer pressure
and how to
resist it.
Get more information about the
facts and risks of underage drinking.
Advice: Will Alcohol Make Me Less Shy?
I'm shy and have a hard time making friends. The idea of going out on a date
makes me break into a sweat. Someone told me that a drink or two would give me more
confidence and lower my inhibitions. Is this true?
Back to top
A. Some drinkers feel less shy and ill at ease with others...temporarily.
3
However, alcohol impairs judgment
4 so that drinkers often do things they
wouldn't consider doing if sober. Their behavior can lead to embarrassment, regret,
serious trouble, even tragedy.
"Just about everybody feels shy sometimes," says Dr. Colleen Sherman in an
article on shyness.
If you're looking for more information on shyness,
healthfinder.gov
is a good place to go when you want reliable information on any health topic. Just
type "shy" or "shyness" into the Search box.
Talk with a parent or another adult you trust about your feelings. School counselors
and nurses know where you can find help. So do ministers, priests, rabbis, and other
faith leaders.
Before you try alcohol to change the way you feel,
take a look at this game.
Advice: Am I an Alcoholic?
I started drinking with my friends whenever we got together away from our parents.
Now I want to drink even when I'm by myself. I wonder if I am turning into an alcoholic?
How can I find out?
Back to top
You're doing the smart thing by finding out now. People at any age may discover
that what seemed like great fun isn't so much fun anymore, doesn't feel right, and
might be turning into a problem.
This test
will help you recognize if you are on your way to having a serious problem with
alcohol.
If you score high enough when you submit your confidential quiz responses, you will
go to another page that explains what you can do next.
Advice: I Did Something Stupid. What Now?
I did something stupid when I was drinking with my friends recently. Now some
of them treat me differently and aren't as friendly as they used to be. What should
I do?
Back to top
Perhaps you said or did something that was embarrassing or unkind or annoying. Friends
will probably accept your apology and your sincere promise to not do anything like
this again.
Maybe you broke something. You need to repair the damage, pay for someone else to
fix it, or replace the item. And you should offer a sincere apology.
Doing "something stupid" under the influence of alcohol can also mean something
much more serious, such as crime and violence, exposure to HIV/AIDS and other sexually
transmitted diseases, driving under the influence, and other dangerous acts. Talk
with your parent or another adult you trust and ask for help. Or, call this 24-hour
toll-free helpline:
1-800-662-HELP (1-800-662-4357).
Advice: How Can I Help My Friends?
Some friends of mine do things I know they don't mean to do whenever they drink.
I don't want to get them in trouble or be a snitch. What can I do to help them?
Back to top
It isn't snitching to get help for someone who may be in trouble because of drinking.
About 5,000 underage drinkers die every year. A lot of them die in highway crashes.
But many others die from alcohol poisoning or from trying to do something dangerous
while they are impaired.
A friend with a drinking problem is in trouble already and needs help before the
problem worsens or leads to tragedy. Visit
CoolSpot's list of resources
or
FreeVibe's Step Up To Help a Friend page
to make a difference in your friend's life.
Advice: How Do I Handle Adults Who Drink Too Much?
Some adults in my family drink too much and act badly. They don't think their
drinking is a problem, but I do. Their drinking bothers me a lot. What can I do?
Back to top
By age 18, one in four kids in the United States has lived with a family member
who has an alcohol problem. You are not alone. Get the facts about alcoholism so
you will understand that you are not the reason it's going on and that you are not
responsible for your family's problems.
Find out
how to be ready
if and when the adult drinkers are willing to get the help they need.
Get more tips on
what to do
if someone in your family has a drinking problem.
Alcoholism tends to run in families. If you are a member of a family with a history
of alcohol problems, you need to avoid underage drinking. Children of alcoholics
are 4 to 10 times more likely to become alcoholics themselves than children from
families with no alcoholic adults. You need to be familiar with your family history
and aware of your risks.
Sources
1 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2008). Results
from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2007: National Findings.
Figure 3.1.
2 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon
General. (2007).
Surgeon General's Call to Action To Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking
(PDF 1.41MB).
3 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for
Mental Health Services.
Blamed and Ashamed:
The Treatment Experiences of Youth With Co-occurring Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Disorders and Their Families.
4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Alcohol:
Frequently Asked Questions.