The month of April promotes the awareness and understanding of the causes and treatment of the nation’s number one public health problem: alcoholism. 

Dallas County Health Navigation Coordinator Ann Cochran says that National Alcohol Awareness Month puts an emphasis on ending the stigma confronting the dangers of alcohol addictions. 

“There are a lot of folks who think that maybe they have a problem, but then they push that aside or they’ll say things like, I don’t drink every day. I just drink on weekends. But on weekends they’ll drink six, seven, eight drinks in a row.”

Cochran says there is help out there for anyone struggling with addiction no matter their health insurance status. She states there are a couple opinions someone can take. 

“A good starting point sometimes is with your physician just going ahead and calling your physician and saying, ‘I’d kind of like to know about where I would go if I thought that I had a problem with drinking and they can give you some ideas.’ Another thing is that you can call the health department and the health navigation program is equipped to provide you with a bunch of options on where you would go for help.”

The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence challenges people to go a weekend without drinking and then gauge the effect of the alcohol-free days in April.