Most experts, including those at the Addiction Center (a medical website geared towards providing information about substance abuse and recovery), believe that a culture that promotes excessive drinking and substance use will result in individuals’ lessened ability to detect actual addiction in both themselves and others.

Those same experts usually assert that a typical American college features a prominent drinking and drug-using culture, but The Seahawk found that most UNC Wilmington students detect and deal with substance abuse better than their peers across the United States.

Lauren Rivenbark, the services coordinator at Crossroads, UNCW’s Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention and Education Programs, was able to give insight on how and when UNCW students typically detect their own substance problems. She explained that students actually reach out for support on their own, though they still are sometimes directed to Crossroads from a concerned friend or acquaintance.  The students usually realize changes in their lives that relate to using the substance, especially in regard to their relationships.

A common sign of addiction is a student’s inability to keep up with his academics, their finances are all going to substances instead of basic needs, such as food.

“Students talk about how desperate, anxious and overwhelmed they feel when they don’t have [the substance causing the addiction] around,” Rivenbark said. She continued to say that those students can “think of nothing else other than how to gain access to the substance again – whether it be alcohol or drugs.”

With such a drug-promoting culture on campus communities across the country, Rivenbark pointed out that being in college can “definitely increase the risk of students creating or solidifying an addiction that may have already been in motion.”

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism released an article in 2006 that detailed how young adult populations that promote excessive drinking need specialized treatment to help them recognize addiction, assumedly because those people may not recognize it on their own.

Additionally, many students tend to believe that binge drinking is the norm for a “full college experience.”  Rivenbark warns that these are factors that put students at a higher risk for developing an addiction.

However, Rivenbark asserts that most UNCW students are able to come to Crossroads for help before their lives are too negatively affected by the addiction.

“Most of the students that I have worked with here at UNCW are incredibly self-aware and have come forward with a concern for themselves as they felt ready to do so,” Rivenbark stated.  However, students have admitted that due to being in friend groups that tend to engage in frequent drinking, they assumed it was normal or assumed that everyone else was always consuming the same amount.

Some typical addiction signs that students should be watching out for if they tend to partake in frequent substance use are increased tolerance, pre-occupational use, blackouts, ignoring consequences and changes in behavior. All of these signs of addiction can lead to loss of control, cravings and endless negative consequences.

The Addiction Center states that college students comprise one of the largest groups of substance abusers in the country.

The Center writes “approximately 31 percent of U.S. college students report symptoms of alcohol abuse” and “approximately 80 percent of college students have abused alcohol.”

At UNCW, the Crossroads website states that 41.78 percent of students have reported binge drinking in the last two weeks, and 76.06 percent of students reported drinking alcohol in the last month.

However, 72 percent of UNCW students have four or fewer drinks when they party, and 23 percent of UNCW students choose not to drink at all.

Students in need of support for any concerns relating to substance abuse have many resources on UNCW’S campus.  The Crossroads office, located in the Student Recreation Center, offers a wide variety of support groups and counseling, including Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, SMART recovery for addictive behaviors and The Ripple Effect for those with relationships impacted by addiction.  In addition to Crossroads, students can always utilize individual counseling, located in DePaolo Hall.

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Staff Writer Paige Myers can be found on Twitter @paigem6