How alcohol use disorder affects more than health, officials say
This article is shared in its entirety as the Butler Eagle kicks off a conversation on addiction and pathways to recovery in our community. To read more from Changing Pathways to Recovery, a six-week series, please subscribe.
Eric Hawthorne remembers being encouraged to drink before taking the stage until, one day, he was let go from a position on a cruise ship due to excessive drinking.
Now four years sober, Hawthorne, 61, works as a certified recovery specialist in Butler County, and he said his battle with alcohol resulted in numerous losses, including interpersonal relationships and his career in the entertainment industry.
“I couldn’t look in the mirror,” said Hawthorne, who worked at theme parks, on cruise ships and even in New York City. “My mother would ask, ‘Why are you getting dressed in the dark?’ Because I couldn’t look at myself.”
He found that his alcohol use disorder affected every aspect of his life.
“Interpersonal relationships, jobs, family life, my ability to function in society, my ability to look at myself with any type of pride,” he continued.
As consuming alcohol became a pattern, others around him started to notice less desirable changes in his behavior when under the influence.
“That’s when I was told I was no longer able to be useful on stage,” he said. “It was impeding my ability to retain lines, choreography.”
He began his journey to become sober, gaining more than what he left behind, Hawthorne said.
According to Donna Jenereski, of Butler County’s drug and alcohol program, 571 drug and alcohol level of care assessments were conducted during the 2022-23 fiscal year.
Of those assessments, 237 individuals, or 42%, reported alcohol as their primary substance of choice.
This is an increase from the 2021-22 data, which indicates 560 assessments were made and 199 individuals, or 36%, identified alcohol as the substance they struggled with.
“According to our internal data, alcohol has continued to be the primary substance of choice identified by individuals accessing services through our office for the past five years,” she said.
Alcohol use can begin as a vice, but progress into an addiction, according to specialists such as Jenereski and Dr. C. Thomas Brophy, medical director of the Ellen O’Brien Gaiser Center.
The key component to determining when it has gone too far is the mark it leaves on a person’s life. When alcohol consumption results in negative life consequences, the person crosses over into alcohol use disorder, Jenereski said.
“All aspects of an individual’s life can be impacted by addiction,” she said. “It can negatively impact family and social relationships, the ability to find and/or maintain employment, and the ability to maintain housing.”
Destructive elements, such as the broken interpersonal and professional relationships that Hawthorne experienced, are what define alcohol use disorder, Brophy said.
“When we are screening a person for alcohol use disorder — or really any addiction for that matter, whether it be behavioral or chemical — the questions are all aimed at determining one main thing: whether or not alcohol consumption has become a destructive element in the person’s life, in any way,” he said.
Destructive elements could come in the form of criminal charges, such as driving under the influence or public drunkenness, or other issues bleeding into everyday life.
“If you have repeatedly showed up to work late, or lost your job, or not have the money to pay your bills, because you spent that money on alcohol, those would all qualify as destructive elements,” Brophy said.
Hawthorne attributed his time in entertainment to his increased alcohol use, but said it is a progressive disease. He recalled growing up in a broken home, saying he saw early on the negative consequences that came with drinking among a few family members.
“I was academically advanced, I sang and danced. My determination was to please my mother,” he said. “I was kind of in the mindset I’d never, ever drink.”
At 14, Hawthorne said his first experience with alcohol was when he was pressured into drinking an entire bottle of vodka at a party.
“I didn’t drink again until college, freshman year. I started slowly drinking,” he said.
He began a career in psychology after college, and the stressors of work caused him to drink more.
“It was always under control, it was never out of control with me,” he said.
When he left psychology and broke into the entertainment industry, he was encouraged to drink more.
“I was on stage four to five hours a week and was making a ton of money. Life was a party, and it wasn’t bad at first, it was moderate,” he said.
According to Brophy, doctors often ask questions about the effects of alcohol on personal relationships.
“There are more subtle things we ask as well, such as have you lost friendships, or had loved ones telling you that they are concerned that you are doing too much of it,” he said. “The presence of these elements may also indicate that someone has an addiction to that substance or behavior.”
For Hawthorne, alcohol made him the life of the party. As his addiction progressed, he wasn’t invited to the party at all.
“I was always being invited over, and then it all stopped,” he said.
When Hawthorne’s mother died in 2018, he said his alcohol use took a turn for the worse.
“As she got sicker, I got sicker,” he said. “I was kind of told this is a life or death situation.”
Hawthorne sought help and was in treatment for 11 months. Now, back in the field of psychology, he is a certified recovery specialist. He said he looks back on that part of his life very differently.
“It was fun, then it was fun with consequences, and then it was just consequences,” he said of his alcohol use. “Now, I work in the field. It makes me not want to go back to that place.
“I use my mistakes as growth instead of a hindrance, and a way to help others and show them they’re not alone.”
Every day, sobriety becomes a little easier, according to Hawthorne, who said he could see how his relationship with alcohol changed as the addiction progressed.
“In the beginning, alcohol was something I liked to do, then it became something I had to do to be normal, to not shake, then to numb me during my mother’s death,” he said.
“I look back on my alcohol addiction, and I see all the bad times, and the losses, all the lost years, and I kept thinking I had to catch up. It’s not about catching up; it’s about enjoying what you have now.”
Brophy said treatment for alcohol use disorder can start simply: by minimizing harm to someone using a substance, and those around them. Once patients embrace treatment, Brophy said they can pursue counseling, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and medication.
Antabuse or Vivitrol injections are the most common form of medical treatment offered to those misusing alcohol, according to Brophy.
Accountability is also important in the recovery journey, which can come through social support and even regular toxicology screenings.
“Many times we can only convince a patient to engage in certain aspects of treatment,” Brophy said. “We do that in hopes, that, as they progress through the phases of change, they will embrace more aspects of recovery and embracing a sober life.”
Besides medical treatment, Hawthorne attributed his connection with other sober friends as part of the reason for his success.
He added that he’s reached out to those he hurt while in the throes of addiction, seeking to repair relationships.
“I’ve been reconnecting with people I harmed, making those connections and making those amends, and forgiving myself,” he said. “What people need to know is, how far you’ve fallen is how far you can get back up.”
Hawthorne did not begin his journey to sobriety until age 56. He encourages people of all ages to seek help.
Hawthorne said he believes his story can be a testament to the hope that comes with recovery.
“I want people to realize there is a solution. The important thing is not to be impervious to change,” he said. “People are scared of what they’re going to give up, but they have no idea what they’re going to gain.”
This article is shared in its entirety as the Butler Eagle kicks off a conversation on addiction and pathways to recovery in our community. To read more from Changing Pathways to Recovery, a six-week series, please subscribe.
How to get help
Alcoholics Anonymous
Phone: 724-679-5647
Website: www.district1aa.org
Al-Anon
Phone: 800-628-8920
Website: www.pa-al-anon.org
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Phone: 800-662-4357
Website: www.samhsa.gov
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