Published on
Updated
Reading 2 mins.
It is during an interview that the singer Elodie Frégé confides in her “addiction” to alcohol. A problem that many women encounter but that it is sometimes difficult for them to qualify. How to recognize an addiction? The answers of Philippe Batel, addictologist doctor.
This is during an interview for the podcast Counter-addictions that the singer Elodie Frégé evokes for the first time the special link she has with alcohol. “I have a real addiction that lasts until then, but for the moment it is not a problem, or so I hide my face. It’s that I can’t go on stage without drinking” she explained. A reality difficult to admit for those who also suffer from anxiety. “So that, I think I never said in an interview“.
The taboo of alcohol among women?
However, Elodie Frégé is far from being the only one. According to the figures, 1 in 10 women between the ages of 20 and 79 say they consume alcohol at least once a day, according to the Addict’aide website. A consumption higher than the official recommendations, which are “ten glasses a week with at least one day of abstinence” explains Dr. Batel, an addictologist practicing at the Charente clinic.
The doctor also recalls that women’s alcoholism is not taboo “because it is widely mentioned in TV reports or the media in general, such as alcohol use disorder among young people, while little is said about it for men, which tends to clear their consumption“but recognizes that on the other hand, this type of problem is rather stigmatized”because the woman must always respond to the injunctions of society: to be a good mother, a good wife, a good daughter...”
Talking about alcohol use disorder rather than alcoholism
In the case of Elodie Frégé, alcohol is a way to pass the course of going on stage, which she tends to minimize: “It’s nothing, it’s two drinks, but it’s two drinks… So if I had enormous success and had concerts every night, would I be an alcoholic? Really, it’s awful”.
For Dr. Philippe Batel, one rule is clear: we do not qualify alcoholism from a given alcohol consumption. “That’s not the way to take things. And we’re not talking about alcoholism but rather alcohol use disorder” further defines the doctor.
For Philippe Batel, it is rather necessary to define things: “Are these two glasses essential? How are they experienced by Elodie Frégé? By those around her? On stage? How is she perceived by her audience?“. The doctor also wonders about the continuation of this consumption. “Does she need to drink after her shows? Will she need more than two drinks in the future? The recommendations advocate no more than four glasses per drinking occasion… These are therefore all questions to answer to identify problematic consumption“.
Alcohol, responsible for 49,000 deaths a year
Finally, Dr Philippe Batel recalls some figures concerning the people most exposed to alcohol, which is the cause of 49,000 deaths each year. “The most exposed age group are men between 35 and 55 years old“Why these men specifically?”Because men tolerate alcohol better, even if this is not always true, because alcohol is more socially acceptable among men, more festive and therefore consumed in greater quantities… So many factors that make alcohol will concern three men for every woman, on average“concludes the specialist.