SENIORS : Holiday Cheer : Some older people use alcohol as a self-prescribed tranquilizer to deal with anxieties and the stresses of aging.

Most people associate the weeks between Thanksgiving and the New Year with merriment and holiday festivities. But during holiday visits home, grown children are often shocked to discover a parent has become a problem drinker.

“Often this person was a nondrinker or controlled social drinker who began abusing alcohol as a result of the stresses of aging,” says chemical dependency therapist Luis Leija, who works for the MCC Managed Behavioral Care outpatient program in Los Angeles.

“They begin to drink in reaction to bereavement, isolation, retirement, idleness, illness or the loss of status as an older person living in a youth-oriented society.”

Ventura County census figures show that about 8% of the population here is age 65 or over. Figures on alcoholism among the elderly are harder to come by.

Larry W. Dupree, associate professor at the University of South Florida’s department of aging and mental health, says the typical late-in-life alcohol abuser “has been a contributor and success. They’ve raised their kids, done what they should, and now drinking is an economical self-prescribed medication to handle momentary feelings and memories.”

But too often, he and others agree, that self-prescription leads to serious damage.

Elderly alcoholics, Dupree says, usually start their drinking in late afternoon and drink themselves to sleep.

Other authorities have noted that even seniors who limit themselves to a single “nightcap” before bed may well be getting a result they haven’t bargained for. Nurse Betty Davis, a senior program specialist at American Assn. of Retired Persons, points out that “although a nightcap initially makes you feel drowsy, it actually causes frequent awakening and interferes with deep sleep.”

Holiday season problems can extend beyond alcohol. Although seniors rarely use illicit drugs, experts say they often misuse prescribed or over-the-counter medications. Moreover, many older people take sleeping pills or tranquilizers prescribed for anxiety.

“On an average, older Americans take between six and eight medications daily,” says Leija. Alcohol can negate the therapeutic effects of some of those medications; combined with other medications, it can be lethal.

Another potential problem, Leija says, is that some doctors “don’t want to label senior patients as alcoholic, so they often enable the older problem drinker by not diagnosing alcohol abuse.” Spouses, too, cover up for drinkers--sometimes well enough to keep a serious problem undiagnosed.

Excessive alcohol consumption can show up in a wide variety of symptoms. Authorities say one clue is flare-ups in chronic conditions ordinarily controlled with medication, such as diabetes or hypertension. Another could be bruises that are unexplained or accompanied by unlikely explanations.

Many signs of trouble can be easily confused with standard signs of aging: confusion, memory loss, fatigue, weakness, insomnia, depression, urinary incontinence, fainting or blackouts, problems with balance. But experts say such symptoms are often a sign of something else.

They could indicate that a person is taking too many medications, taking excessive dosages, or mixing drug and alcohol use.

If a problem is diagnosed and the drinking senior will accept treatment, Dupree says, “the prognosis for cessation of alcohol abuse is excellent.”

FYI: For referrals to get help with alcohol or drug problems, call Help-line of Ventura County, 1-800-556-6607.