Millions of recovered alcoholics throughout the world discuss low self-esteem to be a crucially significant problem area in their lives. Low self-esteem is the universal common denominator among people suffering from addictions to any and all mind-altering substances, including alcohol. Low self-esteem is described as lifelong feelings of being stupid, inferior to others, unaccepted by others, and feeling bad and wrong all the time. Low self-esteem is an awareness that others perceive one to be less than equal to them. People can have good self-esteem and a high belief in themselves, and still be aware that others perceive them to be inferior and unacceptable. Low self-esteem should be renamed OPOA (Other Peoples’ Opinion Awareness) Syndrome. Low self-esteem is extremely obscure and is not very obvious to most people. It becomes very complex and compounded with time. For many, sports is a fight against low self-esteem. On the job, low self-esteem provokes competitive conflicts. The multitude of troublesome issues that evolve in life are directly or indirectly attributed to low self-esteem. Many people turn to alcohol and drugs as an escape, and as a sort of sedative to relax because alcohol seems to relieve anxiety and distress. The disease is low self-esteem, the symptom is alcohol, and serious problems arise when suppressed and unattended subconscious anger surfaces under the mixture of low self-esteem and alcohol. Part of the problem is that society believes that young human beings are inferior and associates all bad and wrong behavior with immaturity. Parents provide usually the only influence that helps a child to contend with the demeaning and degrading attitudes of society. Society has to enact a concerted and dedicated effort to discontinue demeaning and degrading connotations and attitudes toward immaturity, to discontinue ideas that immaturity is bad or wrong, and to stop believing new human beings are stupid and inferior. If low self-esteem were eliminated, the demand for drugs would be removed. Bibliography