Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse

Alcoholism is one of the most intractable and pervasive psychological disorders known. Though the negative health consequences of alcohol are widely understood, and, if anything, the social consequences of alcoholism are even more widely acknowledged, it seems that no matter what steps are taken by public health officials or private organizations, no strategy can ever be fully developed for eradicating alcoholism. There are a number of reasons why this is true. This paper will explore some of the social and medical problems created by alcohol, but in it I will also consider the role of alcohol in my personal life and the way I have seen the disease play out in the lives of people around me. The paper will also examine the social and political responses to the problem of alcoholism and attempt to determine where productive approaches have been taken and areas where mistakes have been made. Before discussing such wide-ranging questions, it is important to understand what alcoholism is and how it is manifested.

Alcohol Use Disorder, most commonly known as Alcohol Abuse or Alcohol Dependence, is widely known as problem that occurs with individuals who consumes an enormous amount of alcohol on a regular basis often in a single use. The individual is consumed with the thought of drinking most of the time and often feel as though they need it to continue with living their daily lives, even though, they are not really living at all because the enormous amount of alcohol causes a dysfunction for their daily tasks. It inhibits their ability to take care of their family, have social relationships and performing activities at work. It is believed that genetics can play a massive role towards an individual developing an Alcohol Use Disorder.

To begin, research of genetics has shown some information on how genes support alcoholism being a disease. Genetics and the brain are connected as other organs, such as the heart and genetics are connected (Nurnberger). People can inherit heart diseases from their parents through their genes. There is no difference with alcohol. Alcohol damages the brain cells and can increase the chances of a child to become more dependent on alcohol. According to Nurnberger, “For alcohol dependence, about 50 percent is related to genetic factors and the other half to environmental factors, such as availability of alcohol and cultural factors” (Nurnberger). Although environmental factors play a high role in alcohol consumption, genetics, as shown, have played half the role. People become dependent on alcohol, and not only can it be hereditary to pass the gene to increase the chances of becoming an alcoholic, but alcoholism can even cause a change to other genes to possibly cause depression and anxiety problems (Nurnberger). Saying that alcoholism is not a disease when it can be passed through genes and alter other genes would be like saying autism is not a disease or disorder. The reason is because the brain is genetically altered, like alcoholism, and it can change other

Drinking can lead to a lot of things such as teen pregnancies, hospitalizations and worse cases it can lead to death. “100,000 persons die each year from alcohol-related causes: drinking and driving crashes, other accidents, falls, fires, alcohol-related homicides and suicides.” (NCAAD) The amount of horrifying deaths that happen in our everyday life we can contribute a large portion of the to being related in some form to alcohol. Teen alcohol consumption has gotten worse and worse over the years. “Teen alcohol use kills 4,700 people each year — that’s more than all illegal drugs combined.” (MADD) While there are many other

The alcohol abuse definition is similar to alcoholism in that in both cases alcohol is causing harm to the drinker 's life and those around them. The difference is that those who abuse alcohol, but are not yet alcoholics, typically can put some limitations on their drinking and they have not yet become physically addicted to alcohol. The key to the alcohol abuse definition is not in the amount of alcohol consumed but on how it affects an individual. Alcohol abuse is a psychiatric diagnosis in which there is recurring harmful use of ethanol despite its negative consequence. In 2013 it was reclassified as alcohol use disorder along with alcohol dependence. There are two types of alcohol abuse, those who have anti-social and pleasure

Ms. A is a 24-year-old, Caucasian female. She was referred for a psychological evaluation by her therapist for her excessive use of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Disorder. Additionally, Ms. A stated she has been experiencing a loss of interest, low self-esteem and feeling anxious. She complains that her struggle with substance abuse has negatively impacted her interpersonal relationships, behavioral, emotional as well as her health. The purpose of the current evaluation is to (1) evaluate her level of functioning, (2) determine diagnostic impression and (3) recommend relevant treatment and service needs.

Alcoholism has been a major problem in the world for hundreds of years. Most people that deal with alcoholism became alcoholics because they needed a quick and easy way to de-stress. After long days at work or arguments with family and friends, the first thing they do is start drinking to make their stress go away. No one wakes up and decides, “I’m going to become an alcoholic today.” No one wants to be an alcoholic but bad things happen. If you are not careful with alcohol then you can easily become an alcoholic.

Alcohol use disorder can be caused by a number of factors, such as biological and environmental. People who drink alcohol often are at risk to alcohol dependence as the brain becomes reliant on the chemicals in alcoholic beverages. This makes it difficult for them to stop or quit the habit, a symptom of withdrawal.

results will have varies test used to examine the cause and effects of alcoholism and

The details why most persons drink can maybe be found in a mixture of the overhead issues, though for some persons, drinking is allied with a illness - liquor need. This illness is categorized by craving, a durable need or force to drink; reduced control, the incapacity to boundary one’s drinking on any given case; corporal need, removal indications such as biliousness, sweaty and nervousness when liquor use is stationary after a period of heavy drinking; acceptance, the need for growing amounts of alcohol in order to sense its effects. It is a continuing and often broad-minded disease. People need to drink despite negative moments such as thoughtful job or health difficulties. It is influenced by both hereditary and ecological

Plenty of people always seem to ask “what are the causes of alcohol abuse?” As a matter of fact, there are many origins that come to mind when actually thinking of why people drink alcohol excessively. Alcohol abuse can run in a person’s family, or sometimes it may be caused by the environment a person is in or if someone is taking on stress (WebMD). When people are frazzled or feel as though they are facing a serious issue within their life, they tend to feel the need to turn towards drinking alcohol so that they can get rid of all the pain they are feeling. Some people treat alcohol as an escape from the grief they are

Additionally, like many other drug abusers, alcoholics often drink hoping to "drown' anxious or depressed feelings. Some alcoholics drink to reduce strong inhibitions or guilt about expressing negative feelings.

Everyday around the world alcoholics attempt to quit drinking, with many succumbing to addiction once more. Alcohol can be highly addictive and plaguing the lives of alcohol abusers. When alcoholics do attempt to quit drinking alcohol, they go through various withdrawal symptoms that complicates the road to sobriety. Quitting alcohol is far from a simple process and will require initiative and perseverance. Although many attempt to quit alcohol by simply by going “cold turkey,” there are various steps people can follow to successfully quit drinking alcohol. For those struggling with alcohol abuse, sobriety can revitalize and save the life of the addict.

People drink in many ways, for many different reasons. We drink socially, to gain acceptance into a group. We drink alone to ease stress, to cope with our problems, or we “drink because we like the taste or how it makes us feel”#. Often drinking is a learned behavior, starting out as a social drinker; you quickly become psychologically and physically dependent. When someone reaches this stage they are often classified as an alcoholic. To an alcoholic, drinking becomes a compulsion; they cannot stop themselves from having another drink, like a social drinker can. In many cases alcoholics don’t even have to drink continuously in order to be an alcoholic. One the problems of alcohol addiction is that it’s something that doesn’t just effect the individual but it effects, friends and family as well. Spouse abuse, child abuse and dysfunctional family relationships can all be influenced by alcohol abuse.

Alcohol in large doses can be very detrimental to not only the user but to people around him/her. For example, if a man was to go to a club and drink a lot of alcohol, in which his body cannot withhold; his heavy intakes will lead to dizziness, vomiting, and impaired breathing and in extreme cases, unconsciousness and coma that can lead to death. According to Caron, underage drinking is a leading public health problem in the United States. Each year, approximately 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die as a result of drinking: 1,900 from motor vehicle accidents, 1,600 from homicides, 300 from suicides, and hundreds from other injuries such as falls, burns, and drowning. This shows that anyone on the road near an intoxicated driver is in grave danger as they can be killed or badly injured in an instant as the drunk driver has slight control over anything they are doing. Many reckless kills have been made by drunken drivers/people over the years resulting in many families to pay the price of losing a family member for no relevant reason at all but making alcohol increase death rates that could be provoked by intruding prohibition.