Personal Circumstances Affecting Alcoholism

Ever since I was a little girl I have always aspired to follow in my grandfather’s footsteps and become a prosperous attorney like him. He exerted himself strenuously, graduated from Northeastern Law School and was one of the founding partners of the Morrison, Mahoney and Miller Law firm currently located in Boston. It has been an arduous journey for me to verbally express the least endeavoring to follow my grandfather’s legacy. Shortly after graduating high school, my life consummately spiraled out of control and I was faced with adversity that seemed insurmountable. It is paramount to take a moment and apportion some brief history considering that I my past has molded me into the strenuously exertive, goal oriented student I have always aspired to be.

Being an adult child of an alcoholic, I have described myself as a third generation depressed, suicidal alcoholic. That is not who I am today. It’s more a diagnosis, or a description of my lineage.

Studies show that they are four times more likely to drink alcohol in excess than non-COAs (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism). They may pick up their own addiction, because they naturally look up to their parents and may follow in their footsteps. Parents cannot be good role models if they tell their children how to act, but do not follow the actions that they tell their children to follow. Asking a child not to drink alcohol, while being an alcoholic, will not make them stay sober (Williams). When these children grow up to become alcoholics themselves, they are at a greater risk than the average person of cirrhosis, various cancers, and problems with high blood pressure

Growing up with an alcoholic parent or parents can be a very difficult thing and mentally tiring. Day to day activities can be more of a challenge and feel like an impossible struggle due to constant worry, doubt or fear. They may grow up without proper care, love or encouragement to learn and succeed. A few of the things that can interfere with the child with an alcoholic parent includes school life, social interactions and at home. A child who is forced to grow up from birth around alcoholism has a higher chance of becoming an alcoholic themselves.

In a research done by Brown, Vik, McQuoid, & Patterson, (1990). They examine the relationship between stressful life events, and drinking among 129 male alcoholics who had completed an alcohol treatment program. Studies found that men who returned to drinking after treatment, experienced more severe or highly threatening stress before their relapse, than men who remained abstinent during the follow-up period. This data suggests that although less severe stress may not increase risk for relapse, acute severe stressors and highly threatening chronic difficulties may be associated with elevated relapse risk. In another research done by Sinha et al., (2009) evidence indicates that regular and chronic alcohol use is associated with changes in emotion, stress, and motivational pathways. These

While alcoholism can be difficult for the individual, families are equally affected by the addict's behaviors. Learning how to live with an alcoholic can be emotionally and physically draining. The alcoholic may try to hide the extent of their alcohol abuse, and they can cause psychological damage on the loved ones around them.

Growing up I knew exactly what I wanted to do in the future, become a professional baseball player. I collected jerseys and cards, played in travel leagues, and never missed a Cleveland Indians game. This dream started from watching and learning from my father, who showed me the drive it takes to make it to the professional level. The Cincinnati Reds drafted my dad his junior year of high school. I idolized this accomplishment and viewed him as a role model.

Alcoholism, in some way or another, affects everyone, as it is ever-present in nearly every aspect of American culture. Although there are numerous different opinions on the true main influence that causes alcoholism in an individual, it is an undeniable fact that alcoholism is an addiction, which is a disease of the mind. Alcoholism cannot be fought and cured in just a few days, it takes support from loved ones, willpower, and a competent treatment center. Alcoholism is not a game to be toyed with, is is a very serious issue, which affects many individuals and their families like mine throughout the U.S. I hope that you, whoever reads this essay, learned the biological factors that influence alcoholism, as well as the social and biographical

Studies have shown that there is a connection between adolescents drinking tendencies and parental and peer influences.2 Studies also suggested that parents make good candidates with helping their children change their behavior when it comes to

Our culture promotes the belief that citizens should be able to consume mind-altering substance(s) of choice and not suffer problems as a result. The percentage that do suffer problems are convinced that, like all other drinkers, they have control over the substance. When alcohol makes their behaviour increasingly unpredictable and disturbing, the 'alcoholic' ego inflates and, with denial, assures the self and others that no problem results; it creates a grandiose delusion. "Alcoholics have to self-absorbed to make sure they are still alive. There sense of self is so tenuous that they live constantly on the edge of annihilation. Their barely cohesive selves may fragment at any time. Thus, alcoholics suffer from at least four kinds of self-pathology:

Social influences include low socio-economic status of the individual, low levels of parental guidance and education, family or domestic issues at home, presence of a history of alcoholism in the family, lack of rules on alcohol use in the family setting and peer pressure.

26,000 women die each year from alcohol related causes. More than 10% of children live with an alcoholic. I happen to be one. My mom was married to a man I will not name, but he was an alcoholic, he would steal money from us and our family and his and he is still stealing from his. We luckily got out of his life before it got worse. We may of gotten out but we didn't get away from it. My mom this year started to drink every night, then she started to spend all her time out at the bars. I didn't want to believe she was turing into what she took us away from but it was to late. Last night I made the decision to leave. I deiced that I could not be the one buying the groceries for the house anymore or cleaning up after anyone or being home alone

Alcoholism not only affects the individual who drinks, but it also affects members of the their families (McGoldrick et al., 2016). It goes beyond the nuclear family, meaning not just the mother and father, it can affect generations after generations. Each family member takes on a different role and conflict arises out of resentment along with other feelings that are present in this situation. Some sociocultural factors such as gender, race, ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic status can shape the onset and progression of alcoholism (McGoldrick et al., 2016). There are factors that are present within an unhealthy family that will bring on the development of alcoholism, for example, when you have adolescents in the home, when they are dealing

One of the main reason why teenagers chose to drink at first place is peer pressure. Teens are ‘forced’ to start drinking because their friends are drinking, and eventually drive when they are drunk. 66% teens say that, they are drinking because of peer pressure, and they couldn’t say no to it. After some times, they became addicted to drinking and become binge drinkers. Another reason is parent’s influence on their child. According to the article “Young Adult Drinking”, parents play a big role when it comes to influencing children for drinking. Children/teenagers think that if their parents

“Alcohol dependence” means the person is physically dependent on alcohol. Diagnosis generally requires three or more of these symptoms within a 12-month period: