During the difficult periods when the client withdraws from alcohol, the counsellor must provide his own strength for the purpose and character to guide the client. Because the end of abusive drinking means the end of identity, the counsellor must then act as ego surrogate. A decision maker and enforcer who provides will and direction lacking in the faltering client. The ego surrogate assures the client on a continuing basis of the importance of not drinking and provides support in any victory over alcohol. When the alcoholic announces with pride that they haven't had a drink for three days for months. The counsellor should reward the client with positive massages such as that's great well done. To be directive as ego surrogate is not a licence
It is a fact of life that Alcoholism will distort the victim’s view of reality. With authors, they put parts of their personality and symptoms of their condition into their characters sometimes, flawed distortions included, with varying degrees
In the article “Children of Alcoholics” produced by the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the author explains the negative effect of parental alcoholism on their children’s emotional wellbeing, when he writes, “Children with alcoholic parents are more likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and/or depression, antisocial behavior, relationship difficulties, behavioral problems, and/or alcohol abuse. One recent study finds that children of drug-abusing fathers have the worst mental health issues (Children of Alcoholics 1). Walls reflects upon her childhood experiences in which her father would become drunk and not be able to control his behavior, as she writes, “After working on the bottle for a while, Dad turned into an angry-eyed stranger who threw around furniture and threatened to beat up Mom or anyone else who got in his way. When he’d had his fill of cussing and hollering and smashing things up, he’d collapse” (Walls 23). The Walls children, who frequently encounter their father’s abusive behavior, are affected mentally in the same way that national studies have shown. Jeanette Walls describes how, after drinking, her father’s behavior becomes cruel and intolerable through his use of profanity, threats, and angry, even violent, actions. In a conventional family, a parent has the responsibility of being a role model to influence their children in a positive way as they develop. Unfortunately, in the Walls family and other families with alcoholic parents, children are often subject to abuse and violence, which places them at risk, not only physically, but mentally. Rex’s irrational behavior when he is drunk is detrimental to the children’s upbringing, causing them to lose trust in their parents, have significantly lower self-esteem and confidence, and feel insecure. Rex’s behavior contributes to Jeanette’s
WebMD.com - WebMD.com WebMD, 2009. Web. The Web. The Web. 25 Mar. 2014. The 'Standard' of the Roleff, Tamara L. Alcoholism.
...ence of alcoholism. In the same way a family history of alcohol could be a genetic factor in the client’s drinking problem, so could the acceptance of alcohol as a tool of avoidance. This client was given alcohol at 6 years old by her teenage sister to numb her pain. We do not know why her sister began drinking, but an assumption can be made that the practice is not generally disapproved of since underage drinking appears to be a norm in this family unit.
In Alcoholics Anonymous, the source of sobriety is not contained within the alcoholic. Power is given up to God, with powerlessness over alcohol
During my time in the ward, I recently had a patient with alcohol dependency in my care. My patient, Mr Grey was a 51 year old male patient who was admitted with a fractured neck of femur and consistent hypertension. Mr Grey required a vast amount of medical treatment for his injuries. As well as Mr Grey’s physiological problems he also had poor mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. We later discovered my patient had some social issues and that he was homeless.
Today, one out of every thirteen adults abuse alcohol or are alcoholics. That means nearly thirteen million Americans have a drinking problem. (www.niaaa.nih.gov) This topic offers a broad range of ideas to be researched within the psychological field. For this particular project, the topic of alcoholism and the psychological effects on people best fit the criteria. Alcoholism is defined as a disorder characterized by the excessive consumption of and dependence on alcoholic beverages, leading to physical and psychological harm and impaired social and vocational functioning. (www.dictionary.com) Through this project, the most important information regarding personal experiences dealing with alcoholism will be revealed. Not only are statistics, like the facts mentioned before, important when dealing with an issue such as alcoholism, but personal accounts and information are often more powerful and influential evidence. Non-alcoholics should be allowed to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for research purposes.
In the United States alone, there are 28 million children of alcoholics - seven million of these children are under the age of eighteen. Every day, these children experience the horrors of living with an alcoholic parent. 40%-50% of children of alcoholics grow up and become alcoholics themselves. Others develop eating disorders or become workaholics. Children of alcoholics receive mixed messages, inconsistency, upredictability, betrayal, and sometimes physical and sexual abuse from their parents. They are made to grow up too fast because they must help keep the family structure together by doing housework and taking care of siblings since the alcoholic is not doing his or her part. Children form roles that they play to help disguise the disease. The roles help distract people from seeing the real problem and serve to protect the family so it can continue to function. There are five roles that the family members will take on-- the enabler, the hero, the scapegoat, the lost child, and the mascot.
Severe mood swings, violent rages, memory loss—each of these problems were a part of my family life during the past two or three years. These problems are the result of alcoholism. Recently, a member of my family realized his abuse of alcohol was a major problem to not only himself, but also to those around him. He would lose control of his temper and often would not even remember doing it the next day. Alcohol became a part of his daily life including work, home, and any other activities. His problem was that of a "hidden" and "high-society" alcoholism. When he was threatened with the loss of his job and the possibility of losing his family, this man knew it was time to get help. After he reached his lowest point, he took the first step towards recovery—admitting his problem.
For Adult Children of Alcoholics, surviving their families becomes the point of existence. The fortunate may be able to draw support from a supportive adult, and may emerge with fewer difficulties than their brothers and sisters. The majority, however, have to “make do.” Some spend lonely hours in their rooms wishing only to vanish behind the woodwork. Others attempt to rescue the foundering vi...
Drinking alcohol is associated with many adverse health problems in the short and long-term. These include cancer, stroke, heart disease, miscarriage, premature birth and unintentional injuries. Despite the fact that alcohol brings many negative impacts, many people still choose to drink and do not overcome their drinking habit. They have been successfully seduced by alcohol until drinking has become their addiction. However, some of them try to quit drinking, but they still cannot break the addiction. Basically, quitting alcohol is difficult and almost impossible for them because of brain-craving, lack of belief and support, and weak willpower.
Wechsler, H., Nelson T., & Weitzman, E. (February 2000). From Knowledge to Action. Change [On-line], Available: www2.gasou.edu/library/ (Galileo)(EBSCOhost)(Search=Alcohol Abuse).
Zelman, K. (1995, Dec). Retrieved from The Alcohol Debate: Should You or Shouldn't You: www.medicine.net
..., common are divorces and, sometimes, loss of parental rights. Most victimized here are children, who do not, yet, have much understanding of similar situations, and that, effects in impaired ability to trust people and feel safe, later on in their life. What else, next to the family situation, collapses in a long-term alcohol abuser’s life? Alcoholics are antisocial; they do not want to let anyone thru a wall they built around themselves. With time, they lose friends. Important matter is that alcohol dependents lack feelings of responsibility, so they become less effective at work. Their credibility drops and they are no longer valued workers – they lose their jobs.
...heavier friends. Also, since it takes my body about an hour to digest a drink, I should start to pace myself in order to assure that I do not drink deadly amounts. I have also had time to look within myself and truly reflect on my reasons for drinking. My self-evaluations led to the following conclusion: maybe I shouldn’t use alcohol as an escape from stress or depression because it doesn’t help, but rather it intensifies the feelings I am already experiencing. Alcohol is a drug and it’s surprising that it took an incident like this one for me to truly grasp the significance of making sure my drinking habits are at a level that is safe for my individualized body. Although this experience led to intervention with the ORL staff, in my case it was positive because I have gained the knowledge and self-realization that I needed to make healthier decisions in the future.