Alcoholism and Its Effects on a Family
Alcoholism, although thought mostly of its impact on the alcoholic themselves, it is also a very present problem in the ruining of his or her friends and their families lives. Someone who may be a fully functional, great person to his or her family may be extremely dangerous, dishonest, and destructive while they are under the influence of alcohol. This instance occurs in "The Glass Castle" with Rex Walls and also occurs regularly in our society today, such as abusive parents, and husbands. Without alcohol Rex was intelligent, responsible, honest, and a overall respectable father figure, but when under the influence he would bring his entire family down mentally and physically. Alcoholism's effects can indirectly abuse a family because of the immense change in behavior and discombobulate the family's daily life in many ways. When Rex promises Jeanette that he will quit drinking entirely for her birthday, Jeannette believes him. Sooner than later this promise is broken and Jeanette is mentally wounded from the let down she endured by Rex. "I couldn't believe he had gone back to the booze"(Walls 23), Jeanette says after being disgusted with her father's dishonest false claim of a complete withdrawal of any alcoholic beverage. Alcoholism will not only bring down yourself but will also bring your entire family on the rollercoaster of pain and suffering.
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...term effects from her father. Although she is now successful, she will never be able to forget her resentful past. The girl from the article was traumatized from what happened and will never be the same again. Alcoholism is an ongoing problem that needs to be ended in families because starvation, abuse, and mental problems will be forever alive in children suffering from parents who are alcoholics. If alcohol was not present in either family then both fathers would have been able to satisfy all of the family's needs because of all the great qualities that they possessed when not drinking alcohol. Alcoholism is an ongoing problem that needs to be ended so that families can escape unfortunate situations and not become even worse. If this problem can be lessened then less families and children will be distressed each year.
As well as the long last effect that alcoholic parents have on a child and a loved one. Moreover, McCullers writes his story incorporating the reality of alcoholism to allow people to visualize the effect of addiction and how it a very serious life changing issue that can deteriorate and break apart families. Mucllurs also indirectly emphasizes the sacrifices that parents must do to ensure the happiness and wellbeing of their children and how being disconnected from your social circle can lead to very serious mentally draining issues. As well as how he emphasizes Martins own intentions and how Matin suffers his own dilemma throughout the story for specific
I can still remember the day, June 2, 2013, my cousin took his own life due to alcohol. This is not the first time alcoholism has taken a family member from my family. I lost my uncle ten years ago to the same things, but running his truck into a tree. Like Scott Russell Sanders’ my family has suffered from the pain and disease that alcohol causes. Although Sanders’ case was much different than mine, my families is more unknown until all of a sudden one of my family members is gone. In Sanders’ essay, “Under the Influence: Paying the Price of my Father’s Booze,” he discusses how it was growing up around him, his father’s life being taken, and his life now.
There is something in this earth that each of us hold dear. For some, it could be friends or family, an old blanket, or perhaps a stuffed animal. For others it could be cigarettes, drugs, or alcohol. The choices that we make not only affect ourselves, but also affect the people we care about. In the short stories “The Farm” by Joy Williams and “Balto” by Coraghessan Boyle, we see the effects that alcohol can have on a person. We can also deduce from these short stories the effects that alcohol can have on a family as well. There are many problems that arise from alcohol abuse. The three main focal points in these two short stories are the deterioration of the family, the breakdown of communication between spouses, and infidelity that happened between the spouses.
Within the memoir, The Glass Castle, the self destructing addiction of alcohol becomes an apparent theme throughout the literature. Alcoholism is a disease that can cause destruction to families and even ruin lives. This is a common occurrence that effect’s many Americans today. Alcoholism is one of the most common problems in families, it doesn’t always interfere with just the person drinking the alcohol. It also affects the people around the influenced person. Rex’s struggle with alcohol is logged through his daughter Jeannettes struggles as she is finding the balance between respecting daughter and a strong individual. It is through her accounts that the reader is able to see the truly damaging effects of this disease.
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
“When Dad went crazy, we all had our own ways of shutting down and closing off…” (Walls 115).In Jeannette Walls memoir, The Glass Castle, Walls enlightens the reader on what it’s like to grow up with a parent who is dependent on alcohol, Rex Walls, Jeannette’s father, was an alcoholic. Psychologically, having a parent who abuses alcohol is the worst thing for a child. The psychological state of these children can get of poorer quality as they grow up. Leaving the child with psychiatric disorders in the future and or being an alcoholic as well.
One in five adults can identify with growing up with an alcoholic relative and Twenty-eight million Americans have one parent abusing or dependent on alcoholic (Walker, & Lee, 1998). There are devastating and ubiquitous effects of alcoholism, which vary from psychological, social, or biological problems for families. Counselor’s treating this problem all agree that the relationships within a family, especially between a parent and a child is one of the most influential within a system, but what are the effects on the family when a parent is an alcoholic? Contemporary research has found there is a higher prevalence of problems in the family when alcohol is the organizing principle. In addition, there is copious research on the roles of individuals within the family becoming defined into specific categories, and evidently, the roles may become reversed between the parent and the child. This topic of functional roles in alcoholic families will be analyzed and investigated further. Family therapy has had substantial results in the treatment of an alcoholic parent. These results will be discussed more along, with the literature examining the existing research related, to specific interventions and treatments in family therapy with an alcoholic parent. Before research on the treatment is illuminated on distinctive therapies, it is crucial for counselors facilitating family therapy to comprehend the literature on the presenting problems commonly, associated with alcoholic parents and the effects this population has on their families. Furthermore, the adverse outcomes an alcoholic parent has on their children and spouses has been researched and reviewed.
While both alcoholism and child abuse are prevalent issues in today's society, alcohol is a more prevalent issue at hand. The Glass Castle clearly illustrates the reality of the effects when we as adult abuse our children, and the everlasting effects it has upon our children’s children; domino effect if one must, or vicious cycle that is difficult to break free from. Whatever the case maybe alcoholism and child abuse go hand in hand like fuel and fire, when both combined and united, both are extremely combustible, and deadly. Thus, as we go into depth into the effects of alcoholism and child abuse, we will analyze how people’s lives are impacted from a social, emotional, physical, psychological, and economical standpoint by relating our personal effects to successfully analyze a controversial topic.
The crippling effects of alcoholism and drug dependency are not confined to the addict alone. The family suffers, physically and emotionally, and it is the children who are the most disastrous victims. Frequently neglected and abused, they lack the maturity to combat the terrifying destructiveness of the addict’s behavior. As adults these individuals may become compulsively attracted to the same lifestyle as their parents, excessive alcohol and drug abuse, destructive relationships, antisocial behavior, and find themselves in an infinite loop of feelings of emptiness, futility, and despair. Behind the appearance of calm and success, Adult Children of Alcoholics often bear a sad, melancholy and haunted look that betrays their quietest confidence. In the chilling silence of the darkest nights of their souls, they yearn for intimacy: their greatest longing, and deepest fear. Their creeping terror lives as the child of years of emotional, and sometimes physical, family violence.
From the individual perspective, the client was a victim of child abuse, which led to feelings of fear and sadness and a desire to avoid these emotions. Socially, she came from a family of alcoholics giving her easy availability. There was also the pressure of keeping up appearances due to her mother’s status in society. The initial individual consequences of the client’s alcohol use were reinforcing. She felt invincible, warm, and it helped her avoid the thoughts in her head. Everything was right with the world as long as she was intoxicated.
...out the affects alcoholism has on the family, one may think that it is a life full of endless turmoil. There is help out there, though, which should begin in the school system. Schools need to educate kids about alcohol abuse and establish an ongoing trusting relationship with kids who need help. The children aren not to blame for the actions of their parents and they need someone to help them understand that it's not their fault and they can break the cycle. This way the children will know that they have at least one person they can turn to for help and that they aren't alone.
A majority of American citizens can honestly say that they, or a loved one, have been personally victimized by the dangerous side effects of alcohol. Yet alcohol is still considered a recreational beverage, that too many people take for granted. The addiction to alcohol is officially labelled as “Alcoholism.” Alcoholism can affect one’s life in a numerous amount of ways. It is an overlooked danger in the U.S. which can negatively affect the youth of America and the economy, which is why it is an enormous danger to the U.S.
“For every family that is impacted by drugs, there are another 10 to 15 families impacted by alcohol abuse. It's a pretty big deal. We have a tendency to only look at part of the puzzle.” (Kevin Lewis). As a society we tend to categorize the severity of addiction in a way that drugs are the most dangerous and alcohol being just a problem. Because alcohol addiction can be a slow progressive disease many people don’t see it in the same light as drug addiction. An addiction to drugs is seen as being a more deadly and dangerous issue then that of alcohol because a drug addiction can happen more quickly and can kill more quickly. Alcohol is something that is easy to obtain, something that is found at almost every restaurant. People with an alcohol addiction can not hide from alcohol as easy as a drug addict. Approximately 7 million Americans suffer from alcohol abuse and another 7 million suffer from alcoholism. (Haisong 6) The dangers of alcohol affect everyone from children with alcoholic parents, to teenagers who abuse alcohol, then to citizens who are terrorized by drunk drivers.
The problem of alcohol abuse has been recognized for thousands of years, but only more recently have we begun to see alcohol addiction as a treatable disorder. According to the Classical Disease Model of `Alcoholism,' habitual use of alcohol can be identified as a disease. Webster's Dictionary defines the concept of `disease' as follows: "Any departure from health presenting marked symptoms; malady; illness; disorder." Therefore, as many occurrences of alcohol excess provoke such symptoms, it is somewhat understandable that `alcoholism' is classified as a disease. The Classical Disease Model appears to offer a hopeful option. Treatment and sobriety can allow people to lead fulfilling lives. Adjacent to the notion of alcoholism as personal failure or moral deterioration, the Classical Disease Model appears to be a more desirable concept as it provides a motive for the alcoholic to seek treatment and gain sympathy, minimizing personal guilt. As alcoholism is seen as a progressive and, to an extent, hereditary illness for which those afflicted are not accountable, victims avoid being ostracized from society (Jellinek, 1960). Labeling the problem as a `disease' allows the medical profession to take responsibility for the treatment of alcoholism, which puts the problem in a more favourable light than if it were in the hands of psychologists or social workers, thus detaching the stigma connected with the problem while it is put on a par with other diseases such as diabetes or cancer. However, critics of the Classical Disease Model believe stigma helps reduce alcohol problems and aids the alcoholic. Any effort to reduce the stigma which is faced by the alcoholic will reduce pressures to moderate consumption and could have the additional ...
"Because time and amount of drinking are uncontrollable, the alcoholics is likely to engage in such behaviors as [1] breaking family commitments, both major and minor; [2] spending more money than planned; [3] drinking while intoxicated and getting arrested; [4] making inappropriate remarks to friends, family, and co-workers; [5] arguing, fighting and other anti-social actions. The alcoholic would probably neither do such things, nor approve of them in others unless he was drinking" (Johnson 203).