Alcoholism has been one of the main problems and questionable addictions that occur in Ireland, Alcohol related harm is very common and alcoholism can be a very serious addiction in the long run. Drinking in Ireland is a pastime, it 's usually passed down from generation to generation. In the Irish culture alcoholism can bring positives and negatives to the individual 's life, having a couple drinks is always a joy to the Irishmen, having too much is where self related harm comes into play and the damaging of your health and people around you such as family members and peers. In the memoir, the use of drinking at such a young age can cause problems. Consuming a drink at the young age of 16 proves that you are a “grown man” in the Irish generation. …show more content…
Alcoholism is known as a family disease and is generally passed down from one to another, from the alcoholic parent to their children. This disease can also have negative effects on the spouse of the alcoholic, it can cause family issues, self pity and avoiding social contact. Just like in the memoir the drinking age is very young and being the son or daughter of an alcoholic parent can cause symptoms of low self-esteem, guilt and hopelessness (Parsons). Statistics say that one in eleven children in Ireland say that the use of their parents consuming alcohol has a negative effect on their life, that is more than 100,000 children. In the memoir how Frank’s father is always at the pub explains that seven out of ten men who drink more than average tend to have problems within the family or in the home they live in, also it can damage their bodies quicker than a normal drinker rather than an alcoholic (Alcohol Action). The memoir says “This is my wife. She may be Irish but she doesn 't look it, thank God. Like you. Irish. You 'll need a drink, of course. You Irish quaff at every turn. Barely weaned before you clamor for the whiskey bottle, the pint of stout”(McCourt Chapter 16).This quote shows that “having a drink” is the answer in many situations during bad …show more content…
Over many years a higher proportion of women who drink in Ireland is higher than any other European country, 77% compared to 68%. Men drink more often than women, 45% of men drink 2-3 times more than the average female in Ireland. In the memoir it shows drinking at the age of 16, alcohol is the world’s leading risk factor for death among males aged 15-59, according to the World Health Organization ( Alcohol Action). Men are advised to drink no more than 21 standard beers a week, that is equal to 10 pints of normal beer. In Ireland the price of Alcohol is 50% more affordable than it was in 1996, which makes it easier to for the Irish people to consume alcohol. The average age of first alcohol use for children born in 1990 was 14, ten years before in 1980 it was 16. A specific survey of drinking among European 15 and 16 year olds more Irish girls, (44%) than boys (42%) reported binge-drinking has become a problem to young teens (Alcohol
Robinson, David. From Drinking to Alcoholism: A Social Commentary. London: John Wiley and Sons, 1976.
Using fear, while not aggressively, Silveri highlights the fact that excessive alcohol consumption is the third leading leading cause of preventable death. The author discusses this topic in a way that seems to be to scare anybody she is trying to convince. A mother reading this could worry about her daughter, or a young man in college who drinks often could take his drinking habits far more seriously after reading something like that. Also, ending the article on an optimistic note, she allows the reader to have some hope. Silveri mentions the reduction of maladaptive alcohol use through better recognition of the negative tendencies that comes with alcohol abuse in adolescents. (Adolescent Brain Development and Underage Drinking in the United States: Identifying Risks of Alcohol Use in College
Brendan Behan, an Irish poet and writer, stated, “One drink is too many for me and a thousand not enough.” For alcoholics, it is hard to consume one alcoholic beverage and after drinking ten beverages, they feel as though it is not enough and should continue drinking. This is a situation that occurs too often and is a real struggle to overcome. In fact, variations of Behan’s quote have been used in alcohol recovery programs worldwide. But why must some alcoholics use his quote to understand the power that alcohol has over them? There are three contributing factors that lead to alcoholism - mental health, genetic structure, and social environment.
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...
The article "Alcohol Abuse is a Serious Problem for Teenagers," was written by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The article states, "Nearly four million young people suffer from alcohol dependence," and the average age at which children begin to drink is as early as 13. The article goes on to say that the number of children who experiment with alcohol has been rising steadily over the years. The article points out the unfortunate effects of drinking which range from an array of physical illnesses like liver problems and cancer. From the article we learn that because teenagers tend to indulge in binge drinking, they are at higher risk to suffer the consequences of alcohol consumption. According to the article these consequences include developmental problems like lack of growth, a reduced ability to learn, and to psychological problems like depression and suicidal tendencies. Alcohol abuse in turn leads to social problems which include dropping out of school, robbery, and "risky sexual behavior." We learn that alcohol serves as a "gateway-drug," leading to more addictive drugs like cocaine. The article substantiates this claim by citing a study conducted by the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. The article also touches on the problem of alcohol used by parents though the primary focus of this piece is about teenage drinking. The purpose of the article is to jolt readers into an awareness of the magnitude of the problem of teenage drinkiing. Most people know that teenagers like to experiment, try the new and forbidden, but the Center assumes that no one is fully aware of how serious this problem can be if it is not addressed.
Although alcoholism is not necessarily constrained to one demographic, the prevalence of alcoholism, especially in underage drinkers, seems to be of growing concern. In the last five years alone, underage age drinking has seen a startling and rather significant increase. For example, in 2009, about 59.3% of high school seniors had consumed alcohol. The same poll, taken in 2014, showed that 65.7% had now participated in the consumption of alcohol, despite being underage (Whillenburg 3).
“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.
“When I was 13, my dad started drinking more and more. Every day he would come home from work and have beer, lots of it. I didn’t think much of it at first, but then he started getting more angry and violent. He would shout at my mom and me. It was like my father had gone and been replaced with another guy” says an anonymous kid who lives with an alcoholic parent in “How my dad’s drinking problem almost destroyed my family”. The kid depicts that he is so confused, angry and upset especially when his father got fired for going to work drunk. This is one of many children’s voices who suffers having an alcoholic in their family. Most of them are depressed because alcohol has destroyed their family. This is an addiction that does
Latham, P.K., & Napier, T.L. (1992). Psychosocial consequences of alcohol misuse in the family of origin. The International Journal of the Addictions, 27, 1137-1158.
Alcoholism is of interest to many people in the world today. This paper examines what has recently been learned about alcoholism, especially how serious of a disorder it actually is. Some of the aspects that are explained are what exactly alcohol abuse involves, the negative effects alcohol has on the human body, and options for treatment.
"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).
Alcohol is a very serious and dangerous drug, although it is not treated this way anymore. College students have taken drinking to a new level in which, for many, is very scary. Alcohol is much more dangerous than many would think. Kids see a night of drinking as a great way to have fun and party but do not see the consequences. Getting drunk and even blacking out can lead to many problems. When alcohol is consumed in unhealthy amounts, it can lead to not only short-term effects, but long-term ones as well.
Alcoholism is a disease which, in many cases, appears to be a genetically transmitted biochemical defect. However, in other instances, it appears to be caused by overwhelming bombardment of the physiology of the body by repeated episodes of heavy drinking resulting in the incapacity to handle alcohol normally. Psychological and/or social pressures may aggravate the disease. It is characterized by a typical progression of drinking behavior that requires an average of twelve and one-half years of drinking to reach fully developed, overt symptoms and an average of eighteen years to reach the stage of deterioration. It is seen most frequently in those of Eskimo or American Indian descent. Among those of Caucasian descent, the Irish, French and Scandinavians exhibit a far higher incidence than do other European population groups. The disease is further characterized by physical damage in all system of the body, the most serious of which is encountered in the cardiovascular system, the nervous system and the liver. In these three areas the damage may eventually prove fatal.
Throughout life people make many different decisions. People make decisions on what to wear, what to eat, what to think, what to do with their life and what will benefit them in the long run. These are decisions that may seem small but they ultimately affect the person in either a positive or a negative way later on in their life. Many decisions we make in life are not the right ones, and they can hurt us later on in life if we do not take into account the consequences of our actions. A decision that can negatively creep up on people is drinking alcohol. The negative effects of drinking alcohol outweigh the few positive health benefits that it presents.
Alcohol has affected human lives in their own society every day since its dawning in the stone age, perhaps even earlier. Though alcohol is not illegal, it was when the eighteenth amendment was first ratified because of alcoholism. Alcoholism is entitled to those who abuse alcohol by over consumption to the brink of mental illness and compulsive behavior which then ultimately results in alcohol dependency. It affects many different groups of people, but it is affecting students in high school and college. They should not be affected considering the legal age to consume alcohol is twenty-one, but they are in fact being deterred from their innocence. Society depends on those of us that do not consume alcohol to bring the social, economical, and health related problems throughout society to decrease. When government officials governing alcohol realize that alcohol needs to be more monitored and cautioned, then and only then can this steep slope finally begin to depreciate.