It was a typical Monday morning as I drove home from work, exhausted from having to perform more than twenty-four hours of duty. Windows down, Oakley sunglasses adorn my tiresome face to block the shimmer of sunlight from my sensitive eyes. Anxiously looking forward to the softness of my pillow, I pushed the accelerator to the floor propelling my car into overdrive. Zipping by the night club Area 151 was when I notice his motionless body lying on the ground. With tires screeching I quickly came to unrehearsed stop, the rush of adrenaline and flashes of my military training captivated my mind, transferring me into autopilot. As I ran over to his location yelling “hey buddy are you ok” following the ABC’s of first aid, I could not help but notice the large pool of blood from the deep laceration on his face, the twisted front wheel of his bicycle, and a strong stench of alcohol coming from his liquor stained John Sport backpack. “All my beers are broken” was all he muttered as he fell trying to regain his footing, relieved that the fellow was alive I immediately called the police. As I spoke to the paramedics on the situation, I questioned “how could someone be so intoxicated at this time of day”? The line between medical and moral views on alcoholism remains very thin, people dependent on alcohol may be considered morally weak and responsible for their misfortune. Alcohol addiction is not just whether or not a person chooses to drink, it is also a mental illness.
According to the American Medical Association (AMA) as "a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations." The consumption of alcohol though socially accepted in various countries, to celebrate t...
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... which frightened us nearly as much”(Norton P65).
Alcohol addiction thrives within a household that enables the use of alcohol, the practice sometimes fostered by the codependency of the family members constant shielding of the users negative consequences. The codependents often tend to believe that the person can simply give up drinking whenever he or she wishes. The fact, however, still remains since the abusers are acting upon their impulsiveness regardless of the consequences. Therefore, is unable to rationalize between right and wrong, and considered to be of unsound mind, making alcohol dependency an illness. Furthermore, if the causes of a mental illness is unclear, yet defined as a behavior that causes suffering, or a poor ability to function in an ordinary life whether social or physical, then why would chemical dependence not be viewed as a mental illness?
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant it has a huge impact on the lives of a drinker . In small quantities, alcohol results in a mild euphoria and usually removes inhibitions, and is relatively harmless. However, when used in excess, it has the power to change many lives in many ways. Alcohol causes a lot of trouble in a lot of peoples lives not just in the drinkers life. . Some ways it effects peoples lives include alcohol poisoning and alcohol-related traffic fatalities by individuals who are problem drinkers but who are not alcohol dependent. Because alcohol has so many negative effects on a person's mental and physical health, people should avoid the consumption of it altogether.
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.
“The harmful use of alcohol is a global problem which compromises both individual and social development. It results in 2.5 million deaths each year. An intoxicated person can harm others or put them at risk of traffic accidents or violent behavior, or negatively affect co-workers, relatives, friends or strangers. Thus, the impact of the harmful use of alcohol reaches deep into society.” This is a scary statistic which figuratively states that every thirteen seconds someone dies in a death related to alcohol. CBS news reported that more than 30 percent of American adults have abused alcohol or suffered from alcoholism at some point in their lives. This is a staggering number which is widely overlooked because alcohol is legal. Those who suffer feel helpless and trapped by their addiction being unable to stop and quit on their own. Thankfully a man named, Bill Wilson, lead a group of men to write how to become set free from the slavery of addiction.
In the year 2001 more then 800,000 injuries occurred in the United States from alcohol related accidents, while more than 40% of automobile crashes were due to the abuse of alcohol (MADD homepage). These overwhelming statistics are just a small piece of the very large puzzle that stuns the nation with deaths every year. For some people, these statistics are more than just phrases on paper they are words that are haunting reminders of the tragedies and losses they have experienced in their lifetime. One such mother was so distraught by the loss of her thirteen year old daughter Carrie Lightner, who was killed by a drunk driver, began the organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). On the other side of the country another mother was feeling the same pain as her five and a half month old daughter, Laura Lamb, took her last breath after a drunk driver struck their car. Together these women joined forces to share their sufferings with others in the same situation, while striving to prevent future accidents and conditions such as the ones they had just experienced.
What is alcohol? Where does it even come from? Is it bad? What effect does it have on the body? What are the benefits? These popular questions are the focal points of this discussion. The moral and religious debate of whether or not alcohol is wrong to consume is not in the scope of this conversation. Alcohol is a widely used substance by many people, and I intend to take an objective, factual, and practical approach to this topic.
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.
Do we really know how much damage alcohol can do to a person? Alcohol becomes an addiction. Alcohol has its benefits but it also has its downsides. It’s known that alcohol has it’s benefits but if you drink “moderately”. Alcohol can destroy your life and ruin your family. People tend to abuse alcohol, people make bad choices when it comes to alcohol. Alcohol makes you act a certain way when you're intoxicated. Alcohol can cause liver damage and many other health problems. The background of this essay is that I can relate to alcohol usage. Alcohol creates emotional, physical, mental and family problem to a person that abuses alcohol usage.
PURPOSE: To persuade my audience NOT to drink and drive Every person is accountable for his or her own “right to drink”. Failure to treat this or any “right” responsibly has consequences. The person’s “right” can and should be taken away when the failure to act responsibly endangers others.
This article is aimed towards a large study to estimate the global burden of disease attributable to alcohol. The article tries to identify the relationships between average volume consumption, patterns of drinking, disease, and injury outcomes. The article also gives many numbers to back up its points.
“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.
Generally speaking, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) references substance dependence (in this case, alcohol) as a cluster of cognitive, behavioral, and physiological symptoms that shows that the person is continuing use of the substance even with adverse effects on the individual’s life. Specifically, for a person to be diagnosed with substance dependence they must show at least three of the following symptoms; tolerance, withdrawal, substance being taken in larger amounts of over a longer period of time than intended, an unsuccessful desire or effort to control the use of the substance, there is a great deal of time devoted to the drug, important social, occupational, or recreational activities are given up or reduced due to the substance, and the individual continues use of the substance even with the knowledge that the substance is causing physical or psychological problems (APA, 2000).
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 ...
Alcohol related mortality rates are caused by alcoholism. Alcoholism is defined as an addiction to alcohol consumption. Alcohol has existed since the creation of agriculture thousands of years ago. Agriculture provided individuals with access to alcohol and it was not until developed research realized it was an addictive substance. The production and availability of alcohol has led to the rise of addiction. Addiction is a growing problem in current society. One of the major triggers of addiction is known to be stress. Stress is a major risk factor for many health related issues in society today. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has created a medical diagnosis known as alcohol use disorder or AUD. They use a Diagnostic
Alcoholism is defined as a pattern of drinking in which harmful consequences result for the drinker, yet, they continue to drink. There are two types of drinkers. The first type, the casual or social drinker, drinks because they want to. They drink with a friend or with a group for pleasure and only on occasion. The other type, the compulsive drinker, drinks because they have to, despite the adverse effects that drinking has on their lives.
Many people in the United States enjoy a drink of their favorite alcoholic beverage. It could be a nice ice cold beer after a hard day of work or going to the bar and enjoying a few shots or mixed drinks with friends. Drinking alcohol is a common way to mingle with friends and take the edge off a difficult day. However, there are dangers involved with alcohol since it does dampen the body’s ability to cope with new information. Alcohol becomes a poison to the body when consumed in large quantities. The biggest danger is not to the driver after they become inebriated, but comes to anyone the drunk driver comes in contact with. A sober person can be dangerous just by being distracted, but a drunk driver’s ability to cope with changing situations and distractions is one of the biggest hazards on today’s roads. Some individuals believe that they are not as impaired as what they are led to believe from government ads and the many videos that show what can happen to someone who is drinking and driving. Although, there are many policies in place to advocate against drunk driving, there are those who would endanger themselves and others with their thoughtless actions when they jump into the driver’s seat of a vehicle. Drinking and driving should never be combined because a person who has been drinking does not have the ability to use all mental faculties unimpaired, many people have been killed, injured, or psychologically hurt by a drunk driver, many men and women do not know the difference weight and gender have on the body’s ability to process alcohol, and the financial and legal trouble that is awaiting for those convicted by a DUI.