blog




  • Essay / The causes and effects of alcoholism and how to seek help

    Seeking help in recovery can be a difficult task for someone trying to live a sober life. For some, it is a life-changing experience that they cannot understand and often struggle with. Addiction can become so severe that an individual can in the blink of an eye become a completely different person than they were a minute ago. Alcohol addiction is a very serious thing and although it is becoming an increasingly common addiction these days, awareness and support groups are mushrooming to ensure that others do not have to live the things a recovering alcoholic has experienced. This article will draw on textbook readings that will further explain alcohol and drug addiction issues that accompany it and how treatment is affected. Other sources will include eight required readings that will connect ideas and support issues related to alcohol use and how medical approaches treat and identify problems. To continue the sources, two conferences will be included as well as the film which was used for the film report and the interview report. Each source will help to understand the importance of alcohol and the danger of drinking alcohol as well as the possible causes that could cause someone to start abusing this substance. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The subtopic will be about alcohol and addiction. Hart and Ksir describe that the term alcohol comes from an Arabic word meaning "finely divided spirit" and originally referred to the portion of wine collected by distillation – the essence, or "spirit" of the wine (187 ). When alcohol was first discovered, it was used to study the effects of treatment in certain medical conditions. However, over the years it has become more and more common for people to drink it on social occasions or to use it to help relax the mind after a long day at work. One fact about alcohol is that it is not just a liquid that you would call vodka. Hart and Ksir explained that drinks such as beer, wine, scotch, and other components of these types of drinks are considered alcoholic beverages and have a significant effect on people who drink too much of them daily (188- 190). Even the smallest amount of alcohol found in a drink can be dangerous, but with the necessary precautions to know their limit, they are able to know when they have had enough whereas alcoholics do not see this and continue to drink. From the following information which now makes us aware of the danger of alcohol when consumed in excess of the recommended consumption, it is often assumed that it could be a psychological disorder in someone 'one who can drink a lot but does not feel the effects of the behaviors after drinking. In an interview I had with an acquaintance, he stated that “alcoholism is a mental illness” (Parrell, 2015). As he deepened his perception of why he considered it a mental disorder, he began to explain that an alcoholic doesn't know when to stop; When sober, they know they need to be in control at all times and cannot afford to fall back into unhealthy patterns. Therefore, if an alcoholic takes even one sip of a drink, he instantly loses control and instead of saying "I have control", the alcohol changes his perceptionto “you’re okay, you can have one more drink” ( Parrell, 2015). The possibility that a psychological disorder could be one of the triggers for alcohol consumption is something that many researchers and psychologists are still trying to identify today. Although there are theories that support the idea that one of the causes of alcoholism is a psychological disorder, there are cases where a certain trauma in an individual's life attracts them to alcohol . An example of a traumatic event in historyThe Ojibwa of Grassy Narrows faced large amounts of mercury water being dumped into the waters they use and the river system having to be shut down. Due to the toxins in the water, fish and other food sources became infected with the poison, causing many illnesses and deaths in the community. Therefore, due to such events, speculation arose that around 35% of the population died within three months, causing a crisis and creating a drinking spree that hit Grassy Narrows "like a tornado" (Kai, 29) . A large number of reasons behind alcohol dependence constitute a significant part of psychological dysfunction. Whether it's a mental disorder or trauma that's too big for an individual to handle, these small issues can lead to serious consequences for an individual later if they use alcohol as a source of relief. In addition, alcohol dependence being a mental disorder, in the case of a crime committed while intoxicated, it is a problem that is increasingly discussed in today's society, because more violent crimes are occurring and prosecutors are trying to figure out how to make a case for defendants. for their actions. A man named David Musto, an American expert on American drug policy and the war on drugs, who served as a government advisor, wrote "The American Disease" and he described how the concept of “deviance” as a category, created by the majority of society to describe certain minorities on criteria perhaps unrelated to “justice”, made the perception of unusual or atypical behavior more realistic (237). So this means that if a crime were committed with a person involved in alcohol intoxication, depending on their history if they were convicted or previously detained for possession of certain substances or crimes, that in some cases they would not be charged for crimes. they are committed. Musto explained how this has happened since the 1960s and how in 1962 the Supreme Court's addiction was considered a disease and not a crime (237). Additionally, in some cases, individuals on trial for crimes they have committed are often given ultimatums, such as having to go to a court-ordered facility to become sober. Enrolling in a program that will help a person live a sober and clean life can cause a lot of anxiety in a person who feels they are not yet ready to live such a lifestyle. While there are many programs that are beneficial and help individuals with their addiction issues, one of the most effective programs and generally known for helping is Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). An MD and a Ph.D. professor of medicine named Miriam Rodin, explains how programs like these work better and why they help more people recover than other programs they might enroll in or join. Rodin enlightens us that the methods behind AA programs are intended to help individuals feel safe and welcomed. Upon entering themeeting, a chairperson calls the meeting by first welcoming everyone and introducing himself. Then the presidents will do some readings and often prayers. They will then begin to introduce each speaker and allow them to discuss their stories and to ensure that the speaker does not feel judged, the chairs make the environment as friendly beforehand and like to warm up beforehand by saying things that make everyone in the room feel comfortable. (43-45). Hart and Ksir believe that AA is now considered an “important step in treatment” (412). Alcoholics have an anonymity that they keep to themselves and do not share it with others because this anonymity constitutes a large part of their identity. However, in AA programs, anonymity is broken to make people aware of the danger of alcohol dependence. A twelve-step program designed to help the individual slowly begin to live a sober life. Hart and Ksir support the idea that the person addicted to alcohol is considered responsible for managing the illness on a daily basis, but should not feel guilty for being different (412). Even if an AA person has sponsors, they must begin to learn to be dependent on them, because no one else can help them except their own being. The most key element of self-help groups is the individual who wants to receive help. An alcoholic is a victim of himself because he is his own greatest enemy. Joseph Gusfield, historical sociologist and leader in transforming the study of alcohol consumption in the United States, explored how moral issues were socially constructed and determined that one of the factors in alcohol abuse Alcohol was the enemy drinker. He stated that "the demand for laws to limit alcohol consumption seems to arise from situations in which drinkers possess power as a definitive social and political group and, in their validity, the norms of abstinence" (180) . Thus, indicating that if a person does not agree with something, they will rebel. During the conference, there was a discussion about the universe of norms and how political, religious, self-organized, and biologically based norms were all contributions between individuals. For example, the difference between a social control agent and a deviant has been explained. Agents of social control were part of society, like law enforcement, the federal constitution, and other systems of which people are a part; deviants would be criminals, drug addicts, homeless, terrorists, etc. (Maida, 2015). If an individual does not feel part of society or is systematically judged by society, they will turn to a substance with which they feel well connected and in the case of an alcoholic, alcohol is their solution, l Alcohol is his pleasure. Although there are self-help groups that help individuals live a sober life, there are others who are unwilling to seek help and continue to drink alcohol for pleasure. The danger is that when a person drinks too much alcohol it can actually affect their body biologically and in many cases these bodies end up in the hospital if they are not dead. In class, we discussed the campaign against stigma II: the health meeting and the role of the patient. In this lecture, we had learned that individuals should know their role and not get sick and if they get sick, seek help from a doctor (Maida, 2015). Clinicians have the power of authority because they have the knowledge, experience, and skills that enable them to help a sick person and provide diagnosis and treatment. This type of powerHowever, depending on the patient, not everyone wants to receive help from a clinician because some may not be from the country and therefore, lack knowledge and have uncertainty about what the doctor tells them, especially if the language the doctor speaks is not his or her primary language. Additionally, the main issue why so many people avoid hospitals in general is their insurance company (Maida, 2015). We've learned that insurance is the biggest reason we go to the hospital or not because we don't know how much everything is going to cost. A person who drinks heavily and continuously can develop serious health problems and may have to spend thousands of dollars on medical trips if they do not control their amount of alcohol or seek help to live a sober life. This issue of insurance is also closely related to the research of William White, a senior research consultant, who studied the rhetoric of dependency. White concluded that while private institutions such as insurance companies almost universally benefit from a very narrow definition of billable diagnoses, federal and state government agencies responsible for funding drug treatment have fairly mixed interests ( 54). Insurance companies make it even more difficult for those trying to live a sober life because they have to pay for everything they do as part of their treatment. In institutions, whether by court order or by a doctor, institutionalized treatment often never helps an alcoholic or motivates them to live a clean life, because they tend to feel the need to drink more while hospitalized in an institution. Such facilities are known as mental institutions, prisons also have a place for people struggling with addiction and even missionaries provide assistance in treatment. How a patient recovers will determine their level of sobriety; if someone is considered to have progressed, even if they are not released immediately, there is no need to contain them while those who refuse or fight are locked up. A Ph.D. from the National Opinion Research Center, analyzed the facility routing dilemma and wanted to understand how patients responded to treatment. What has been discovered is that the different way in which an alcoholic is treated in each behavioral context is that these approaches arise from obvious differentiation in the characteristics of drinkers and in their response to rehabilitation efforts; thus, some drinkers might respond better to punishment, some need help to dry out before they can stop drinking, some need self-awareness, while others thrive in an environment of strict rules and of spiritual advice (Wiseman, 53). Wiseman then concluded that each institution or facility is assigned special areas where they would force patients to do things. She believed that the things patients experience add more fear and anxiety to them and that is why they would rather run away and continue drinking than seek help. Not seeking help causes many social problems. In the movie “The Basketball Diaries,” the main character and his friends looted residential neighborhoods and stole money from strangers walking the streets of New York. They were all part of the social norms that respected the community, but after substance abuse and lots of drinking, the idea of ​​threatening people and running away from their problems was normal when in reality that was all the opposite. Finally, the characters are?