Alcohol Dependency And Addiction

Alcoholism is one of the most intractable and pervasive psychological disorders known. Though the negative health consequences of alcohol are widely understood, and, if anything, the social consequences of alcoholism are even more widely acknowledged, it seems that no matter what steps are taken by public health officials or private organizations, no strategy can ever be fully developed for eradicating alcoholism. There are a number of reasons why this is true. This paper will explore some of the social and medical problems created by alcohol, but in it I will also consider the role of alcohol in my personal life and the way I have seen the disease play out in the lives of people around me. The paper will also examine the social and political responses to the problem of alcoholism and attempt to determine where productive approaches have been taken and areas where mistakes have been made. Before discussing such wide-ranging questions, it is important to understand what alcoholism is and how it is manifested.

As of January 2015 alcohol related deaths were represented as accountable for approximately 6% of deaths worldwide. That is 3.3 million deaths from alcohol related car accidents to alcohol poisoning. The consumption of alcohol can be tied with being a factor in a variety of diseases, disabilities, tragedies, and crimes. An estimate of over 76 million people suffer from alcohol dependence and abuse. Consumption of alcohol can become a serious threat to personal and public health when an individual engages in activities such as binge drinking or drinking while driving. In other words, harmful drinking is anytime an individual becomes unable to have full perception and control of his/her surroundings because of alcohol. Harmful drinking can also be defined as a pattern of alcohol consumption causing health problems that are directly connected to alcohol.

Many people have turned to substance abuse or experience chemical dependency for a variety of reasons. Nurses experience chemical dependency as well. According to Kunyk (2013), “healthcare professionals, including nurses, are also potentially vulnerable to substance use disorders regardless of any special knowledge, skills or insights they might have owing to their education and professional experiences” (p. 54). This paper will define what chemical dependency is, report causes of chemical dependency in nurses, describe behaviors associated with chemical dependency, and explain what needs to be done upon reentry into the work place.

Drinking at a young age can lead to brain damage and terrible decisions. Alcohol affects these three main parts of human development, the brain, liver, and hormonal system. In addition, drinking alcohol actually shortens a person’s lifespan. By slowly damaging your body with alcohol you are taking more and more time out of your life meaning you might not get to see the future you always wished for. As stated by thefix.com “Most are fully aware that heavy drinking is hard on the body, but a new study revealed alcoholism actually reduces one’s lifespan by an average of 7.6 years.” (Alcoholism Shortens Lifespan By Nearly a Decade, Study Finds. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2017, from https://www.thefix.com/content/alcoholism-shortens-lifespan-nearly-decade-study-finds) and pbskids.org also states “Adults have lived longer, and so they are supposed to be better at making decisions and judgments, like whether one has had too much to drink.” (It's My Life. Body. Alcohol. Your Questions | PBS Kids GO! (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2017, from http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/body/alcohol/article8.html). Drinking also, damages the gums and may produce gum disease. Many teens care about their appearance while drinking they are ruining their teeth and could end up with gum disease. All in all, drinking at a young age can affect your body and destroy your

Underage drinking is a very eminent problem for Americans today. Some may not know that the human brain continues to develop until the age of twenty-five. Underage drinking can weaken neurological development, which could cause minors to make bad decisions, have memory loss, slower thought processes, and even acquire irreversible brain damage. Drinking when your body and mind are not fully developed can leave damaging effects on a person’s social abilities, neurological abilities, and overall health.

Drinking under the age of twenty-one can lead to many developmental issues, alcoholism (alcohol addiction), and lowering the legal drinking age would be medically irresponsible. Lots of research shows that the human brain continues to develop well into the twenties, while it develops it establishes important communication connectors and the brain continues to refine itself. Consuming alcohol throughout this developmental period can cause very serious damage, gaps, and failure to the brains development and maturity. Alcoholism is common amongst young drinkers since adolescent bodies are busy maturing physically along with mentally. Studies show that teens are commonly more affected by alcohol than adults because the pleasure center of the brain is more responsive than the executive descion making part, which leaves teens to be more prone to addiction. Lowering the drinking age would be incredibly medically irresponsible, due to all the damage consuming alcohol before full development can cause lasting impairments. The average adolescent who engages in alcohol related activities are more likely to be violent, attempt suicide, develop alcohol dependency and have a less functioning long-term memory. Consuming alcohol can interfere with the frontal lobe, which is in charge of emotion regulation, organization, and can lead to chronic problems later

The alcohol abuse definition is similar to alcoholism in that in both cases alcohol is causing harm to the drinker 's life and those around them. The difference is that those who abuse alcohol, but are not yet alcoholics, typically can put some limitations on their drinking and they have not yet become physically addicted to alcohol. The key to the alcohol abuse definition is not in the amount of alcohol consumed but on how it affects an individual. Alcohol abuse is a psychiatric diagnosis in which there is recurring harmful use of ethanol despite its negative consequence. In 2013 it was reclassified as alcohol use disorder along with alcohol dependence. There are two types of alcohol abuse, those who have anti-social and pleasure

Drinking alcohol when you're a teen develops brain problems, your brain is developing until your in your twenties. Alcohol affects the brain development which causes many problems (Underage Drinking). Teenagers happen to be more vulnerable to becoming addicted to alcohol because of the pleasure center in the brain. Drinking relaxes you and releases endorphins throughout the body causing teens to easily get addicted. Drinking alcohol causes you to make poor decisions which results in risky behavior. For example, Alcohol increases the risks for physical and sexual assault. Drinking puts you more at a risk to be a victim of assault or even commit it. Alcohol doesn't just make the risks for assault increase, it also ruins your life. Alcohol ruins relationships between people who care about you. “I have destroyed two relationships because I hurt them so much through my drinking, but I put drinking first. My family are so hurt that their daughter's killing herself for apparently no reason” (The Truth about Alcohol). Jamie use to be a teenage alcoholic, she said that alcohol wasn't just ruining her life, it was ruining her family’s life too. Making poor decisions doesn't just affect the person who is drinking but it eventually affects their family and the people around them. Jamie knew that her family was hurt by the choices she was making, she still continued to drink, she was addicted and

The term “alcoholism” describes a drinker who is mentally and physically dependent on alcohol, and who would most likely have withdrawal symptoms upon trying to quit. This dependence prevents most alcoholics from being able to control when they drink and how much they drink. For that reason, alcoholics usually drink to excess despite the consequences. Alcoholism, like any addiction, is a chronic disorder which involves continued use despite negative consequences and requires ongoing treatment and management. This research paper will cover many aspects of alcoholism including the causes and effects of drinking and different treatment approaches.

Ms. A is a 24-year-old, Caucasian female. She was referred for a psychological evaluation by her therapist for her excessive use of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Disorder. Additionally, Ms. A stated she has been experiencing a loss of interest, low self-esteem and feeling anxious. She complains that her struggle with substance abuse has negatively impacted her interpersonal relationships, behavioral, emotional as well as her health. The purpose of the current evaluation is to (1) evaluate her level of functioning, (2) determine diagnostic impression and (3) recommend relevant treatment and service needs.

According to “Mothers on drunk driving”http://www.madd.org moving the drinking age to 21 has saved 17,000 lives since it has been in effect. According to the “annual review of public health”http://www.annualreviews.org/journal/publhealth Alcohol has contributed to 1,700 deaths, 599,000 injuries, and 97,000 sexual assault cases. There's a part of the brain that rapidly changes throughout your teenage years. It's call the prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex has to do with decision making and judgment. When it's not completely developed their is more of a chance to make the wrong decision, And being a teenager I know that I don't always make the right decisions in life but it's fine because everyone makes mistakes. Some seem to mess up a little more often than others. Consuming alcohol while your brain is still developing can the chance of having alcohol dependency. They might not develop right away as research states it usually happens down the road closer to the age of 25. Alcohol dependency is a previous psychiatric diagnosis in which an individual is physically or psychologically dependent upon drinking alcohol. There have been a fes rebel states that have lowered the drinking age for a small amount of time and they notice a increase in fatal crashes in the 18-20 year olds. Raising the drinking age to 21 has decreased crashes in 18-20 year olds by 13% which is approximately 27,775

It is no secret that people drink alcohol before they turn 21. Apart from being illegal, underage drinking poses a high risk to both the individual and society. Adolescents also are vulnerable to alcohol–induced brain damage, which could contribute to poor performance at school or work. In addition, youthful drinking is associated with an increased likelihood of developing alcohol abuse or dependence later in life.

The effects of drinking can change from person to person depending on the personality of the drinker. Some of the people who drink have tempers or they may have violent outbursts, some may assault, just may relax and make themselves comfortable, but there are the dumb drinkers who get so drunk they will jump off a house if their friends tell them it would be funny and convinces them to do it. Drinking too much can weaken your immune system, making your body a much easier target for disease. Most people drink to forget something that has happened to them or they are trying to get rid of the pain and suffering they are going through. The effects of drinking under the age twenty-one is the increased risk of physical or sexual assault. Drinking

The AMA (American Medical Association) report done on liquor repercussions on the mind indicates that adolescence is the period where our brain goes through the most important transformations; hence, the intake of alcoholic drinks may result to: visual spatial, memory lacks which may produce poor school performances, social problems, depressions, suicidal thoughts and violence (USA Today Magazine). In fact, this explains that young people who have a tendency of consuming alcohol at a tender age have a great risk of experimenting lapses in judgement and violence

Alcohol can really affect the growing and developmental process for teens. It can stop the brain from developing really hurting them for the future. It can also hinder the maturation of new brain constituents. This means that the connectors between the brain and nerve cells can stop developing and old ones can be torn apart (Spear). This can lead to a change in the brains thinking making teens more inclined to try risky behaviors. Also the prefrontal cortex is altered from drinking. This makes memory and rule