Alcohol Dependency And Its Effects On The Community

Alcoholism is a long standing health issue, and there has been ongoing research to seek out drugs that could effectively help to treat alcoholism, acute and long-term. According to an article by Johnson, Swift, Addolorato, Ciraulo, and Myrick (2005), a challenge has been to identify medications that not only reduce the rewarding effects of alcohol, but the dependence, post cessation craving, and the withdrawal craving.

The principle of treatment therapy is to helping the patients to reduce problematic drinking, deterring relapse back to heavy drinking and achieving and maintaining abstinence from alcohol (Edmunds, 2014). An oral naltrexone (ReVia) or injectable Vivitrol, Acamprosate and Disulfiram are used for the treatment of alcohol abuse (Edmunds, 2014). Disulfiram are used more often if unpleasant physical symptoms when alcohol is ingested but is reported to be more expensive and have reported to have adverse reaction to the patients (Edmunds, 2014). Benzodiazepines such as Lorazepam and Diazepam are also widely used for treatment of alcohol withdrawal. With the side effects and overdosing of benzodiazepines remains controversial in treating alcohol withdrawal and is always in need to monitor the patient for abuse (SAMHSA, 2013). Additionally, social detoxification and lifestyle management would benefit the whole treatment process such as referring the patient to social support groups and encouraging the family to support the patient during the treatment

Alcohol Use Disorder, most commonly known as Alcohol Abuse or Alcohol Dependence, is widely known as problem that occurs with individuals who consumes an enormous amount of alcohol on a regular basis often in a single use. The individual is consumed with the thought of drinking most of the time and often feel as though they need it to continue with living their daily lives, even though, they are not really living at all because the enormous amount of alcohol causes a dysfunction for their daily tasks. It inhibits their ability to take care of their family, have social relationships and performing activities at work. It is believed that genetics can play a massive role towards an individual developing an Alcohol Use Disorder.

Alcohol dependence treatments include naltrexone, acamrosate and disulfiram. Naltrexone inhibits opioid receptors that play a role in the pleasure effect of drinking and craving for alcohol. Acamprosate is believed to have effects on reducing withdrawal symptoms like insomnia, anxiety, restlessness and depression. This may be appropriate for patients who are severely alcohol dependent. Disulfiram impedes the breakdown of alcohol which results in vexing symptoms like nausea, flushing, and palpitations if the patient consumes alcohol (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2009)

At the beginning of the 21st century, it was estimated that the annual number of deaths related to excessive drinking exceeded 100,000 in the United States alone (“Alcoholism”). In fact, in 1995, 140 million Americans were using alcohol is an abusing way (Ammerman, Ott, and Tarter). “It is a chronic and progressive illness that involves the excessive inappropriate ingestion of ethyl alcohol” (“Alcoholism”). Equally, it can be characterized as an emotional and many times, physical dependence on alcohol. It is thought to come from a combination of a wide range of physiological, social, and genetic factors (“Alcoholism”). Even

This work was discussed and summarized in a book titled. The Disease Concept of Alcoholism, by E.M.Jellinek, published in 1960. Sufferers of this disease often drink until intoxicated, on a daily basis, causing all sorts on health problems. Cirrhosis of the liver, brain damage, and organ failure are just a few of the effects of this disease of the body and mind called alcoholism.

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.

Relaxation, celebrating, and socializing are often reasons people engage in alcohol. However, the enjoyment of alcohol in moderation may become difficult for some individuals to manage when using alcohol as coping mechanisms or scapegoat, for other underlining issues: personal, social and work-related concerns. Unfortunately, lack of proper management may or can result into alcoholism. According to the DSM-V alcoholism is diagnosed as alcohol use disorder or alcohol addiction, in which a person becomes physically and psychologically dependent on alcohol to the point that he or she cannot function without it (American Psychiatric Association,2013).

There is some blmjcam research that studies about alcohol addiction. Alcohol consumption will have played an important role in the injury, the approximately 7,900 people died due to alcohol drinking in the United state every year and 35% of deaths are among young people aged 12-20 years (Rhoades,Jernigan,&Ph.D,2013,p.116). There are several factors which influence to alcohol addiction as well as the social structure and the market factor. Alcohol is one of the products that are advertised all over the world, resulting in the under youth obtains the media increases (Fielder,Dondvan,&Ouschan,2009,p.1157). Stress is increasingly important in recent years. From the clinical studies found that stress is a major factor of drinking alcohol that increasing

Physicians have several options for treating alcohol use disorders. Behavioral therapy can help alcoholics recognize and avoid high-risk situations, and referral to programs that provide peer support, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, can increase a person’s chance of recovery. Therapists can also prescribe medications that decrease the appeal of alcohol. Studies show disulfiram, acamprosate and naltrexone help most people abstain from alcohol. Disulfiram causes unpleasant side effects such as sweating, nausea, headache, vomiting and chest pain when patients consume alcohol. The severity of the effects differs among patients, and is correlated with the amount of alcohol consumed. Naltrexone inhibits euphoric effects or feelings of intoxication

Alcoholism is a prominent substance abuse issue in Western society. The treatment method of controlled drinking as opposed to abstinence is a continuing cause of controversy in alcohol research to this day. The US is different from Europe in its acceptance of controlled drinking as a goal of treatment: “in the US alcohol dependence is typically depicted as a ‘recurring disease’ and the ‘successful abstainer’ as a ‘recovering’ though never ‘recovered’ alcoholic” (Coldwell, 2005). Depending on the alcohol abuse patient’s individual characteristics, either controlled drinking or abstinence is chosen as a treatment.

Alcohol and drug addiction are two important topics in today’s society. Alcohol and drug addiction affects people of different ages with different backgrounds and ethnicities. There are many researches and studies regarding underlying reasons and roots of these issues. Just as many other addictions, these addictions have psychological, biological, and sociological roots to it. This paper will discuss research findings regarding the main points, roots and underlying reasons of alcohol and drug addiction mostly in adolescents, and it also provides prevention, solutions, and recommendations to these issues in the society.

People drink in many ways, for many different reasons. We drink socially, to gain acceptance into a group. We drink alone to ease stress, to cope with our problems, or we “drink because we like the taste or how it makes us feel”#. Often drinking is a learned behavior, starting out as a social drinker; you quickly become psychologically and physically dependent. When someone reaches this stage they are often classified as an alcoholic. To an alcoholic, drinking becomes a compulsion; they cannot stop themselves from having another drink, like a social drinker can. In many cases alcoholics don’t even have to drink continuously in order to be an alcoholic. One the problems of alcohol addiction is that it’s something that doesn’t just effect the individual but it effects, friends and family as well. Spouse abuse, child abuse and dysfunctional family relationships can all be influenced by alcohol abuse.

Again the term addiction has highly been debated upon and it has been concluded that the use of alcohol to that degree where it becomes a nuisance, is addiction. The laws, rules and other methods through which the government tries to affect the individual health related behavior, is called the public health policy. Science provides help to public health policy in three ways namely, it shows the actual extent of the problem, it gives chance for evaluating options of policy making and it examines the effectiveness of those policies that already exist. Alcoholism leads to a variety of diseases. In the long run it may result in death, heart problems, swelling of liver and pancreas, depression, anxiety, suicide, increased occurrence of cancer, nutritional deficiency and sexual dysfunction. These were the physical part. But there also exists certain social problems created due to alcoholism. This includes unemployment, marital conflict which sometimes goes to the extent of divorce, financial problems, being convicted of committing the crime of drunken driving or some other public disorder, loss of accommodation and not being respected by others , to name a few. The alcoholics not only make their own lives hell but also affect the family members near them. Their children are also affected greatly and they are mentally disturbed which makes them sick many a times. The parliaments and governments have formed various policies for the decrease the bad

In this modern era alcohol has become an inevitable ingredient in all our festivals and holiday parties. It is hard to find a get-together party or a family function without alcohol. Beverage shops are crowded not only in weekends but also every evening. Addiction to alcohol has become a common phenomenon. In this chapter we see the brief history of drinking and about the chemistry of alcohol, characteristic features of an alcoholic, the meaning of alcoholism etc. In our society we can see that people are taking alcohol without considering their age and gender. Certain misleading wrong concepts about alcohol make us think that alcohol is somehow good and thus we may fall in the black hands of alcohol. It is good to study about the uses of alcohol, different kinds of alcohol, different patterns of drinking, different stages of alcoholic addiction etc. This very first chapter gives a brief exposition on all these aspects.