Alcoholism Alcohol consumption was initiated on reservations when traders in the nineteenth century started to offer it to oppressed and depressed Native Americans. Natives represent, in fact, the ethnic group with the highest degree of alcohol consumption in the United States. Confinement on reservations after displacement brought for Native Americans identity conflicts and assimilation problems. This situation promoted the abuse of liquor to mitigate the psychological pain inflicted by the dispossession of the land and enclosure in a limited and controlled space. Both the stereotype of the “Noble Savage” and the “drunken Indian” are recurrent figures in mainstream literature of the US.
Native American Literature of the 70s
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For instance: Tayo, Abel (House Made of Dawn), Gordie Kashpaw (Love Medicine) and the characters of Winter in the Blood (mostly all characters of Welsh’s fiction) present similar characteristics as assimilated and alienated Indians: they have lost their “Indianess” as a result of their mixed-blood inheritance. Abel’s alcoholism makes him react violently to tribal ways and, thus it takes him to prison, charged with murder: “For him (Abel) alcohol is no tranquilizer, but a fire that feeds his sullen, speechless rage until he explodes in a violence that results in his near-fatal beating by the culebra policeman Martinez” (Allen, 139-140). He will die understanding tribal ways but unable to deal with the role they play in his mixed blood life. Tayo suffers post-traumatic stress disorder as a consequence of the death of his cousin and the horrors of war and finds consolation in drinking. But Tayo’s problems with alcohol started long before upon discovering his legacy and feeling tribal rejection in a pattern started by his mother, a Laguna woman who, in mating with a white man, lost her soul and life. Death found her alone, drunk and without shelter. Abel must get reconciled with his past unless he wants to be found dead alone in an alley or frozen in a blizzard like June Morrisey in Love Medicine or the father of the protagonist of Winter in the Blood. June became
I’m sure I’m not the first to write about this and I’m certain I’m far from the last.
Alcohol abuse is a serious health problem when it comes to college students. "The average amount of binge drinkers on college campuses is 50% of men and 39% of women" (<a href="http://www.oregoncounseling.org/ArticlesPapers/">http://www.oregoncounseling.org/ArticlesPapers/</a>). There are various reasons why students drink and serious short and long term effects on the body and mind. Alcoholism is a serious problem for college students and there are many actions being taken to try to lessen the problem among colleges throughout the country.
Alcoholism is a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. Alcoholism is a complex disease with physical, social and psychological consequences, but it can be treated through detoxification and anti-anxiety drugs. What will be explained in this essay is basically the history of alcohol, signs of one possibly being an alcoholic, possibilities to why one becomes an alcoholic, and treatments for it.
Alcoholism is perhaps the most common form of drug abuse in North America today. Scientists report that the reason alcohol is so popular to people is because it is pleasant, relaxing, and is considered a "social beverage." But what individuals often do not take in to consideration is the fact that alcohol dulls the brain and confuses physical reactions. This can lead to numerous injuries, accidents, and death. Alcohol affects every part of an alcoholic's life: their body, their mind and their family life. The body has a natural chemical that gives a feeling of a "natural high". It happens in the presence of a life-endangering situation. This chemical is adrenaline, which is meant to prepare the body for defense in
In today's modern society alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse has become one of the most complex, life-threatening issues. Most depressed individuals usually indulge themselves in bars or pubs with their alcohols to escape from their stressful life. It has become increasingly alarming how alcohol does not only attract the adults, but also teenagers these days. "Research has shown that approximately 14 million Americans (7.4%) of the population meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse or alcoholism" ("Facts about Alcohol"). Alcohol addicts may encounter social impact such as loss of respect from others who may see the problem as self- inflictive and easily avoided. Repeated use of alcohol over a period of time can result in
The consumption of alcohol in the college environment has been growing in popularity for as long as it has been available. College students, whether freshman or upperclassmen, spend the entire week yearning for the weekend where they are free from the responsibilities that keep them sober. New students desire to be accepted by their peers, and consuming what is offered to them provides them a with a one-way ticket to social adoption, or so it seems. But what if students are not drinking solely for social purposes? What if alcohol and drunkenness offered the student a method to forget about the papers that are due on Monday, their professors, and their grades and
Numerous treatment methods are constantly being discovered and developed to help start alcohol and drug abusers down the path of sobriety. There are many different methods available to help addicts who need help or to help addicts who want help. Our system is diverting from a punishing approach to a treatment approach. This paper will examine the most popular inpatient and outpatient options available throughout the nation. The types of addicts who normally file into these types of settings will be exam e, and The Way of Life. May I do your will always” (Alcoholics). These prayers are recited by the addict and must be experienced as well as nurtured to successfully break your addiction and never go back once you have completed the twelve
Alcoholism has plagued individuals throughout history, and continues to be a strong underlying theme embedded into the lives of patients in counseling and treatment. For nearly a century, there have been treatment and recovery programs which focus on alcoholics themselves. But what about the family members who suffer the effects of living with someone who is an alcoholic? Often, children spend their entire youth and young adulthood dealing with the repercussions of having a parent who is under the influence. The research pertaining to adult children of alcoholics (ACoAs) is relatively new; the concept was recently coined in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was only then that researchers began to investigate the devastating and long-term effects parental alcoholism has on the rest of the family. Some researchers suggest that all ACoAs need treatment to some degree (Cooper, 1992).
Consuming alcohol within the community leads to an exorbitance of deleterious consequences. Imbibing alcohol should be verboten from public use within the community. Controvertibly, when some people decide to imbibe alcohol within the vicinity of a municipal setting, they’re imperiling the lives of others. In light of substantiation, the DMV website elucidates that, “DUI remain the single most astronomically immense cause of automobile cognate fatalities within the state of California with 63.5% of motor conveyance-cognate deaths triggered by drunk drivers” (“Drunk Driving Information”). Contrariwise, in the wake of the incrementing alcohol-cognate catastrophes, a few people have the propensity to believe that alcohol ingestion within a
for the hypothesis. The same can be said for research by Fink et al., (2016). There was no significant evidence that demonstrated a positive correlation between alcohol use by month and deployment into a combat area (Fink et al., 2017). The final suggestion was that factors outside of deployment as a whole are what change alcohol use. Although the findings did not strongly support the hypothesis, significant findings about post-deployment drinking behaviors were shown. According to the study, participants decreased their alcohol consumption by 7 drinks a month from 1 year to 2 years after deployment. In figures, the monthly drinking average decreased from 23 to 16.1 (Fink et al., 2016) This contributes to the findings by Trautmann et
Alcoholism is a very serious disease, which can cause illness, death, injuries, schooling problems, family breakups, and crime. It is a proven fact the alcohol kills more people than any other illegal drugs combined. However, alcohol courses freely through American society, from college bars to corporate lunches. In a recent journal article by The Scientist, it is stated, "Technology shows alcohol abuse changes brain's molecular programming and circuitry? (Scientist). Thus revealing that alcohol is a quick fix that will hurt us all in the long run.
Most Canadians drink in moderation, however men and women of all ages, races, religions and socio-economic backgrounds are vulnerable to alcohol problems (CCSA, 2004, 4). Excessive drinking as defined by Neil Kessel and Henry Watson, a team of British psychiatrists, is marked by a obsession with drinking, a need for alcohol in order to function at work or in society, followed by guilt and dishonesty with regards to the consumption of alcohol (Bauer, 1983, 12). Traditionally, alcoholism and excessive drinking problems were treated as an illness with the assumption that it afflicted only men. Problem drinking in women however, is beginning to draw increasing
Alcohol is the number one drug problem among America’s youth. More senior high school students use alcohol than any other psychoactive drug. Family doctors, pediatricians, schoolteachers, and parents know that alcohol is overwhelmingly the drug of choice among today’s youth, although trendier substances such as cocaine are often given more attention in the headlines (Carla Felsted, p. vii). Furthermore, it is widely acknowledged that drinking alcohol is a part of the youth culture in America; it may also be understood as a culturally conditioned and socially controlled behavior.
The topic alcohol brings many things to mind. In my immediate family the only people that drink any type of alcohol are my mother and father. When my dad comes home from work he usually has a beer for a little relaxation and my mom has a glass of wine for dinner. I feel that they are moderate drinkers and I also feel that it sets a good example for my brother and I. If we hadn't gone over this topic in class I would never have known what type of drinkers they were. Now that I think of it I have one relative who has not always lived the good life. If I was writing this paper 8 years ago my aunt Ann would be drinking very heavily right now. That's because she was an Alcoholic. She was in very bad shape for a while until
What is alcohol? Alcohol is many things to many people: To little kids, it is a curiosity. To teenagers, it is ?cool?. To responsible drinkers, it is a relaxant. To bartenders, it is a job, their lives. To restaurant owners, it is a moneymaker.