One out of every thirteen adults are considered to be an alcoholic or to suffer from drinking problems. Alcoholism is a developmental disease that progresses slowly over a number of years and is based on both the physical and emotional dependency on alcohol. In many cases it leads to brain damage or early death. Alcoholism is a chromic disease, which means that it will last a person’s lifetime. The risk for developing alcoholism is influenced by both a person’s genes and their lifestyle.
Early symptoms of alcoholism includes putting an excessive importance on the availability of alcohol. An alcoholic usually has a high tolerance to alcohol, which means they are able to drink more and show less side effects when compared to another
…show more content…
It can permanently damage the central and peripheral nervous systems. If an alcoholic withdrawals from drinking it can cause shaking limbs, Hallucinations, and blackouts: Which can be fatal if they are not treated properly.
Recent studies show that approximately fifty-three percent of adults in the United States have one or more close relatives that have drinking problems. Alcohol Abuse has cost the United States more than 220 billion dollars in 2005 alone. Problem drinkers are most often found in young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 years old, and the fewest in adults who are 65 years of age or older. Alcohol Abuse is one of the major risk factors for violence, and research shows that fifty percent of all homicides and forty percent of all assaults in the United States are alcohol related. In the United States, more than forty percent of the people who start drinking when they are fourteen years old or younger are more likely to become alcoholics than those who don’t. One in ten Americans, currently have alcohol problems.
Alcoholics have the option of involving themselves in a treatment group, which may be an individual therapy, or a group therapy. (AA) Alcoholics Anonomous is one of the treat ent groups that is available, using the twelve step method in approaching sobriety. Some other treatment methods include doctor prescribed medications, which help to decrease the craving for alcohol. Some examples of prescribed medications that are
People have found that DSM–V eliminates legal problems as a criterion therefore state that it is a disease.
The main components of treatment include confrontation, detoxification, and rehabilitation (Friedlander & Norman, 2006). Confrontation involves overcoming patients’ denial, convincing them of the consequences of continued drinking, and motivating them to receive treatment (Friedlander & Norman, 2006). Detoxification consists of removing alcohol from the body and protecting the patient from the effects of withdrawal (Friedlander & Norman, 2006). Rehabilitation consists of continued efforts to increase and maintain high
According to MedlinePlus, alcoholism is a disease in which a person has a physical or psychological dependence on drinks that contain alcohol. This can last for years or even last a whole life time. There are more than 3 million cases per year. Alcohol abuse can have many negative effects on family, friends, and the alcoholic. It can damage a person’s body, such as the heart, and the liver, health, and it can affect your life decisions.
Some treatments that could be given to people who have alcoholism would be a cleansing of the body by having a withdrawal or getting rid of alcohol in order to clean the
Alcoholism is a chronic and progressive disorder (“Alcoholism”) affecting more than twenty-two million Americans in the United States today (Wholey 18). Alcoholics are prone to dramatic and
To begin, research of genetics has shown some information on how genes support alcoholism being a disease. Genetics and the brain are connected as other organs, such as the heart and genetics are connected (Nurnberger). People can inherit heart diseases from their parents through their genes. There is no difference with alcohol. Alcohol damages the brain cells and can increase the chances of a child to become more dependent on alcohol. According to Nurnberger, “For alcohol dependence, about 50 percent is related to genetic factors and the other half to environmental factors, such as availability of alcohol and cultural factors” (Nurnberger). Although environmental factors play a high role in alcohol consumption, genetics, as shown, have played half the role. People become dependent on alcohol, and not only can it be hereditary to pass the gene to increase the chances of becoming an alcoholic, but alcoholism can even cause a change to other genes to possibly cause depression and anxiety problems (Nurnberger). Saying that alcoholism is not a disease when it can be passed through genes and alter other genes would be like saying autism is not a disease or disorder. The reason is because the brain is genetically altered, like alcoholism, and it can change other
Most alcoholics won’t admit to having a dependence on alcohol. Due to their reluctance to acknowledge they may have a problem, it could be tricky to diagnose and treat them. So it’s usually up to the people around them to be able to see the signs of alcoholism. Even the most heavily addicted drinker is unlikely to show every sign and symptom, and not every alcoholic will display the same ones.
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.
Alcohol-dependent people are often unable to stop drinking once they start as alcohol dependence is characterized by tolerance or the need to drink more to achieve the same "high", in addition, serious withdrawal symptoms if drinking is stopped suddenly. The sooner that the individual begins to receive help for the treatment of their alcoholism means that, the shorter period that they will be able to stop use. Individuals who receive treatment
Alcoholism is an issue that a huge percentage of people in the world suffer from. Many people argue that alcoholism is an addiction but some may argue that it is a mental illness resulting from alcohol dependency. There is speculation about the cause of alcoholism but in truth it is still unknown to us. However, there are risk factors that can lead up to alcoholism. Many of these factors include: having a parent that struggles with alcoholism, stress, or if people live in a certain environment where alcohol is generally accepted. Regardless of what it might be, we can all agree that alcoholism can ruin a person's life and the people around them.
While alcoholism is a complex disease, it starts generally as a person being a social drinker. These people first start as a person who drink during a social occasion, drinking is usually a second activity for them. The early stage of alcoholism is regularly a person who feels guilty about their drinking, or
There are some long-term effects on the body due to the abuse of alcohol. You can end up with brain damage, and dementia. Common disease resulting from excessive alcohol consumption are pancreatitis, gastritis, hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, and heart disease. Alcoholics are also at risk for developing cancer in the mouth, throat, esophagus and even the liver. You can also develop psychiatric problems such as depression and anxiety which may lead to suicide. Woman who are pregnant shouldn’t drink alcohol because it will cause damage to the fetus.
While drinking might make you feel good now, if you abuse that alcohol it may lead to serious complications later. Heavy drinking is defined as consuming four or more drinks in a day for women and five or more drinks in a day for men (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). Alcohol is considered a depressant, so it is only seen fit that one of the chief effects of alcohol on the brain is to depress central nervous system functioning. In turn it may be why major depressive disorders occur in those who abuse alcohol. If the alcohol abuse continues over a period it intensifies into an alcohol dependency. Alcohol has effects on the body both mentally and physically. After a certain limit alcohol will slur your speech, increase your reaction time, and make you lose co-ordination. Alcohol consumption, particularly long-term alcohol dependence has many physiological ricks to consider, such as permanent damage to the brain, alcoholic liver disease, pancreatitis, alcohol poisoning
An explanation of alcoholism is not enough to persuade most people to ban alcohol advertising. Most fail to recognize the vast amount of people that alcoholism and other alcohol related problems effect. Many studies have been done and many statistics have been gathered to show the grim reality of alcohol-related problems. In the United States, there are 100,000 alcohol-related deaths each year, which puts it at slot number three in the list of the top causes of preventable death in the nation. Approximately two-thirds of domestic violence and sexual assaults involve alcohol in one way or another and one-half of all murders in the nation involve alcohol. Among the nation's high school students, 81% have used alcohol at least once, and 30% have had five or more drinks in a row in the past two weeks. High school students (underage) drink 35% of all wine coolers sold in the United States. On average, a person's first drink of alcohol takes place at the age of 13. Twenty-one percent of all the nation's tenth graders and eight percent of the nation's eighth graders have been drunk in the past
Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive and potentially fatal disorder which leads to physical and psychological harm, and impaired social and vocational functioning. It is characterized by tolerance, physical dependence and/or pathological organ changes, all of which are the direct/indirect consequence of the alcohol ingested (Light 5). Alcoholism, also known as "alcohol dependence," can be recognized by four obvious symptoms.