Example Of Opponent Process Theory

The third chapter of the Alcoholics Anonymous book develops the idea of what alcoholism involves and how people with alcoholism differ from normal people. This chapter elaborates on the idea that there is no such thing as making a normal drinker out of an alcoholic, meaning an alcoholic will never be able to have a few drinks and then stop. It is also believed within the alcoholics’ anonymous community that at in the early stages of their drinking careers, they could have stopped drinking. The first step in recovery is to acknowledge that there is a problem, the book describes different ways a person can be an alcoholic. Not every alcoholic is going to drink a long time nor take large quantities, but the inability to stop makes the alcoholic. The chapter explains how an alcoholic is still unable to stop on the basis of self-knowledge and will power. In order to protect against taking that first drink again, there must be a higher power. Chapter three outlines that there is more than one option of what

A man or a woman suffers, they have a distinct physical desire to consume alcohol beyond their capacity to control it, regardless of all rules of common sense. The symtoms of being an alcoholic is having rituals and being irritated/annoyed when these rituals are disturbed or commented on. This could be drinks before/during/after meals or after work. Dropping hobbies and activities the person used to enjoy; losing interest in them. A person who abuses alcohol may have many of these signs and symtoms- but they do not have the withdrawal symtoms like an alcoholic does, nor the same degree of compulsion to drink. Then comes along, binge drinking. When a woman consumes over six units and a man consumes more than eight units of alcohol in one sitting. Sipping wine, beer, or spirits three or four times per week increases the risk of binge drinking. Men who drink 22 or more units of alcohol a week have a 20% higher rate of admissions into acute care hospitals than non-drinkers. Healthy young adults who regularly binge drink may have a higher risk of heart disease later in life. "Underage drinking should not be a normal part of growing up. It's a serious and persistent public health problem that puts our young people and our communities in danger. Even though drinking is often glamorized, the truth is that

We are all aware that there are different types of drinking. There is binge drinking,

Oftentimes students focus on their studies from Sunday through Thursday but as the weekend approaches, their attention shifts from academics to partying. The fact that the majority of their alcohol consumption is over a three day period (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) could be considered binge drinking. Binge drinking is defined as having four to five regular drinks consumed in one sitting, at two or more events within one months time span (Acuff, Soltis, Dennhardt, Bosari, Martens, Murphy, 2017). Another repercussion from binge drinking is second-hand effects. Inevitably, those students that are partying and drinking need the support and guidance of their more academically minded friends. Following a night of drinking, perhaps the drinker needs a ride from a sober friend or perhaps there was drama centered around those that were drinking and need the comfort and encouragement from their sober counterparts. A negative experience with alcohol as a non-drinker defines second-hand effects (Cabalatungan, & McCarthy, 2015).

Alcoholism is a major social issue around the world today. The ProQuest Staff of SIRS Researcher defines alcoholism as excessive use of alcohol that eventually results in dependence, or addiction where the body craves a drug. There are roughly 140 million alcoholics currently in the world, which results in higher rates of crime, abuse, illness, car crashes, and lower productivity in work (ProQuest Staff). According to Dr. Mark Willenbring, most

Addiction to drugs and alcohol has changed the lives of millions of Americans. According to Alcoholics Anonymous: Addiction will play tricks on the mind, forcing it to get stuck in an emotional and intellectual limbo. This limbo paralyzes rational associations by replacing a traditional outlook on life to one of an addict. The definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. In order to grow emotionally its important to analyze our own actions and behaviors according to the Alcoholics Anonymous book. The Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous; the stories of experience, strength and hope come together to form a compilation of success stories(Alcoholics Anonymous, 2001, p. 562-566). This books treatment for the disease of addiction is a series of reconditioning interpretations and a understanding of behaviors. The treatment for psychological issues that have been coped with by means of addiction is enough for a free life time membership to A.A. The A.A. way of life is relatively simple but many still relapse again and again. Those that work the program recondition their mind and eventually find serenity. Often, more times than

Mark Willenburg, director of treatment and recovery research at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism stated, “People with mild to moderate alcohol disorders can be treated with medications or behavioral therapy with a primary care doctor, but many people can do this on their own without having a professional. This idea is teaching people how to reevaluate their drinking”(Roan 2). By saying this Dr. WIllenburg has changed the opinions of many speculators in the nation, but what he has failed to do throughout his investigations is to take a people who exceed the mark for moderate drinking into question. Alcoholism is defined a chronic disorder marked by excessive and usually compulsive drinking of alcohol leading to psychological and physical dependence or addiction (“Addiction” 1). The definition of alcoholism alone is enough to show that it is a serious problem, and it should be treated as such.

What is alcohol? Is it just a drink? Is it the reason teenagers party? Does it bring a fulfillment into the body? Or is exactly a drink of a lifetime? From stories, movies, and novels, like F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, alcohol portrays its own underlying character in today 's world. Realizing it or not, alcohol fills up the society and individuals are drowning in a seven letter - word - riptide. The understanding of alcoholism changes from day to day, subscribing to the idea that alcohol stays the constant variable in the picture as a whole. The symptoms, effects, developments, and causes may vary from individual to another, but the alcohol itself continues to lead the structure of a chronic alcoholic. While the symptoms of alcoholism may seem to disappear and one may no longer depend or abuse alcohol, an alcoholic will always be an alcoholic.

Fingarette’s (1988) position is that no leading research authorities accept the disease concept of alcoholism (p.4). The experts say the disease concept is “old and biased”, a model whose suggestions are invalid. But, the basic text of Alcoholics Anonymous (2001) states that not only does alcoholism affect the mind, but the body as well (xxvi). In a letter written to Alcoholics Anonymous, Dr.William D.Silkworth, a well known chief physician at a nationally prominent hospital that specialized in treating alcoholism and drug addiction, state that “the action of alcohol on chronic alcoholics is a manifestation of an allergy called “the phenomenon of craving” (Alcoholics Anonymous,2001,p.xxviii). Some may believe that alcoholism is just a matter of self control or self will, but we have shown that it takes much more than the unaided will to arrest this sometimes fatal disease Many have suffered the effects of alcoholism and can attest to the fact that it is a disease. Some can remember drinking until passed out, the trouble they caused themselves and others while

Episodic drinking results from an understudy's accommodation to companion weight, the absence of outside control over the understudy, and the refusal that drinking prompts serious outcomes. Strategic alcoholism is characterized as five or more beverages consecutively for men and four or more beverages in succession for ladies amid a two week period (Wechsler). Numerous understudies share in hitting the bottle hard to be socially acknowledged into a gathering. Different understudies think that its hard to settle on the decision to be the calm untouchable. Numerous fling consumers understand that there is minimal prompt outside impact to push them far from the liquor and they manhandle their autonomy.

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.

Operant Conditioning could also play a part in Mrs. Freeman’s drinking habit. Mrs. Freeman started drinking when she was younger, as she got older she drunk more due to pressure. She continued to drink because she had so much going on, that she could not handle. The good feeling associated with drinking acted as a positive reinforcement, that made her continue her behavior. Now that Mrs. Freeman is grown and all on her own drinking has had a negative effect on Mrs. Freeman’s life. She has gone to work drinking, and been warn not to do it again. This has not stop Mrs. Freeman from drinking, she now just hides her drinking better. Mrs. Freeman knows that if she continues this behavior, she could loss her job. She has been affected by both positive and negative reinforcement (Morris & Maisto, p 159). The negative reinforcement of drinking is poor health and the possibility of losing her job. These things have made Mrs. Freeman motivated to quit drinking. Instead of having a drink Mrs. Freeman will call her sponsor or even have a cup of coffee. She will reward herself by buying herself a new dress every time, she doesn’t pick up a drink. Mrs. Freeman is motivated to quit drinking for her health and the health of her children.

Taste aversion therapy is where an aversive stimulus is associated with an unwanted behaviour to therefore extinguish it. One of its primary principles is that all types of behaviour is learned and therefore any undesirable behaviour can be unlearned, with the appropriate method (Aversion Therapy, 2014). The experiment produced by Dale S. Cannon, Antonio Gino, Timothy B. Baker and Peter E. Nathan (1986), evaluated the relationship between the strength of the taste aversion and the abstinence rate. Following on, the study founded by James W. Smith and P. Joseph Frawley (1990), determined the alcohol abstinence rates for patients treated for the first time. Furthermore, the study conducted by Matthew Owen Howard (2001) assessed the extent to which pharmacological aversion therapy (PAT) assists in a conditioned aversion to alcohol. All three studies coincide to evaluate if taste aversion therapy for alcoholism produces behavioural change.

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).

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.