Substance Abuse with Drugs and Alcohol

Often, the alcohol will bring out a violent temper and often, alcoholics abuse, physically and mentally, their friends and family. Drinking makes the drinker feel he is more confident. The drinker thinks he is in control, even if a little high, and he might get behind the wheel of his car and go for a drive. Drunk driving is deadly. Hundreds of thousands of people get killed every year due to drunk driving.(Castro 60) Other physical effects of drinking are vomiting, passing out and sometimes, if enough alcohol is consumed over a long enough period of time, or if mixed with other drugs, death.

"After drinking people usually feel pleasure and become talkative at first. These feelings are usually replaced by drowsiness as the alcohol is eliminated from the body, and the drinker may then become withdrawn. This pattern often encourages people to drink more to keep the buzz going." ( Net Biz Mentor ). When people get like that they usually get a little bolder and want to do normal tasks and routines like driving a motorized vehicle. The effects of alcohol result in poor coordination, slurred speech, double vision, decrease of self-control, lost of consciousness and maybe even death.

First, before I could answer this question, I had to do a little research. Alcohol addiction is a physical dependence on alcohol which occurs gradually. Over time, drink too much alcohol changed the balance of chemicals in your brain associated with the pleasure aspects of drinking alcohol. Excessive, long-term drinking can affect the balance of these chemicals, causing your body to crave alcohol to restore good feelings or to avoid negative feelings. “Alcoholism was officially recognized as a disease by the American Medical Association in 1991”. ( http://www.learn-about-alcoholism.com/alcoholism-disease.html ).

Alcoholism is a baffling and powerful disease. It affects all people from all walks of life. It has been medically proven and recognized by most of society as a disease. However, for some people who either have not been affected or just do not have any knowledge of the disease, it is considered more as a weakness of character. Alcoholism has many effects, on the alcoholic them self, towards their family and friends, and on their health, on their spouse and children, mentally and physically, but the good thing is there is help out there for all of these people.

Abuse of a substance leads to a wide range of physical health problems, some of which can be severe while others aren 't too serious. Some of the mild physical effects include changes in sleeping patterns, appetite and one 's physical appearance. Clinical studies show that "the most common health problems were gastrointestinal and liver disorders, but about a quarter of the sample had cardiovascular or neurological problems. With regard to other diseases (e.g. liver disease, pancreatitis, hypertension, central nervous system impairment) the effects of alcohol are well-established" (Gossop, 194). These health problems are associated with the abuse of a substance, particularly alcohol. They

The substance-related disorders are composed of two groups: the substance-use disorders (dependence and abuse) and the substanceinduced disorders (intoxication and withdrawal). Other substanceinduced disorders (delirium, dementia, amnesia, psychosis, mood disorder, anxiety disorder, sexual dysfunction, and sleep disorders) are included in the chapters with which they share symptomatology (e.g., substance-induced mood disorders are included in Chapter 6; substance-induced sexual dysfunction is included in Chapter 10, etc.).

Alcohol results in unstable movement, and it changes an individual’s awareness and doesn’t let them think clearly and distorts their judgment, black outs and impairs their vision and hearing. Depressants, back in the day were used as a sleep aid. An overconsumption of alcohol can lead to the substance becoming a depressant. There are many different forms and types of alcohol but the ethanol is what causes an individual to become addicted to drinking. The effects that alcohol has on the central nervous system starts When alcohol arrives in the brain it binds with the GABA receptors that are in charge of transmitting information from each synapse so it prevents the GABA from following through with transmitting information. And it also fixes itself with glutamate, thus causing the glutamate to not recycle through the cell. This slows everything down leading the individual to react slowly to things and causes decreased cognitive function, decreased reflexes, and decreased coordination. Which then causes the individual to have impaired judgment and decision making due the brains receptor sites being blocked by the alcohol (Sullivan, Harris, & Pfefferbaum, 2010). The larger the dose of alcohol the more extreme the effects are. With a larger dose of alcohol, the individual has very poor fine motor skills and is emotional and seizures are likely. The rest of the alcohol goes through the liver and metabolizes breaking down the toxicity within your body but the more alcohol that the individual drinks the harder it is on their liver which can also cause liver failure (Capuzzi & Stauffer,

In occasional drinkers alcohol can produce one or more short-term effects after just one drink. Memory impairment also can begin after just one single drink and becomes worse the more you consume alcohol. Also a high volume of consumption on an empty stomach can result to a blackout without any permanent mental issues. When you drink you can do some reckless things such as unprotected sex, vandalism, and driving. Which if you drive while intoxicated you can cause an accident meaning court dates will have to be attended, fines will have to be paid, and treatment will have to be

Alcohol use disorder can be caused by a number of factors, such as biological and environmental. People who drink alcohol often are at risk to alcohol dependence as the brain becomes reliant on the chemicals in alcoholic beverages. This makes it difficult for them to stop or quit the habit, a symptom of withdrawal.

What exactly is substance abuse one may ask? According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, substance abuse is defined as a “maladaptive pattern of substance use manifested by recurrent and significant adverse consequences related to the repeated use of substances” (“2 Definitions, 2005”). Substance abuse in its own is a very broad topic. These substances can range anywhere from alcohol to prescription narcotics such as Benzodiazepines to illegal, illicit drugs such as methamphetamines. Alcoholism is one of the leading causes of disease and death in the United States (“Long-Term Health Risks

There are different kinds of problem drinking behaviours that can impact everyday life, this is known as alcohol abuse – a dangerous or unhealthy drinking pattern. While under the influence of alcohol, individuals may make themselves vulnerable to various risk taking behaviours. These include short term and long term risks involving physical and mental health; accidents and injuries; and employment and finances. More specific examples of short terms risks are blackouts, vomiting, slurred speech, blurred vision, accidents while driving, injuries such as falls, as wells as violent and inappropriate behaviour. Detailed examples of long term risk taking behaviour are brain damage, memory loss, obesity, diseases, cancer, depression, financial problems and reduced work productivity.

Alcohol abuse should not be confused with alcoholism or alcohol dependence. It is important to note the difference between the three. It is predicted that alcohol abuse affects individual physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Although some psychological, physical and economical effects may occur with both, alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence (alcoholism) for the purpose of this paper the alcohol abuse is the main focus.

When too much alcohol is consumed, they could experience a blackout, which is where the drinker cannot remember events that occurred while under the influence. Not remembering what happened the night before is a tragic thing, imagine waking up in jail having no idea what happened. From that one night of having a blackout, can turn into a life in prison. There is no turning back, even if it was an accident, being on the influence can make prison a lifetime sentence. Having that drink can start a domino chain reaction of

The abuse of alcohol over long periods of time may also cause diseases such as cirrhosis, acute alcohol hepatitis, and the most severe liver disease. Cirrhosis is a disease in which the liver becomes so scarred that the patient lacks sufficient healthy tissue to perform the organ?s functions. Once you?ve got it, you are stuck with it. (Gross, 6) The worst thing about these diseases is that you will not know you have them unless you are medically examined on a regular basis. Alcohol consumption is a large contributor to the development of several types of cancer- mostly dealing with the neck and brain. We know that cancer kills and therefore it is safe to say that in some cases, alcohol can be deadly. It is important to realize that alcoholism is a disease. A heavy drinker will experience the effects of withdrawal syndrome (which include hypertension, anxiety, disorientation, hallucinations, and seizures) if he decides to stop drinking. Being addicted to alcohol is similar to being addicted to any other drug in that once one starts using, it is tough to live without. It is also a ?gateway drug? just as marijuana and other sedatives. (Bennett, Woolf, 13-23)

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.