A STUDY ON ALCOHOLISM AND ITS REMEDIAL ACTIONS

According to the American Medical Association, “alcoholism is an illness characterized by significant impairment that is directly associated with persistent and excessive use of alcohol. Impairment may involve physiological, psychological or social dysfunction.” Psychologically speaking, alcoholism has less to do with “how much” someone is drinking, and more to do with what happens when they drink. If you have problems when you drink, you have a drinking problem. The word alcohol comes from the Arabic “Al Kohl,” which means “the essence.” Alcohol has always been associated with rites of passages such as weddings and graduations, social occasions, sporting events and parties. The media has often glamorized drinking. Alcoholism, also known as "alcohol dependence," is a disease that includes alcohol craving and continued drinking despite repeated alcohol-related problems, such as losing a job or getting into trouble with the law. It includes four symptoms: Mental problem, Family problem, Social problem, public Alcoholism causes a variety of physical consequences that are well known and easy to recognize, but it also causes a variety of psychological consequences that people rarely discuss. When people talk about the “effects of alcoholism” they often only talk about the physical effects; people rarely talk about alcoholism and the mental effects. Because of this, many alcoholics will continue to self-medicate their mental symptoms without realizing that their drinking is causing these problems in the first place. The mental effects of alcoholism vary from person to person, depending on how much you drink and how long you’ve been drinking. People who rarely drink will experience feelings of relaxation and an energizing release of inhibitions. People who drink a moderate amount on a regular basis will begin to experience feelings of nervousness, melancholy, restlessness, irritation and some relationship troubles. People who drink heavily and often will begin to experience insomnia, paranoia and hallucinations. Other common mental effects of alcoholism are: Depression. The old saying that you can “drown your sorrows” by drinking alcohol comes from the fact that many people drink to make their feelings go away. Drinking may provide a temporary escape, but the truth is that prolonged drinking can actually bring on feelings of depression while you’re drinking and even when you’re sober. Dysthymia. Alcoholism can lead to dysthymia, a disorder less severe than major depression but one that causes many of the same symptoms: fatigue, low self-esteem, difficulty concentrating, unusual eating or sleeping habits, and a persistently depressed mood. Anxiety. Alcohol is a depressant that decreases activity within your brain’s nervous system. When combined with the physical stresses that alcohol abuse causes, feelings of anxiety can be aggravated. These feelings can include restlessness, nightmares, general discontent and general feelings of anxiety. Personality changes. Alcohol abuse can cause big changes in your personality. Normal personality traits can disappear during intoxication and be replaced with selfish, angry and egotistical behavior. Aggression and mood swings are very common as well as a general deterioration of morals. Alcohol slows your brain’s synapses and chemically alters your body by affecting serotonin levels, the chemical responsible for transmitting signals of mood to your brain. These physical changes cause your emotions to get out of control and cause your do say and do things you normally wouldn’t do. Compulsive behavior. Alcoholics are addicts with the same impulses and urges as drug addicts. Someone who is dependent on alcohol will become obsessed with drinking and is no different than a drug addict seeking his next hit. Your obsession with alcohol can lead you make decisions that negatively impact your life and cause you to lose interest in activities and people you normally enjoy when you were sober. Denial. Denial is a common characteristic of alcoholism. Alcoholics will deny they have a problem in order to keep drinking, or may not even realize how serious their drinking really is. Denial is a dangerous place to be mentally because it can keep you from getting the help you so desperately need. Co-occurring disorders. Co-occurring mental and mood disorders often exist in alcoholics. They can be caused by the mental effects of heavy drinking or can be the reason heavy drinking occurs in the first place. Oftentimes a person with a co-occurring disorder such as depression or anxiety will become addicted to alcohol after trying to self-medicate their symptoms. Getting Treatment for Alcoholism and the Mental Effects The mental effects of alcohol can lead many alcoholics to continue drinking in order to self-medicate their symptoms. Getting treatment for alcoholism and the mental effects should involve a rehab facility that offers dual-diagnosis therapy for co-occurring disorders. Talking to a medical doctor about your symptoms can help you determine what type of treatment you’ll need. Alcoholism is also known as a family disease. Alcoholics may have young, teenage, or grown-up children; they have wives or husbands; they have brothers or sisters; they have parents or other relatives. An alcoholic can totally disrupt family life and cause harmful effects that can last a lifetime. According to U. S. Department of Health and Human Services and SAMHSA’s (Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration) National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information, seventy six million American adults have been exposed to alcoholism in the family. Alcoholism is responsible for more family problems than any other single cause. According to Silverstein (1990), one of every four families has problems with alcohol. Each member of the family may be affected by alcohol differently. Parental alcoholism may affect the fetus even before a child is born. In pregnant women, alcohol is carried to all of the mother’s organs and tissues, including the placenta, where it easily crosses through the membrane separating the maternal and fetal blood systems. When a pregnant woman drinks an alcoholic beverage, the concentration of alcohol in her unborn baby’s bloodstream is the same level as her own. A pregnant woman who consumes alcohol during her pregnancy may give birth to a baby with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is one of the three top known causes of birth defects. According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, about 5000 babies are born each year with severe damage caused by FAS; another 35000 babies are born with more mild forms of FAS (Berger, p.37). In general, the more severe the mother’s drinking problem during pregnancy, the more severe the symptoms of FAS in infants. Babies born with FAS are shorter and underweight compared to normal babies. They have deformities of the brain and skull, and very characteristic facial features such as small eye openings; thin upper lips; long, flat faces; and a long groove in the middle of their upper lips. These children’s central nervous systems are also damaged. As a result, children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome have difficulties in learning, attention span, judgment, memory, problem-solving, and frequently behavior problems. Children with FAS may also have problems with social skills. Their frustration easily turns to anger as they grow older. These children are hyperactive – unable to sit or stand still for a long time. They are often impulsive, poorly coordinated, and have impaired speech and hearing. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and its effects are permanent, often leading to lifelong problems with mental retardation. Parental alcoholism also has severe effects on normal children of alcoholics. Many of these children have common symptoms such as low self-esteem, loneliness, guilt, feelings of helplessness, fears of abandonment, and chronic depression (Berger, 1993). Children of alcoholics (COAs) may feel responsible for the problems of the alcoholic and may think they created the problem. COAs often experience high levels of tension and stress. Young children of alcoholics may have frequent nightmares, bed wetting, and crying. They also may not have friends and may be afraid to go to school. Older children of alcoholics may show such depressive symptoms as obsessive perfectionism, hoarding, staying by themselves, or being excessively self-conscious. Studies have shown that because children of alcoholics feel that they are different from other people, they develop a poor self-image, in which they closely resemble their alcoholic parents (Silverstein, 1990, p.75). Also, teenage children of alcoholics may develop phobias. COAs more often have problems in school. The stressful environment at home prevents them from studying. Their school performance may also be affected by inability to express themselves. Often COAs have difficulty in establishing relationships with teachers and classmates. COAs tend more often to have to repeat the academic year and more often drop out of school. A Unites States government survey, “Exposure to Alcoholism in the Family”, shows that 30 percent of young women who didn’t complete high school had grown up in families with alcoholic parents (Berger, 1993, p.75). The same survey shows that only 20 percent of young men from alcoholic families went to college. Some COAs have such behavioral problems as lying, stealing, fighting, and truancy. These children live in extremely unstable home environments. They never know what to expect from an alcoholic parent. Because they are unable to predict their parent’s mood, they don’t know how to behave themselves. Just like non-alcoholic spouses, COAs think they can stop their alcoholic parent from drinking by hiding liquor, or by pleasing the parent with good grades in school.