ALCOHOLISM

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. Television viewers happily recount the Budweiser frog, the beach parties and general “good time” feeling of commercials selling beer. Magazine ads show beautiful couples sipping alcohol. Love, sex and romance are just around the corner as long as you drink the alcohol product being advertised. The reality is that alcohol is often abused because it initially offers a very tantalizing promise. With mild intoxication, many people become more relaxed. They feel more carefree. Any preexisting problems tend to fade into the background. Alcohol can be used to enhance a good mood or change a bad mood. At first, alcohol allows the drinker to feel quite pleasant, with no emotional costs. As an individual’s drinking progresses, however, it takes more and more alcohol to achieve the same high. Eventually the high is hardly present. “Alcoholism” is the term which basically means the continued consumption of alcohol or it may be said that alcoholism is the condition or situation in which the person becomes addicted to the consumption of alcohol. It is a primary illness or disorder characterized by some loss of control over drinking, with habituation or addiction to the drug alcohol, causing interference in any major life function, e.g. health, family, job, spiritual, friends, legal. Alcoholism is really alcohol dependence. If you are an alcoholic you suffer from a compulsion to drink. Your body and your mind crave alcohol and for some people they are unable to think of anything other than drinking. Just a few hours after the last drink, the signs of withdrawal begin to creep to the surface, sweating and feeling very anxious. The only way to stop these feelings is to have another drink. Alcoholism is also when your tolerance level goes up; you no longer get the same effect from alcohol unless you constantly drink more of it. It does not mean what type of alcohol it is. You can be an alcoholic who just drink bear, or you could be one who just drink whiskey. The meaning of alcoholism has nothing to do with how long you have been drinking or exactly how much you drink, but rather your uncontrollable need for alcohol. This need is as strong as your need for food, water, and air. This is why some doctors will classify alcoholism as alcohol dependence syndrome. Many alcoholics start off as a binge drinker. Binge drinking is when you have five or more drinks in one session. As you continue to binge drink, and once it begins to cause problems in your work or school life or with family and friends but yet you continue to drink, is when you have onto alcohol abuse. It is important to know that there is a difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism. The biggest differences are that with alcohol abuse there is not an extreme craving to drink, nor is there a physical dependence on it. Alcohol abuse is a pattern of drinking that can cause you to not fulfill work, school or some responsibilities, legal problems that are related to alcohol such as a DUI and relationship problems that could be caused by your drinking. Most alcoholics are alcohol abuses but not all alcohol abuses are alcoholics. If you are someone who have physical dependency on alcohol and claims they cannot function without it, you should try to get them some help. Some alcoholics can admit that they have a problem and take it up on themselves to get help. However a majority is in denial and sometimes need an intervention from family and friends to get the help they need to have. Alcoholism is a term which basically means the continued consumption of alcohol or it may be said that alcoholism is the condition or situation in which the person becomes addicted to the consumption of the alcohol. Drinking of alcohol at special occasion and gatherings has now-a days become a culture and trend in the society. The intake of alcohol at rare occasions is not a bad habit but the situations and circumstances become worst when person becomes addicted to it and starts spoiling his own as well as his family member’s lives. How common is Alcoholism? Alcoholism is a complex disease, which has been misunderstood and stigmatized. According to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), Alcohol Dependence and Alcohol Abuse are among the most common mental disorders in the general population, with about eight percent of the adult population suffering from Alcohol Dependence and five percent from Alcohol Abuse. It is widely accepted that there is a genetic predisposition toward alcoholism. According to DSM-IV, the risk for Alcohol Dependence is three to four times higher in close relative of people with Alcohol Dependence. Alcoholism is a progressive disease and follows several phases: The Social Drinker: Social drinkers have few problems with alcohol. A social drinker can basically take or leave it. There is no preoccupation with drinking. A social drinker is able to control the amount of alcohol consumed and rarely drinks to the point of intoxication. For these individuals, drinking is a secondary activity. It is the party, the meal, the wedding that interests the social drinker, not the opportunity to drink. The Early Stage: An individual who is experiencing the early stages of alcoholism will begin to have an assortment of problems associated with drinking. In early stage alcoholism, a person may start to sneak drinks, begin to feel guilty about his or her drinking, and become preoccupied with alcohol. Blackouts, drinking to the point of drunkenness, and increased tolerance (needing more alcohol to achieve the same effect) are all signs of early alcoholism. An individual who is entering the early stage of alcoholism will seek out companions who are heavy drinkers and lose interest in activities not associated with drinking. Family and friends may begin to express concern about the person’s consumption of alcohol. Work problems, such as missing work or tardiness, may also take place.