The Abuse of Alcohol

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The use of alcohol has been around since pre-biblical times. Since then alcohol has been consumed at dinners, parties, in clubs, and some religious practices. The problem with our society and the way in which it consumes alcohol is that it is no longer drank for the taste, or the pleasure of the socializing time that is rarely accompanied with it anymore, but it is used more often for the effects it has on the mind and body. This is the result of the high availability that people have to it. Some cities have as many as four liquor stores, gas stations that carry alcohol as well as general stores such as Wal*Mart that carry alcoholic substances. Alcohol abuse can tear families apart emotionally, cause alcoholism to spread through the family, as well as result in the loss of a life.

Alcohol abuse is often considered to be alcoholism. Alcoholism doesn’t just affect those that have it but it affects their entire family. Alcoholism can start with somebody simply drinking too much one night and it can excel to the point where they are drunk five out of seven days of the week. When this occurs it is considered to be the “Frog in the Water” theory. The story is that if you put the frog into boiling water it will immediately jump out of the water; putting somebody in the situation of experiencing somebody alcoholism will jump right out of the situation with fear. If you put a frog into a pan of water at the same temperature of its body and slowly increase the temperature, the frog will stay in the water until the point that it boils to death; somebody in a relationship begins to experience their significant other drinking a little bit too much one night and it progressively gets worse. When the drinking progressively starts ...

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NIAAA Publications. Sept. 2007. Web. 16 Mar. 2011. .

Staff, Mayo Clinic. "Alcohol Poisoning - MayoClinic.com." Mayo Clinic. 10 Dec. 2010. Web. 16 Mar. 2011. .

T, Buddy. "Alcoholism Is a Family Disease." Alcoholism - The Alcoholism Home Page. 24 Dec. 2007. Web. 16 Mar. 2011. .

Urell, Bill. "How Alcohol Abuse Affects Family | Addiction Recovery Basics." Overcoming Addiction, Growing In Addiction Recovery. Web. 16 Mar. 2011. .

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