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Effects of drinking alcohol essay
Effects of alcohol abuse essay
Negative impacts of drinking alcohol
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Introduction
Alcohol is a widely available drug. People who use alcohol will consume it in varying amounts. People who drink alcohol in excess, and have behavior problems during and after drinking alcohol, may have what is called an alcohol use disorder. Alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence are the two main types of alcohol use disorders:
Alcohol abuse is when you use alcohol too much or too often. You may use alcohol to make yourself feel happier or to reduce stress, but you may have a hard time setting a limit on the amount you drink.
Alcohol dependence is when you use alcohol excessively for a period of time, and your body and brain chemistry change as a result. This can make it hard to stop drinking because you may start to feel sick or
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When your body craves alcohol, it is easy to drink more than your body can handle and overdose. Alcohol overdose is a serious situation that requires hospitalization. It may lead to permanent injuries or death.
What are the benefits of avoiding alcohol use?
Not drinking alcohol can help you:
Avoid risks to your body, brain, and relationships.
Avoid the risk of abusing or becoming dependent on alcohol.
Keep your mind and body healthy. As a result, you may be more likely to accomplish your life goals.
Avoid permanent injury, organ damage, or death due to alcohol.
What can happen if changes are not made?
If you do not take steps to prevent alcohol abuse and dependence, you may become dependent on alcohol and be unable to stop drinking. This can affect your work, family, and health. Becoming addicted to alcohol can affect your life by putting you at risk for:
Serious medical problems, including liver disease, heart disease, and problems with your pancreas.
Certain types of cancers.
Certain types of
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Violence.
Overdose and death.
A criminal record that can affect your career and may require serving time in jail.
What steps can I take to stop drinking?
The best way to avoid alcohol abuse, dependence, and addiction is to drink measured amounts, or not drink at all. Measured drinking means no more than 1 drink a day for nonpregnant women and 2 drinks a day for men. One drink equals 12 oz of beer, 5 oz of wine, or 1½ oz of hard liquor.
If you have been drinking too much, stop. This can be very hard to do if you are used to abusing alcohol. If you think you have a problem or if you find it hard to stop drinking, talk with a friend, spouse or other family member, or your health care provider. Talking to someone else about what you are experiencing is very important. This person may be able to help change your drinking behavior.
Instead of drinking alcohol, do something else, like a hobby or exercise. Find healthy ways to cope with stress, such as exercise, meditation, or spending time with people you care about.
In social gatherings and places where there may be alcohol, make intentional choices to drink non-alcohol
Generally speaking, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) references substance dependence (in this case, alcohol) as a cluster of cognitive, behavioral, and physiological symptoms that shows that the person is continuing use of the substance even with adverse effects on the individual’s life. Specifically, for a person to be diagnosed with substance dependence they must show at least three of the following symptoms; tolerance, withdrawal, substance being taken in larger amounts of over a longer period of time than intended, an unsuccessful desire or effort to control the use of the substance, there is a great deal of time devoted to the drug, important social, occupational, or recreational activities are given up or reduced due to the substance, and the individual continues use of the substance even with the knowledge that the substance is causing physical or psychological problems (APA, 2000).
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, alcoholism is defined as "the compulsive consumption of and psychophysiological dependence on alcoholic beverages." It is a problem that can tear apart marriages and families, cause someone to lose his job, and many more negative results. In order to recover from this dependency a person must lose his desire for and dependence upon alcohol, continue to remain sober, and resolve all conflicts caused by the alcohol abuse. There are several alternatives an alcoholic has to rehabilitate himself. The best solution is a combination of individual therapy and a support group like Alcoholics Anonymous.
Alcohol Abuse is part of disorder that affects many people throughout the world. Many are aware of the issues the disorder can bring not just on the victim, but also to the people that surround the person with the psychological problem. There are different areas that can be discussed in regards to alcoholism. According to Coon & Mitterer (2013), a substance abuse disorder is when there is an abuse or dependence on a psychoactive drug. Alcohol is a substance that can become abusive and bring negative effects on a person’s body. Alcohol is a substance that can bring behavioral effects such as behavioral effects, physical changes, and social changes. A good solution to Alcohol abuse can be Alcohol anonymous, an organization that helps individuals with alcohol addiction.
Alcoholism is a mental illness that is very destructive not only to an individual that has it, but also to the people that surround him or her and the community. It is a “chronic disease, progressive, and often fatal”, according to James D. Torr, author of the book called Alcoholism (19). Alcohol, when consumed, causes the person to feel pleasure and other desired effects, because of the chemicals it contains. The continuation of consuming alcohol causes the brain and the body to develop tolerance or addiction which leads to alcohol dependence or alcoholism.
Alcoholism, as opposed to merely excessive or irresponsible drinking, has been thought of as a symptom of psychological or social stress or as a learned, maladaptive coping behaviour. More recently, and probably more accurately, it has come to be viewed as a complex disease in its own right. Alcoholism usually develops over a period of years. Alcohol comes to be used more as a mood-changing drug than as a foodstuff or beverage served as a part of social custom or religious ritual.
Increased abuse of alcohol leads to physical damage to the body. Alcohol is absorbed directly into the brain, dulling one’s senses and weakling one's will power. According to the article from the Mayo Clinic Health Information, “Excessive use of alcohol can produce several harmful effects on your brain and nervous system. It also can severely damage your liver, pancreas and cardiovascular system. Alcohol use in pregnant women can damage the fetus” (Mayo 1). Continued ingestion of alcohol affects every organ in the body. Every organ in the body is affected. The liver has serious effects that may lead to cirrhosis and death.. At first the liver adapts and tolerates alcohol. It works harder and finally damages itself in time. Alcohol leads the liver to the inability to metabolize facts. Furthermore, it leads to increase in cholesterol and triglycerides leading to clogged arteries. Red blood cells are also affected leading the individual to become anemic.
First and foremost, alcoholism is hard to break due to the brain craving created by a drinking habit. According to Charles Duhigg in The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, habit is created when there are a cue, a routine, and a reward that develop a craving that make people repeat the loop(49). The craving for drinking is generally cultivated by the short-term reward resulted from drinking. Most alcoholics believe that drinking can help them to escape from their hard times and forget their problems. Elizabeth
First off drinking deteriorates your organs and compromises your state of health. Some of those health risks consist of cirrhosis of the liver, and heart disease. In Teen Alcoholism it states that “after prolonged or heavy drinking” you begin to “suffer from a hangover”. “A hangover indicates alcohol withdrawal, as the body and brain cells that had adjusted to the presence of alcohol try to adapt to
Alcohol has been in the world for many centuries and has become a pain but also somewhat of a solution to society. It can be viewed as something to be a social gathering that brings friends together or it can be taking as destruction to someone. Over the years alcohol has played many roles in the world but it plays an even bigger role in substance abuse. Doctors have made several points that it is okay to have a drink every now and again but people need to realize when one drink has become too many. The ideal of having a drink with friends or going out and having an occasional drink is acceptable; However, is it still acceptable when a person find their selves having a drink first thing in the morning or runs to a drink to solve their people.
Coming to terms with the reality of alcohol addiction, enables the individual to begin taking action. Although peers may have already highlighted the problem to the user, he or she is more likely to commit to quitting if they themselves recognize that there is a problem stemming from their alcohol use. Initially, the alcohol user needs to assess his or her situation regarding alcohol abuse. Next, the individual will need to take steps to ensure that he or she can commit to making a change. Furthermore, this step can be hard to accomplish without making your decision clear to family and friends that the individual drinks with. Now that the alcohol user has acknowledged the reality that a substance abuse problem exists, it’s time for the alcohol user to speak with his or her physician for assistance on maintaining a sober
Alcoholism is known to be one of the largest illnesses that affect individuals in the world today with nearly 32 million Americans who have struggled with it in one year alone. It is becoming a much larger problem that is reoccurring and wiping out a large portion of the population. Some individuals might think that excessive drinking isn’t a problem, but others find that it is completely
Establish Rapport: People all over the world drink alcohol as a way to have fun and enjoy time with their friends but don’t know exactly what they are drinking and how it could affect them in the future.
"Because time and amount of drinking are uncontrollable, the alcoholics is likely to engage in such behaviors as [1] breaking family commitments, both major and minor; [2] spending more money than planned; [3] drinking while intoxicated and getting arrested; [4] making inappropriate remarks to friends, family, and co-workers; [5] arguing, fighting and other anti-social actions. The alcoholic would probably neither do such things, nor approve of them in others unless he was drinking" (Johnson 203).
Alcohol abuse is when you use alcohol too much or too often. You may use alcohol to make yourself feel happier or to reduce stress.
..., cancer, liver and pancreas disease etc. There are many factors why do people drink, such as: make friends, forget problems, to feel happy, to relax, to feel less anxious, to feel confident and the genes, in my opinion play the key role in this problem. Some people don’t realize that this is a big deal, the big problem until it’s late. Once someone tried alcohol and become dependent it is hard to realize that person needs help to stop it. Also drinking alcohol is closely linked with use of other drugs, legal and illegal. Smoking, drinking and drug taking often co-exist. I chose this article to review because I think it has good examples to show people what causes alcohol dependence and what conditions one can get if drinking alcohol often. People need to remember that we live ones and it is important to keep ourselves healthy and none of bad habits worth our life.