Some people do not drink alcohol because they do not like it or they feel that it has nothing but a negative effect on them. Some people cannot drink alcohol as they have a medical reason like a liver disease or an inability to process the alcohol that they take in. Certain religious people, like Hindus and Muslims, do not drink as it is usually written in their religious scripts that they must not do so.
It seems extremely important for young people to gain peer acceptance and adult status. This is one of the main reasons why teenagers drink. Most teenagers tend to copy the drinking habits of role models; it makes it seem to them that they are taking on adult’s roles.
Advertising and the media have a major influence on the drinking patterns of people of all ages. Drinking is often shown as a way to gain greater health, sexier lives, rugged individualism and social sophistication. It is promoted as a casual part of social life leisure, work, business and other social interactions.
Most people drink for leisure and enjoyment. Small amounts of alcohol cause a nice, relaxed feeling. Social drinking helps people to feel more comfortable and less inhibited in social gatherings. A few drinks make it easier to get to know others and enjoy ourselves. When we drink we tend to relax, become more emotional, to have more confidence and in general tend to loosen up. Some scientists believe that people drink because of their genes and if they are from a family that has a heavy drinker or even an alcoholic that they are likely to become one too.
About ten years ago, men were the heavy drinkers while women were the light drinkers. More women didn’t drink or drank less, because it was considered less appropriate behaviour for women. Changing gender roles increased the number of women with alcohol problems. When women started working they were encouraged by advertising to consume more alcohol. More business and social conditions especially the increased stress in their new roles might also encourage women to drink. Women now make up about half of all alcoholics.
In terms of reward and punishment, the rewards of drinking are immediate, while the punishing aspects do not appear until hours, weeks or months later. This means that people are more likely to drink alcohol, as they want the immediate effect and usually don’t think about the effects of alcohol until they show. Alcohol brings out a more relaxed and confident side of a person. After one alcoholic drink you feel better so enforcing that feeling, you will drink another.
Alcohol can affect different people in different ways; these differences are partly to do with body weight and sex. The effects of alcohol also depends on expectations, people who believe alcohol has an arousing effect may be more responsive to sexual stimuli even though alcohol does not actually increase arousal. In small amount alcohol has a ‘stimulating effect’ even though it is a depressant, these include the lowering of social inhibitions, which interferes with the ability to anticipate negative consequences and results in the inability to remember accepted standards of behaviour. Therefore actions may become more extreme and we are more likely to ‘speak our mind’. Large amounts have a sedative effect.
Although short-term use may alleviate depressive feelings, long-term use may increase these feelings. Heavy users usually suffer from mal-nutrition as they eat less and the alcohol they take in depletes the vitamins and minerals from the body. Alcohol contains many calories, which suppress appetite. It also interferes with the absorption of vitamin B from the intestines and this cause a vitamin deficiency; the long-term effect of this is brain damage and the memory is particularly affected. Other physical effects include liver damage, heart disease, increased risk of stroke and increased risk of infections because of the immune system ceases to function properly. Heavy drinking can increase the risk for certain cancers, especially those of the liver, oesophagus, throat, and larynx.
Women who drink during pregnancy can produce babies with foetal alcohol syndrome. Babies with foetal alcohol syndrome may have some of the following characteristics; small birth weight, small head circumference, epicanthal folds, small widely spaced eyes, flat midface, short, upturned nose, smooth wide philtrum, thin upper lip and/or an underdeveloped jaw. Most children with this syndrome are irritable, they don't eat very well, they don't sleep very well, they are extra sensitive to sensory stimulation and they have a strong startle reflex. They can show hypertonia (too much muscle tone) or hypotonia (too little muscle tone) or both. Some infants may have heart defects or suffer abnormalities to the ears, eyes, liver, or joints. Most children with foetal alcohol syndrome have developmental delays. The degree of physiological characteristics usually corresponds with the degree of developmental delays. The most serious characteristics of it are the invisible symptoms of neurological damage that results from prenatal exposure to alcohol. These symptoms include, attention deficits, memory deficits, hyperactivity, difficulties with maths, time and money, poor problem solving skills, difficulty learning from consequences, poor judgment, immature behaviour and/or poor impulse control. Adults with foetal alcohol syndrome have difficulty maintaining successful independence, especially staying in school, keeping jobs, or sustaining healthy relationships. Without appropriate support services, these individuals have a high risk of developing secondary disabilities such as mental illness, getting into trouble with the law, abusing alcohol and other drugs, and unwanted pregnancies. These children and adults are also quite vulnerable to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse.
In addition, drinking increases the risk of death from car crashes as well as recreational and on-the-job injuries. Also both murder and suicides are more likely to be committed by persons who have been drinking.
One of the most commonly held beliefs is that the cause of domestic abuse is alcohol. Drink may play a role in abuse but it would appear not to be a simple cause. Some studies show more drinkers are violent to their partners, but many men who abuse alcohol do not abuse or actually target a woman. It is more likely that alcohol gives some men dutch courage or permission to be violent, as they can blame the alcohol. They can then deny any memory of the attack, say they lost control or ‘didn’t really mean it’. Some partners believe them and hope they will change if they stop drinking.
Drug and alcohol abuse by parents can have a serious effect on their children. “70% of children taken into care have parents who are suspected of substance abuse.” (http://www.nspcc.org.uk/html/home/needadvice/drugandalcoholabuse.htm) Not all parents who abuse drugs and/or alcohol mistreat or neglect their children, but it can sometimes put the children in considerable risk. There is also an increased risk of violence in families where parents abuse substances. Children can also suffer from lack of boundaries and discipline, and live chaotic lives. This can seriously affect their psychological and emotional development, and may cause problems with their relationships later on in life.
Potential alcoholics usual suffer from psychological tensions, which, if not stopped, produce a downward cycle of helplessness, depression, increased tension and further loss of self-esteem. When any drug is used, the painful feelings are reduced quickly but temporarily. Since the person does not deal with the original problem, it is still there when the alcohol effects wear off. To reduce the pain again the person drinks more. Even if the original problem might have vanished, the drinking habit is likely to be used as the ‘solution’ for any new tensions.
Some people can use alcohol without problems but others cannot. One important reason has to do with genetics. Scientists have found that having an alcoholic family member makes it more likely that if you choose to drink you too may develop alcoholism. Although genes aren’t the only factor, scientists now believe that certain factors in a person’s environment influence whether a person with a genetic risk for alcoholism develops the disease. A person’s risk for developing alcoholism can increase based on the person’s environment, including where and how he or she lives; family, friends, and culture; peer pressure; and even how easy it is to get alcohol.
Although some people are able to recover from alcoholism without help, the majority of alcoholics need assistance. With treatment and support, many individuals are able to stop drinking and rebuild their lives. Accepting the fact that help is needed for an alcohol problem may not be easy. But keep in mind that the sooner you get help, the better are your chances for a successful recovery.
In our society, the myth still exists that an alcohol problem is a sign of moral weakness. As a result, sufferers may feel that to seek help is to admit some type of shameful defect in themselves. In fact, alcoholism is a disease that is no more a sign of weakness than is asthma.
The type of treatment sufferers will receive depends on the severity of their alcoholism and the resources that are available in their community. Treatment may include detoxification (the process of safely getting alcohol out of your system); taking doctor-prescribed medications, such as disulfiram (Antabuse) or naltrexone (ReVia), to help prevent a return to drinking once drinking has stopped.
Disulfiram or Antabuse produces sensitivity to alcohol, which results in a highly unpleasant reaction when the patient under the treatment takes in even small amounts of alcohol. The reactions include flushing, throbbing in head and neck, throbbing headache, respiratory difficulty, nausea, copious vomiting, sweating, thirst, chest pain, palpitation, hyperventilation, tachycardia, hypotension, marked uneasiness, weakness, vertigo, blurred vision and confusion. In severe reactions, there may be respiratory depression, cardiovascular collapse, acute congestive heart failure, unconsciousness, convulsions and even death.
Virtually all alcoholism treatment programs also include Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings. AA describes itself as a ‘worldwide fellowship of men and women who help each other to stay sober.’ Although AA is generally seen as an effective help program for recovering alcoholics, not everyone responds to it but other recovery approaches are available. Even people who are helped by AA usually find that it works best in combination with other forms of treatment, including counselling and medical care.
There are good types of counselling that teach alcoholics to identify situations and feelings that trigger the urge to drink and to find new ways to cope that do not include alcohol use. Because the support of family members is important to the recovery process, many programs also offer brief marital counselling and family therapy as part of the treatment. These programs may also link the sufferers with vital community resources, such as legal assistance, job training, childcare, and parenting classes.
Alcoholism can be treated but there is no cure. Even if an alcoholic has been sober for a long time and has regained health, they still remain vulnerable to relapse and must continue to avoid all alcohol in any form. ‘Cutting down’ on drinking doesn’t work; cutting out alcohol is necessary for a successful recovery.
In Conclusion, despite the negative effects of it people still drink alcohol because it is a social activity and although there are many of these negative effects people usually focus on the positive effects.
References:
- Gross, Richard and McIlveen, Rob (1998) Psychology, A new Introduction. Hodder and Stoughton. London
- Stretch, Beryl (Ed) (2002) BTec National Health Studies. Heinemann Educational Publishers. Oxford.
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