Alcoholism-An Unwanted Epidemic

 

 

Alcoholism-An Unwanted Epidemic

By Eric Funston

Treatment of Alcoholism

Pervasiveness of alcohol intoxication is the most important factor for a brain disorder in US alone. In the United States around 20 Million people including adolescents are suffering from some serious alcohol related problems. It is the second most dangerous factor of premature death after Cancer. In fact many believe that it has out-ranked cancer. If we count the persons affected (family members, friends and other relatives), more than 50 million people are seriously affected by this unwanted phenomena we call Alcoholism. There is not a specific group of persons that have a greater chance than another to develop alcoholism; factors such as high depression, unsolved problems, and stress contribute largely to push a normal human being to be alcohol addicted. Depression increases with alcohol. It also hinders the proper working of blood cells needed by the brain and the heart.

Those countries in the word that have faced alcoholism know the effects of its addiction and in the development process as well. A large number of people in the so called "High Society" where alcohol addiction is termed as fashionable and a necessity, they too somehow get themselves addicted to alcohol sooner or later in their life which effects their working performance, their attitude in the work place, there reaction to everyday problems, their methodology to solve a problem etc. The treatment of an alcoholic person is of two types one is medical based and other is morale based which includes rehabilitation as well.

Medical Treatment Of Alcoholism

With the large number of alcoholics in United States their budget for medical research to eliminate alcoholism is increasing day by day. By a rough estimate it is believed that U.S. spends around 115 Million U.S. dollars every year for research and development of alcohol-based drugs, which is the largest in the world. With so much of invested in this field, many of the most advanced medical treatments are now available to eradicate this epidemic. But even after all this, the problem is still at the stage where it was. Reason being that this requires self-improvement more than medical treatment alone. You cannot push an alcoholic person to get medicated for the alcoholism forcibly and if you do so there are very marginal chances you will succeed

Self-Grooming With Morale Support

Non-alcoholic persons often see alcoholics with hated eyes. That makes the recovery process even more painful. An alcoholic who wants to get rid of this problem would not expect to be treated himself with hated eyes. To over come this problem now there are many rehabilitation centers where any person willing to get himself out of this habit can go and get treated with full sympathetic morale support. This support helps him to rebuild himself in the society and in the eyes of his family member or friends.

 

 

 

Alcohol: The Most Used And Abused Drug By Teenagers

By Angie Lewis

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, June 1997, alcohol is the leading cause of death among teenagers. Teenage drinking contributes to the high rate of teenage car crashes, traumatic injuries, suicide and date rape. Alcohol is by far the most used and abused drug among America's teenagers today. According to a national survey, nearly one third (31.5%) of all high school students reported hazardous drinking of five or more drinks in one setting.

Twenty million American's are alcoholics, and the children of these alcoholics are likely to inherit the disease. More than 40% of those who start drinking at age fourteen or younger become alcoholics. The problem I see is the lack of knowledge about alcoholism being an inherited disease. Children of alcoholics are four times more likely than other children to become alcoholics, according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Teenagers, if you have a mother, father, or grandparent with the disease, then you might be susceptible to becoming an alcoholic. It is not a good idea to even have one drink. It is like playing Russian roulette. Abstinence is the best strategy against defying the odds of being another death statistic in the cogs of alcoholism.

I came from an alcoholic background, and I know first hand the destructive affects of what alcohol can do. I had no way of knowing that I would become an alcoholic, even though my grandfather was an alcoholic. I didn't know that at the age of seventeen, while drunk, I would be driving with my best friend and roll my car three times into a telephone pole. Fortunately for me, I wasn't hurt, but my friend will have back problems for life. And I certainly did not know that I would most likely pass down the inherited gene to one of my three sons. If I had known these things, maybe, just maybe, I would never have had that first drink.

I can't tell you in a short article all the pain and suffering I put my mother through when I was a teenage drinker, or the anguish I put my husband through, but I can tell you this, I have been completely freed and forgiven through the love and saving grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I have been alcohol free for over fourteen years!

Teenagers please don't let yourself become trapped within the depths of this insidious disease; instead become informed about the susceptibility of alcoholism being passed down from one generation to the next. Abstinence and education is the best and most effective means of preventing the use and abuse of alcohol.

All it takes is one drink of alcohol if you carry the gene from a relative; that one drink is ONE too many! And even if you are not susceptible to becoming an alcoholic, alcohol is very dangerous and can make you do stupid things you normally would not do. Abstinence is the best policy.