Alcohol Essay, Research Paper

Samuel Dodd

English 2010

Dr. King

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Alcoholism: Symptoms, Causes, and Effects

I am sitting at home playing Nintendo with my roommate, jake, when I hear

a knock at the door. I wonder who in the world would be coming over this late

at night, because it’s after midnight. As I open the door, the tired, bloodshot eyes of

my upstairs neighbor, Steve, stare at me. ?Hi Sam,? Steve says. As he attempts to

enter my apartment, he stumbles on the slight rise where the weather strip runs

under the door. As he trips, his forehead smashes onto the edge of the coffee table

leaving a deep and bloody gash. I run in the bathroom and grab a towel while Jake

tries to help Steve. It doesn’t take us long to realize that Steve is going to need

stitches and is in no condition to drive. He smells strongly of alcohol. We place a

make-shift bandage on his cut and throw him in Jake’s Chevy truck.

On the way to the hospital, Steve starts complaining about being really cold.

He is talking incoherently and half crying. I ask Steve what he has been doing, and

he just hangs his head down mumbling about drinking. Steve isn’t a social drinker.

He drinks alone. He explains that he has been drinking by himself all night long.

Steve is not a young college kid experimenting with alcohol. Steve is over

thirty years old. Steve drinks nearly every night. Steve is an alcoholic.

Alcoholism is a disease that affects many people in the United States today. It

not only affects the alcoholic, but also their family, friends, co-workers, and

eventually total strangers. The symptoms are many, as are the causes and the

effects.

Alcoholism is defined as a pattern of drinking in which harmful consequences

result for the drinker, yet, they continue to drink. There are two types of drinkers.

The first type, the casual or social drinker, drinks because they want to. They drink

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with a friend or with a group for pleasure and only on occasion. The other type, the

compulsive drinker, drinks because they have to, despite the adverse effects that

drinking has on their lives.

The symptoms of alcoholism vary from person to person, but the most

common symptoms seen are changes in emotional state or stability, behavior, and

personality. “Alcoholics may become angry and argumentative, quiet and withdrawn

or depressed. They may also feel more anxious, sad, tense, and confused. They then

seek relief by drinking more” (Gitlow 175).

“Because time and amount of drinking are uncontrollable, the alcoholic 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 never do such things, nor approve of them in others unless he was

drinking” (Johnson 203).

The cause of alcoholism is a combination of biological, psychological, and

cultural factors that may contribute to the development of alcoholism in an

individual. Alcoholism seems to run in families. “Although there is no conclusive

indication of how the alcoholism of families members is associated, studies show

that 50 to 80 percent of all alcoholics have had a close alcoholic relative” (Caplan

266). Some researchers have suggested that in several cases, alcoholics have an

inherited, predisposition to alcohol addiction. Studies of animals and human twins

have lent support to this theory.

Alcoholism can also be related to emotional instabilities. For example,

alcoholism is often associated with a family history of manic-depressive illness.

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Additionally, like many other drug abusers, alcoholics often drink hoping to “drown’

anxious or depressed feelings. Some alcoholics drink to reduce strong inhibitions or

guilt about expressing negative feelings.

Social and cultural factors play roles in to establishing drinking patterns and

the development of alcoholism. In some cultures, there is conflict between

abstaining and accepting the use of alcohol as a way to change moods or to be

social, thus making it difficult for some people to develop stable attitudes about and

moderate patterns of drinking. Society tends to aid in the development of alcoholism

by making alcohol seem glamorous, showing that by drinking, you will become

more popular, more glamorous and more worthy of respects from others.

The physical effects of alcoholism are some what gruesome. Excessive in

take and prolonged use of alcohol can cause serious disturbances in body chemistry.

“Many alcoholics exhibit swollen and tender livers. The prolonged use of large

amounts of alcoholism without adequate diet may cause serious liver damage, such

as cirrhosis of the liver” (McCarthy 505).

Alcoholism also causes loss of muscular control. The condition, delirium

tremens, known primarily to heavy drinkers, causes hallucinations along with loss of

control of muscular functioning. When this condition develops and the alcoholic

slows their drinking, withdrawal syndrome can and often does occur. This may

include agitation, tremors, seizures, and hallucinations.

Alcoholism also causes damage to the brain. Alcoholics may suffer from lack

of concentration. The alcoholic may also experience “blackouts,” occasional onsets

of memory lapses, and possibly complete memory loss. They may also suffer from

more serious forms of brain damage.

The social effects of alcoholism can be as devastating as the physical effects.

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Children of alcoholics may be affected by the parents alcoholism in several different

ways. Having a problem- drinker parent often increases the risk of becoming a

problem drinker oneself. This may happen for reasons such as identification with or

imitation of the alcoholic parent. It may also happen because of the social and

family conditions that are thought to be associated with the development of

alcoholism. These include family conflict, job insecurity, divorce, and social stigma.

Alcoholism is an outrageous public health problem. “The Institute of Medicine of

the National Academy of Sciences estimates that alcoholism and alcohol abuse in

the United States cost society from $40 to $60 billion annually, due to the lost

production, health and medical care, motor vehicle accidents, violent crime, and

social programs that respond to alcohol problems. One half of all traffic fatalities

and one-third of all traffic injuries are related to to the abuse of alcohol” (Caplan

266).

Accidents and suicides that are associated with alcohol problems are

especially prominent in the teen years. It is estimated that over 3 million teens

between the ages of 14 and 17 in the United States today are problem drinkers.

Alcoholism is a serious problem in today’s society. It is extremely important

that the public, including the large groups of users and abusers of alcohol, gain as

much knowledge as possible about the symptoms and effects of alcoholism if we

ever want to see the reduction of statics involving fatalities, injuries, diseases caused

from the use and abuse of alcohol. Education and realization of the effects

alcoholism can have on the different aspects of a person’s life are the best ways that

we can help control the number of alcoholics in the United States.

Caplan, Roberta. “Alcoholism.” Academic American Encyclopedia. 1992.

Gitlow, Stanley E., MD “Alcoholism.” New Book Of Knowledge. 1991.

Johnson, Vernon. Everything You Need To Know About Chemical

Dependency. 1994.

Vernon Johnson’s Guide For Families. Minneapolis: Johnson Institute. 1998.

McCarthy, Raymond G. “Alcoholism.” Collier’s Encyclopedia. 1974.