Alcoholism has a number of definitions, depending on who is
defining it. To those who witness it firsthand, it seems like a form of
escalating madness. Even within the medical community there are
differing viewpoints about alcoholism. Psychiatrists may focus on the
psychological components of alcoholism and an alcoholic's interaction
with life and society. Other doctors may view alcoholism purely as a
physical addiction and choose to treat it with drugs. Usually both
approaches are used, particularly with advanced alcoholism. Various
political and religious groups may choose to view alcoholism in a
different light. Due to the failure of prohibition few politicians
would condone a return to it, however even today some jurisdictions do
limit public drinking to maintain public order.
The abuse of
alcohol is probably as old as agriculture, when human beings first made
alcohol. Some people believe that alcohol production became a way of
purifying water. This would have protected early humans from the risks
associated with catching intestinal parasites from drinking water.
Some
human genes seem to cause some individuals to fail at producing
chemicals within their brains that alcohol can mimic. This is what is
meant when an individual is considered to have a genetic vulnerability
to alcohol addiction. There have been several genes identified that are
linked to this vulnerability.
Although there may be a genetic
vulnerability to alcohol abuse in some people, few experts on the
subject would consider genetics to be the sole cause of alcoholism. The
social groups that the individual belongs to and the culture within
those groups in relation to drinking, may also have an impact on the
drinker. These social groups would also include relatives. It may be
difficult to separate a genetic vulnerability and a tendency in some
families to drink on a variety of occasions and maybe frequently. To
say it runs in the family may not be identifying much in terms of exact
causes.
There seems to be ample evidence to suggest that social
behaviors of some groups, as well as psychological vulnerabilities of
some people, can contribute to the development of alcoholism. The
vulnerability of an individual may be enhanced by poor emotional health.
Emotional health can be effected both by external events in an
individual's life and by their personal reaction to these events.
Examples could be unhappy employment or job loss, the decay of or loss
of a romantic relationship, or even health problems. Part of the issue
is the problem itself, but a portion of the responsibility lies with how
the individual chooses to cope with the problem.
The damage to
the body, brain, social life and finances of an alcoholic can be
devastating in the long run. The longer that the alcoholism goes on,
the greater the resulting damage will be. With exception to drinking
and driving convictions, modern societies have no mechanism to compel an
alcoholic to seek treatment - regardless of how much damage they've
done to their lives.
Cures for alcoholism always carry with them
the potential of failure; a percentage of alcoholics will always start
to drink again. Some organizations, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, favor
complete abstinence. Others recognize that some renewed drinking, as
long as it is moderate, is not necessarily a failure.
Grappling
with alcoholism is a life long struggle for those who suffer from it.
Unfortunately those who wrestle with this illness may suffer
considerable damage before summoning the resolve to attempt recovery.
Science and medicine continue to make advances in coping with
alcoholism, but the real effort is in the life and resolve of each
alcoholic trying to get better.
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