Alcohol Abuse

By: Martin Morales

What inspired me to talk about alcohol abuse is because I have seen families suffer from this drug and the worse part is that we don’t think is a real problem because this drug is legal.

Research

Research shows that alcohol abuse can lead to what is called Alcohol Use Disorder. Alcohol Use Disorder is a very serious problem and based on the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “Approximately 7.2 percent or 17 million adults in the United States ages 18 and older had an AUD in 2012.” In order to verify if a person has AUD professional’s asses the individuals by asking them this questions.

•    “Had times when you ended up drinking more, or longer than you intended? 

•    More than once wanted to cut down or stop drinking, or tried to, but couldn’t?

•    Spent a lot of time drinking? Or being sick or getting over the aftereffects? 

•    Experienced craving — a strong need, or urge, to drink? 

•    Found that drinking — or being sick from drinking — often interfered with taking care of your home or family? Or caused job troubles? Or school problems?

•    Continued to drink even though it was causing trouble with your family or friends? 

•    Given up or cut back on activities that were important or interesting to you, or gave you pleasure, in order to drink? 

•    More than once gotten into situations while or after drinking that increased your chances of getting hurt (such as driving, swimming, using machinery, walking in a dangerous area, or having unsafe sex)? 

•    Continued to drink even though it was making you feel depressed or anxious or adding to another health problem? Or after having had a memory blackout?

•    Had to drink much more than you once did to get the effect you want? Or found that your usual number of drinks had much less effect than before?

•    Found that when the effects of alcohol were wearing off, you had withdrawal symptoms, such as trouble sleeping, shakiness, irritability, anxiety, depression, restlessness, nausea, or sweating? Or sensed things that were not there?”

 If anyone you know had answer many of this questions with “yes” then they are suffering from alcohol abuse and might also suffer from Alcohol Use Disorder which can lead to serious effects.

Reference:

Information above was retrieved from: "Alcohol Use Disorder | National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2016.

According to The Alcohol Addiction and Abuse Addiction Center, “Alcohol is a legal, controlled substance that lowers anxiety and inhibitions. It also has a broad range of side effects, from loss of coordination to slurred speech. Not everyone who drinks is an alcoholic, but anyone whose life is negatively affected by alcohol on a consistent basis is considered to have an alcohol use disorder. Alcohol is commonly consumed as a drink in various forms, including beer, wine and hard liquor.”

Reference:

@AddictionCentr. "Alcohol Addiction and Abuse - Learn More About Alcoholism." Addiction Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2016.

Personal:

Alcohol abuse relates to me at a very personal level my entire childhood I grew up surrounded by people who suffered from AUD (Alcohol Use Disorder) and I have seen how this addiction can change a person drastically. My uncle for example was a very smart and well respected person before he started suffering from Alcohol Use Disorder. He was smart because even though he came to the United States when he was twenty years old he was able to learn English under a year and he quickly began his higher education at Dominguez hills. He was well respected because everyone knew who he was because he would always start a conversation with others, always would take out his family to eat on Sundays, would go to different events to socialize and would take part in the community. All this change after he started drinking first it started with a few beers at a party. Then it wasn’t beer anymore it was tequila. He soon would hang out with other people who would usually drink every weekend. We notice a sudden change in his personality he was becoming more aggressive and very short temper. He soon stopped going to Dominguez Hills and started working. He wouldn’t go out on weekends anymore he would rather stay home watch a soccer game with his friends and get drunk. He was becoming more and more violent to the point where he would hit his wife for telling him to quit drinking. Now he drinks everyday sometimes he doesn’t go to work because he is drunk. He is starting to forget a lot of his responsibilities and most of the time he spends it drunk with his other alcoholic friends. Every body is worried about him his addiction to alcohol is destroying his family there has been multiple fights where he could have gone killed because he is under the influence. As a family we have come together to try to get him some help but he refuses our help every time. I encourage those people who suffer from Alcohol Use Disorder to seek for help because you are effecting your self’s and the people that you love the most.  

People in the community Against Alcohol Abuse: