Alcohol Abuse

Nicholas Black
Professor Patton
7/6/2017
 This paper will discuss the causes and psychological impact of alcohol abuse. It will also

talk about the many different ways someone can receive help if they are abusing alcohol. I will

be providing examples from academic sources as well as real life encounters. I will also be

pulling information from academic sources and interviews from people suffering from alcohol

addiction.

Over the course of my paper, I intend on talking about alcohol abuse. I will be touching

on how it effects with you psychologically, what causes it, and how to treat it. The reason I

decided to go with this topic is that a few of my family members have suffered from this and it

caused them not only financial turmoil but physical health issues as well. If there would be one

thing I could discover by the end of my paper it would be just a better understanding of why it

happens and how I can help people step away from it so that no one has to go through what

others have when it comes to alcohol abuse in their household and family.

The first thing I wanted to touch on was what causes alcohol abuse. While living in a

family that deals with alcohol abuse one thing that I have picked up on that causes is it is an

attachment to the sensation. They are so infatuated with the feeling of being drunk and under the

influence and they are always striving to get back to that level. It would not matter what time of

day it was because they just wanted to have the feeling back. Being attached to the feeling is not

only affecting the family's daily lives but also the person who is abusing it. They will be having

to spend a copious amount of money on alcohol just trying to get back to that level. This could

range from one bottle a day to three bottles a day. It all really depends on the person and how

much they can handle. Over time however, they will start to develop a higher tolerance to

alcohol which requires them to drink more and more every time. It also affects their daily work

lives as well. They might start to fall behind on work because they are too busy worried about

when their next time they will be able to get drunk is. Being attracted to the sensation is all a

mental sensation that is very hard to overcome. Another reason that one might be drawn to

alcohol would be that they use it as a coping mechanism. They could use alcohol to not only
celebrate one's achievements but to also get over something bad that happened in their day. This

can also turn out to be detrimental because some people might feel the drive to get through their

daily lives just to get to the bottle at the end of the day. Some people might also drink a plethora

of alcohol to get over one event. One of these events could range from a death in the family to

getting a divorce. An example I thought of for this one would be one time I was watching The

Simpsons. Homer loved to drink so I thought nothing of it until one episode where he thought his

dog died. Homer went to the bar that night and got extremely drunk, drunker than he usually did

in the cartoon. Later on in the cartoon after he came back that morning from his long night at the

bar he mentioned how he was just using alcohol as a way to get over the dog's death. After a

few minutes, the dog actually comes through the doggy door and Homer goes to celebrate again.

Once again he drinks too much and stumbles back home the next morning. While watching this I

learned that people not only use alcohol to cope with sad events in their lives but happy ones as

well. It also showed me how that could easily turn into a vicious cycle where someone could be

trapped and strapped to the bottle. This one is one you have to watch out for because you are

more than welcome to celebrate something but make sure it is not too the point where you are

celebrating something every night. The last part I wanted to talk about when it comes to what

causes alcohol abuse would be family issues. This is one I hold near and dear to my heart

because my dad often says that that is why he comes home and drinks so much. When I asked

him why he thinks that is a suitable way to cope with issues he said, Well, starting at a young

age that was all I knew, my dad was a drinker and so was your great grandpa so I just deemed it

necessary, I then followed up with the question, but what does that have to do with family

issues specifically, he replied with I need to forget, I need to forget about when people are

going to get out of jail or when someone has the next court date. I need to forget how everything

has changed over the course of a year and all of that on top of work just leaves so drained at the

end of the day I need a little. A little boost. And a nice beer is exactly what boosts me, Thomas

Black, current alcoholic. After interviewing my dad I did not know what to say or do next. I still
had the question of why. Why is it so important to feel that feeling when you know what your

family is currently in financial turmoil. Your ten dollars a day could easily go towards the rent

you can barely afford it as is. Overall when I went into research for this part of my paper I was

hoping to find the why. After looking back through it I would say that I opened more doors with

even more questions.

For the next part of my paper, I wanted to touch on how if affects you not only physically

but mentally as well. The first thing I wanted to touch on was how alcohol affects your body as a

whole. There are a plethora of different ways that alcohol can affect you. Some of the more well-

known ways include gassiness, bloating, a feeling of fullness in your abdomen, and diarrhea or

painful stools. Some of the more serious physical effects include high blood pressure, irregular

heartbeat, difficulty pumping blood through the body, stroke, heart attack, heart disease, and

heart failure. Some of the more mental effects of alcohol include learning difficulty, increased

emotional problems, and physical development abnormalities. I also found that alcohol can

reduce communication between your brain and your body. This makes coordination more

difficult. You may have a hard time balancing. As alcohol causes more damage to your central

nervous system, you may experience numbness and tingling sensations in your feet and hands.

Drinking also makes it difficult for your brain to create long-term memories. It also reduces your

ability to think clearly and make rational choices. Over time, frontal lobe damage can occur. This

area of the brain is responsible for emotional control, short-term memory, and judgment, in

addition to other vital roles.Chronic and severe alcohol abuse can also cause permanent brain

damage. This can lead to Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, a brain disorder that affects memory.

Another way that I thought that alcohol can affect you is when it comes to anger and sadness.

Since some people use alcohol to cope with sadness at the same time it might cause a sort of

sadness. When you drink you tend to lose a sense of rationality and control over your emotions.

A simple thing like dropping your phone could easily trigger you into a sad state of mind or into

an angry rampage to the person that you thought bumped you and made you drop it. A very
personal example I have of this occurred this past Drake Relays. Drake Relays is a very crowded

event for not only students but some parents as well. After every night of racing a ton of people

head over to Peggys, the campus bar. My friends and I just got to Peggys tent for the night

when we realized it might be beneficial to head into the bar to get a drink. We were inside the

bar with about five hundred other people (keep in mind this bar is very small), everyone was

touching and bumping into each other because of how crowded it was. There was the one dude

who was roughly about mid-thirties who was in line for the bar like rest of us, no problem what

so ever. Until my friend bumped into him because she was pushed by someone trying to get

closer to the bar. She apologized because this was not her intention whatsoever. He turned

around and got into my friends face saying how disrespectful, ugly, and fat she was. He then

proceeded to choke my friend until I got over to him and pulled him off. It turned into a yelling

match where all of his friends who were all extremely intoxicated were yelling at us for starting a

fight with his friend. It turned into a big ordeal and the other people got kicked out of the bar

because he put his hands on my friend. This was a prime example of how alcohol can affect your

brain when it comes to anger and sadness. Had that guy not been drinking so much I bet he

would not have been so quick to put his hands on a girl and realized that this bar was really

packed, you could easily say he was not in control of his mind, the rum and coke were. Even

though my friend was stone cold sober I would not have wanted to see what she would have

done. Overall, alcohol has a ton of different effects on your body, mentally and physically. These

effects are not limited to you but can also affect others that are directly and indirectly connected

with you as well.

For the final part of my paper, I wanted to touch on the ways some people can get help

when it comes to alcohol abuse. One way that you can help them is by staying with them. Even

though it might become really hard to stay with someone who is putting a plethora of stress on

you, and someone you are constantly worrying about, it would be even harder on them if you left

them to fight the battle alone. A personal example I have of this comes with my aunt. My aunt
moved into a very small single apartment in Madrid Iowa after her husband died. She had a

plethora of support from the people around her for the first few months when she moved.

However, when everyone headed back to their homes she was under the impression no one cared

about her. She thought that drinking was her only way to get through it. My dad, mom, and I

walked into her apartment after not seeing her for a month and her place was just covered with

hard liquor bottles. This was seven years ago and I decided to talk to her about it once again for

my paper. When I asked her why she thought drinking was the answer she replied with, I started

playing mind games with myself, thinking that no one even would notice if I went away, I

thought I was going to realize I did not need it after my kidney replacement but I just tricked

myself, my mind played itself and I went into a dark place because of it. Gay Nell Jorgensen,

Aunt. Overall the support from friend and family are a very strong tool when it comes to

addiction. Another way to get help when it comes to alcohol abuse is going to an AA meeting or

going to a treatment center. You might ask the question When is the right time?. I found a

quote that sums up the repercussion of alcohol abuse and when the right time is to find those

options. If you, a friend or a family member abuses alcohol, you'll need to find alcohol abuse

treatment as soon as possible. As with many addictions, alcohol can destroy many aspects of

your life, and your body as well. Abusing alcohol can damage the liver, pancreas, and throat,

lead to high blood pressure and is associated with various cancers. In contrast to many other

commonly abused drugs, detoxing from alcohol can actually be life-threatening if not done

properly. The nearest abuse center we have to Des Moines is located at 1922 Ingersoll Ave,

Suite 110, Des Moines, Iowa 50309. There are also a plethora of different AA meeting you can

attend as well to help get help and so you can talk about your ongoing battle. The closest to Des

Moines is located at 1216 25th Ct, Des Moines, IA, 50317. It is a group called the East Side

Study Group @ CITADEL WORSHIP CENTER. They meet every Monday, Tuesday,

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday at noon. This is labeled as a discussion based group

where you can talk about your problems with other people who are going through the same
things you are. Alcohol abuse phone lines are available twenty-four hours a day and are free of

use. Call centers like these are at your disposal to help you get through whatever tough times you

are going through and can help you find better long turn help. They can be reached at 877-308-

5004. One thing I really liked about this number and website was that it was very welcoming and

open. Their mission statement under the number was Our representatives are available 24 hours

a day to provide information by phone and chat. Nights, weekends, & holidays included. We

strive to match your specific needs to a program that can treat your addiction and any additional

mental health issues, and is covered by your insurance. Call us. We may be able to make getting

into treatment easier.. They also had online chatting available as soon as you opened their

website. I explained to them what I was doing and she explained they just have an online chat

system to help guide people in the right away to the right links so they do not get overwhelmed

and leave the site. Overall what I learned when going over this topic was that there are so many

different options out there for help. I learned that being there for someone and guiding them in

the right direction can be the first step to helping the get over the mental and physical strain of

being addicted to alcohol.

In conclusion, alcohol addiction is a real common day mental disease millions of

American's face each day. You could easily pass someone in your own household with the

mental disease and not even know it. With multiple different ways to help guide someone

suffering from this disease, you can help impact the life of an abuser.
Work Cited

1. The Effects of Alcohol on Your Body. (2017, June 09). Retrieved July 08, 2017, from

http://www.healthline.com/health/alcohol/effects-on-body#behavior_changes

2. Des Moines Alcohol Abuse Centers. (2016, December 08). Retreived July 08, 2017, from

http://drugabuse.com/usa/alcohol-abuse/des-moines-ia/#the-listings-more

3. End Addiction Today, We Can Help, Call 24/7. (n.d.). Retrieved July 08, 2017, from

https://addictiontosobriety.com/?utm_source=g&utm_campaign=g5&utm_medium=c&ut

m_content=0129A00001&gclid=Cj0KEQjwv_fKBRCG8a3ao-

OQuZ8BEiQAvpHp6MOtmEPFHLhlPap_hZpb0IH4D_t5D7wuI2bTAm4ZaNoaAsak8P

8HAQ

4. Black, T. K., & Jorgensen, G. D. (2017, July 5). Alcohol Abuse [Interview by N. S. Black].

5. Abuse, N. I. (2016, September 09). Alcohol. Retrieved July 08, 2017, from

https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/alcohol