Prevention Of Alcoholism For Healthy And Happy Society

Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing. It is medically considered a disease, specifically an addictive illness.

 Alcoholism can have adverse effects on mental health, causing psychiatric disorders and increasing the risk of suicide. The onset of depression is a common symptom

 The social problems arising from alcoholism are serious, caused by the pathological changes in the brain and the intoxicating effects of alcohol. Alcohol abuse is associated with an increased risk of committing criminal offences, including child abuse, domestic violence, rape, burglary and assault. Alcoholism is associated with loss of employment, which can lead to financial problems. Drinking at inappropriate times, and behavior caused by reduced judgment, can lead to legal consequences, such as criminal charges for drunk driving or public disorder, or civil penalties for tortious behavior, and may lead to a criminal sentence.

 An alcoholic's behavior and mental impairment, while drunk, can profoundly affect those surrounding them and lead to isolation from family and friends. This isolation can lead to marital conflictand divorce, or contribute to domestic violence. Alcoholism can also lead to child neglect, with subsequent lasting damage to the emotional development of the alcoholic's children. For this reason, children of alcoholic parents can develop a number of emotional problems. For example, they can become afraid of their parents, because of their unstable mood behaviors. In addition, they can develop considerable amount of shame over their inadequacy to liberate their parents from alcoholism. As a result of this failure, they develop wretched self-images, which can lead to depression.

 The ideal approach to treatment is to help the person realize how much their alcohol use is harming their life and those around them. Studies find that more people with alcohol problems opt for treatment when their family members or employers are honest with them about their concerns, and try to help them see that drinking is preventing them from reaching their goals. Withdrawal from alcohol is best done in a controlled, supervised setting. Complications from withdrawal can be life threatening.

 Alcohol recovery or support programs can help you stop drinking completely. These programs usually offer: Counseling and therapy to discuss alcoholism and its effects and how to control your thoughts and behaviors Mental health support Medical care

 Support groups are available to help people who are dealing with alcoholism.

 The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism recommends: Women should not drink more than 1 drink per day Men should not drink more than 2 drinks per day One drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1 ounces of liquor.

Treatments
There are numerous individual treatments for alcoholism. Relapse prevention uses methods for recognizing and amending problem behaviors. Individualized drug counseling specifically emphasizes shortterm behavioral goals in an attempt to help the individual reduce or stop the use of alcohol altogether. Cognitive-therapy techniques, like helping the individual with alcohol dependence recognize what tends to precede and follow their episodes of alcohol use, are often used to address alcohol abuse. Some treatment programs include drug testing. Twelve-step recovery programs like Alcoholics Anonymous are individualized drugcounseling methods. Motivational enhancement therapy encourages the person suffering from alcoholism to increase their desire to participate in therapy. Stimulus control refers to a treatment method that teaches the alcohol-dependent person to stay away from situations that are associated with alcohol use and to replace those situations with activities that are contrary to using alcohol. Urge control is an approach to changing patterns that lead to drug or alcohol use.

 Friends and family members of alcoholic individuals have often developed a codependent relationship with the substance abuser. Specifically, they often feel compelled to either help their loved one secure alcohol or to repair situations caused by the alcoholic's alcohol use. Social control involves family members and other significant others of the alcoholic in treatment.