Mapping the Relationships

Alcohol Abuse

In this paper I will be discussing the impact of alcohol abuse among families and communities and the impact on the individual with this addiction. Then I will go into detail about the different kinds of people that alcohol abuse is more common in. Then I will give you some insight based on the different societal views, so what media would say about alcohol abuse and about the public policy when it comes to alcohol. Then I will talk about the specific model that represents this disease and then I will give you some insight on some of the educational and prevention programs that are available for people with this addiction.

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Issues Among People that are Addicted to Alcohol

Addictive Alcohol Patterns

There are many signs and patterns of a person that is addicted to alcohol or better known as having AUD (Alcohol Use Disorder). People with this addiction are usually great at hiding the fact that they are addicted. According to Healthline.com, “People with alcohol use disorder (AUD) may be able to hide many of the more obvious symptoms of addiction for a long period of time. People with this addiction and the people around them may choose to ignore their addiction. They may also find themselves in a state of denial about the realities of their alcohol use” (Healthline, p. 2). Not all the cases are like this though. Some people that are addicted to alcohol are fortunate enough to have people that care about them and try to provide them with help. If you know a friend or family member that is addicted to alcohol and are trying to seek help, look for some signs like: They are unable to control how much they drink, feeling like you have to drink in order to feel “normal”, hiding alcohol in places such as cars or unusual places around our house, and being irritated because you have not drank. These are not all the signs, but these are some important ones.

Impact of Alcohol Abuse

As you may know, there are impacts that alcohol alone has on the brain, body, and relationships. Imagine being addicted to alcohol, the greater the impact is going to be. According to NIH, “Drinking too much – on a single occasion or over time – can take a serious toll on your health” (NIH, p. 1) Going into specific detail about this quote, alcohol abuse affects the main parts of your body such as the brain, heart, liver, and pancreas. It can also cause cancer in many parts of your body such as the mouth, esophagus, throat, liver, and breasts. What alcohol abuse does to each major organ in your body is slows the functioning process down and makes it hard for these organs to function. It can also cause these organs to make your attitude and behavior differ from day-to-day.

People that are mainly affected by Alcohol Abuse

According to NIH, “According to the 2015 NSDUH, 15.1 million adults age 18 and older (6.2 percent of this age group) had AUD. This includes 9.8 million men (8.4 percent of men in this age group) and 5.3 million women (4.2 percent of women in this age group)” (NIH, p. 3). This quote represents the age group of people that were addicted to alcohol. The number of people younger than 18 that had AUD was about 6 percent lower for males and 2 percent lower for females. The financial toll that this had on the United States is that alcohol abuse cost the government roughly 250 billion dollars within the years of 2010 until now.

Cost to Society

The cost on society differs from community to community. Some of the things it can affect in a society is the way people communicate with each other, businesses, the amount of people that die a year due to alcohol abuse, and the types of programs that a community will have based on their numbers of people with AUD.

Societal Views

Changes throughout history

Changes to alcohol started in the mid 1700’s. The fist change that occurred was when Native tribes started to form “sobriety circles”. According to Doff, “Native American sobriety circles were led by tribe members who’d survived their own battles with playing drink, drink, drunk. The movement leaders used their own recoveries from alcoholism to launch abstinence-based movements that called for the complete rejection of alcohol and a return to ancestral traditions” (Doff, p. 4). Then in the late 1800’s, the Ribbon Reform Clubs came along. They would wear blue ribbons to symbolize abstinence from alcohol. According to addcition.com, “The first reform clubs began in Maine in the 1870s, led by recovering alcoholic J.K. Osgood. Osgood convinced some of his former drinking buddies to sign a pledge with him, and as more men joined the group they all began wearing blue ribbons on their lapels to symbolize their commitment to abstinence from alcohol” (Addiction, p. 6).

Media Views on Alcohol

Alcohol is portrayed in many ways, such as through television, radio, movies, music and their videos, posters, flyers, and even experimental studies. Television is the main cause of the way people view alcohol. If you think about it, many young children watch at least 20-25 hours a week of television. This can go from cartoons to movies to music videos. Either way they go, commercials are advertised daily and the chances of them seeing a commercial on alcohol is very common.

Public Policy

In the United States, you must be 21 to legally buy, consume, or serve alcohol. If you are a business and you are trying to sell alcohol, you must have a license to do so. When it comes to drinking and driving, tests are done at random or because of suspicion. If caught, you get charged with a DUI and can have your licensed suspended and/or serve jail time.

Disease theory for Alcoholism

Jellinek

This theory stems from the man Elvin Morton Jellinek who wrote the famous book, that was published by the Center of Alcohol Studies at Yale Medical School. This book was about the concept of alcoholism as a disease and how it can be recognized through different stages. According to DualDiagnosis.org, “Jellinek is often called the father of the disease theory or model of alcoholism. His theory listed alcoholism as having stages that drinkers progressively passed through” (Dual Diagnosis, p. 6). These stages include the Pre-alcoholic stage which is when you start to social drink and start to develop a tolerance. Then comes the Prodromal stage which is where blackouts start to occur, and you begin to drink alone. After these early stages of alcoholism comes the crucial stage, which is where you start to spiral out of control with drinking and it is never at appropriate times. Finally comes the chronic phase, which is drinking daily, health problems are starting to become prevalent and long-term affects are coming into play.

Education and Prevention Programs

National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

This program is one of America’s most valued programs, also known as NIAAA. There are 27 different organizations with this Institute that help to reach out to people that are addicted to alcohol. This Institute has been funding and providing help to patients for more than 40 years. A couple of them main things that this organization focuses on is preventing, educating, and understanding what addiction is, working around the world with other organizations with this same focus, and making this organization available publicly. This organization helped to have the Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention Treatment and Rehabilitation Act of 1970 signed.

National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc

This program, also known as NCADD, is dedicated to helping people who are trying to overcome alcohol use disorder or even substance abuse disorders. They offer information to people all around the world, for those who need connections to resources that will help them get treatment or go through the treatment process. There are over 100 people that are affiliated worldwide with this program. Their basic principle is that anyone can be treated for alcoholism and can recover and live a healthy and fulfilling life. They have been providing help for families and communities for over 70 years. Their mission is to help fight alcoholism and the devastating affects that it can have on a family or an individual.

Alcoholic Anonymous

This program, also known as AA, is a national organization that helps to provide alcoholics that are in the process of recovering with a place that is safe and they can share and work towards a better and healthier lifestyle. This is not a professional group but a group that is based off the members that join and take part in it. There are no required meetings that you must attend, all that is required is the support of your other group members to help you stay sober. There is something known as the Big Book that is given to all members of AA. This has been proved to be a helpful part of treatment for alcoholics.

Conclusion

While doing my research I found out many things about people who are addicted to alcohol. Due to this, I now know the signs of someone who is abusing alcohol, the different ways it affects a society, not only physically but financially. I found out the different societal views on alcohol and how the media portrays it and then finally I found out about the major education and prevention groups that are out there for people.