Alcoholism

A detailed Summary of Alcoholism

The bottle is never too far from the hand of Mr. Smith. He goes home and yells at his children. He sometimes hits them and his wife, too. When the family isn't fighting, they're not talking. Mrs. Smith is depressed and the kids are emotional wrecks. This situation isn't as fictional as it may sound.

Alcoholism is a widespread problem all over the United States. 104 million people (46.6%) in the United States are current drinkers, and 12.6 million (5.6%) are heavy drinkers. Although massive damage can be done to the body by abusing alcohol, the waste is not limited to just the alcoholic. Alcohol can destroy the social and private lives of any person who abuses it.

The destructive power of alcohol can be made into a cycle. The cycle begins with the consumption of alcohol. What alcohol does is activate the "pleasure circuit" releasing dopamine, producing a feeling as low as mild happiness or as high as euphoria. Chronic use of alcohol will kill off dopamine receptors and essentially make it harder for the user to be happy. The simple things that made the user happy before, like a good conversation or a good book, will be seemingly useless. (Newsweek 2001, 40) When alcohol is first consumed, it passes almost immediate

This cycle continues by progressively decaying life at home. In an article written in Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly, it was written that alcoholic fathers spoke less, smiled less, and were generally much less sensitive to the needs of their family. ("Research tracks alcoholic father's effects." 2001, p5) "Fathers and alcoholism has a major import on family functioning even as early as [twelve] months." Says Rina Das Eiden, Ph.D. Dr. Enoch Gordis, director of the NIH (National Institute of Health) National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism said in the December 31st edition of The Seattle Times, "One in four kids see family alcohol abuse." Gordis went on to say that, "Aside from developing alcohol problems themselves, these kids often have conduct disorders. Some have emotional disturbances, some do badly in school." (The Seattle Times 1999, A7) An estimated seven million kids are growing up with an alcoholic parent, and also 90% of child abuse cases involve alcohol in one way or another. (HealthFacts 1988, 13)

Ending the cycle is never easy. A reputed 85% of abusers in the United States have not received no treatment whatsoever, 10.6 million adults are alcoholics, 7.3 million adults are abusers. (HealthFacts 1988, 13) Unfortunately, quitting as not as

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Approximate Word count = 862
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Science

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Alcoholism

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