Alcoholism: When your habit takes over your life and home
David Peters
Societies the world over have long since encouraged the role of alcohol as an integral part of their celebrations. From the workplace, where board meetings are often followed by a round of drinks, to celebrations which often call for the customary toast alcohol is viewed as a harmless indulgence which lifts spirits and fosters a sentiment of togetherness, as people bond over a drink or two. But very often, it does not take long for this one drink to multiply into two, and then four, and to find these instances which call for a drink cropping up at increasingly regular intervals. And this is when the disease called alcoholism takes its roots, growing into a web of despair and illness that enmeshes the victim when he is at his most vulnerable.
This disease is very difficult to unmask as the individual himself does not see anything abnormal with his drinking habit and people around him discard the problem as just a mere indulgence, which the person can bring an end to anytime he wants. And this cycle of deception continues, until the ill-effects of alcohol become so severe that only drastic measures have to be called upon. Alcohol is a slow poison one that works itself up into your body, destroying it over the course of time and gradually enveloping your family and social interactions in its cloud of gloom which further spreads to encompass the society and even the economy and development of the country as a whole with the spate of delinquent behaviors and loss of productivity it causes.
When an individual begins to consume excessive amounts of alcohol, his abuse first manifests itself on his physical health. From heart disease to complications in the functioning of the liver, the victim begins to fall prey to a host of ailments which result in him calling in sick more often, which impairs the productivity of the organization as a whole. On a broader spectrum, this also causes discernable losses in revenue to the economy, thus hindering its growth and development.
In addition to the diminished amounts of income that an alcoholic earns, his expenditure only increases as he spends more and more of his earnings on alcohol. Needless to say, this behavior takes a toll on the physical and emotional health of his immediate family, causing relationships to be estranged and burdening the victim with financial woes. To escape these worries, he tends to drink more and more, without realizing the fact that alcohol is only further adding to his depression, as the inherent trait of alcohol is that of a depressant. This pattern of drinking has no end to it, as he continues to drink to evade the depression that his drinking itself is causing him.
Society is not very sympathetic in their outlook towards alcoholics as most people scorn victims of alcohol abuse as too weak to control their excesses. This takes its toll on the victim's self esteem a condition that is compounded by the psychological disorders that alcohol is responsible for. The chronic depression that the alcoholic suffers from matures into more terrifying diseases like paranoia and even schizophrenia in the long run. Alcoholics are also more inclined to other forms of substance abuse which complicate the problems alcohol is already causing them.
Children, whose parents are victims of alcohol abuse, are also more susceptible to depression, which exhibits itself in the form of uncontrollable crying, bedwetting and nightmares, when they are younger and acting-out behaviors as they grow older. This means that they may either be very rebellious, failing classes and engaging in destructive behavior, or they may be overly compliant and obsessive about their grades, extremely self-conscious and suffer from phobias. These children often isolate themselves as they have no one to confide in about their fears and often believing that they are destined to be failures, no matter how hard they try.
The mounting pressures of the modern day world and the relentless pace of life lead to larger numbers of people trying to drink away their fears and worries with every passing day. But if you think that these are reasons enough for you to loosen up with 'just another tin drink' think again. Your excesses can not only jeopardize your life and well-being, but also that of your family and those you are close to. Take a minute to consider if the gamble, though a seemingly harmless one, is a wise choice to make, given all the disastrous effects it can lead to. Take that first step today and pull yourself out of the reaches of alcoholism and you'll soon realize all the wonders of life you had shut your doors to.
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