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Alcohol Addiction
Alcohol is one of the hardest
drugs to stop using considering its wide spread
use and popularity in today’s culture. It is
easily accessible at most convenience stores and
as we all know, convenience stores are
everywhere. For a person trying to kick their
addiction, something as simple as paying for a
tank of gasoline could be a big issue. It can be
challenging if the person is not on the right
footing when entering the store. They may
suddenly find themselves looking through the
glass freezer doors, scanning the shelves,
moving from Coca-Cola to Pepsi down to the
energy drinks section and then to the alcohol
section. For a normal individual (non alcoholic)
it is a simple issue. They would give little
thought and apply little effort in turning and
walking away.
But for an alcoholic that
wants and needs to drink, turning and walking
away from the freezer door is like drowning in
the middle of a stormy ocean, seeing a life
preserver nearby but not reaching for it. For
the normal individual, this example seems
extreme but for the alcoholic that is still
drinking, it is a hard truth.
Alcohol addiction has yet to
be completely understood by the scientific and
medical communities. One thing commonly agreed
upon is that alcohol addiction, or alcoholism,
is a fatal disease if not treated. Luckily, it
is treatable. Though there has yet to be a
vaccine invented that will cure the disease of
alcoholism. As of today, there is no proven
permanent cure for alcoholism. On the bright
side, there are numerous ways to combat
alcoholism for those willing to stop drinking
and accept help.
Alcoholism is considered by
most to be an obsession of the mind and allergy
of the body. When thinking of an allergy, most
people think of an allergic reaction to, say,
shellfish. For someone who is allergic to
shellfish to sit at the dinner table and fill
their stomach with it could be fatal. But what
if this person has an obsession that cannot be
controlled once they begin eating the shellfish?
They need more and more until they have filled
themselves with it and must be hospitalized
because of it. Family members and friends can
hide the shellfish, not buy it, skip the
shellfish sections of the local market but
somehow, someway, the individual with the
shellfish obsession will find a way to get it
and eat it. Again, this sets off a turn of
events that nearly kills the person and lands
them in the hospital. Alcoholism is similar to
the example above.
As it has been said before,
one drink is too many and a thousand is never
enough. The disease of alcoholism is sly,
mysterious, potent and patient. A non alcoholic
can be at a social event, have a drink maybe
two, start to feel tipsy or a sense of loss of
control, nausea might set in and they will stop.
For an alcoholic at the same event, they will
have a drink and begin to feel more in control,
more elated and free. Another drink increases
that feeling so another will be needed after
that and another and then another. The
alcoholic will continue to drink and will be
drunk before the night is over.
When a person crosses the line
between normal drinking and alcoholism, they
will never be the same again. It is like
changing a cucumber into a pickle. The pickle
will never be cucumber again. The alcoholic will
try to grasp the same feelings and emotions they
once associated with casual drinking but it will
elude them indefinitely. They will continue down
numerous paths to try and regain what once was
but will exhaust every avenue until there is
nowhere else to turn. Even then, they may still
drink.
Alcoholism is misunderstood by
the general population and there is good reason
behind this. Non-alcoholics will never be able
to comprehend the powerful obsessions affiliated
with alcoholism. It is something that cannot be
understood unless it is lived by the individual
themselves. Even the alcoholic may be baffled by
their life threatening dilemma. Not too long ago
alcoholics were thrown into insane asylums and
locked away. But there is hope for the alcoholic
today. By accepting help, an alcoholic can
increase their chances of living a
purpose-filled and happy, alcohol-free life.
By: Patrick McLemore
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