Alcoholism is a treatable illness from which as many as two-thirds of its victims recover. Alcoholism is a family disease and affects not only the alcoholic but also members of the family. Society is more concerned today than ever to learn the true form of alcoholism. Today rather than treating it like a disease alcoholism has become more of a moral weakness, which causes detrimental problems for drinkers and their families. Alcoholism is a primary, chronic disease with genetic psychological and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations (American Society of Addiction Medicine, 1993).
In the past physiologists and medical doctors felt that alcoholism was an untreatable disease.
Alcoholics where thought to be uncooperative and unwilling to help themselves. Alcoholism is also known to influence chaotic and violent behavior which if not stopped leads to isolating the person from society. This deadly disease is more associated and responsible of prison sentences than any other illness. Florida and other states have created statues that if broken can result in prison sentences including life. Drunk driving is either one of, if not the number one cause of death in the United States. Not only have the laws tried to prevent alcoholism’s desolate nature but also doctors stress fully research the illness.
Today doctors and psychiatrists understand alcoholism and therefore, recovery has become much more successful than in the past. Doctors can say someone has fully recovered but reoccurrence can happen anytime during a person’s life. Full recovery from alcoholism can only be absolutely recognizable and distinguished once a person’s lifespan has diminished. Rehabilitation and moment-to-moment sobriety from alcohol is successful when alcoholics with love ones, reestablish the harmonized family life and ideal work environment. Success rates of recovery are impossible to calculate. Over many recent years, recoveries have become more common and understood than the past.
Different patients respond to different treatments, but the starting process of the treatment is the best step an alcoholic can take. Doctors categorize alcoholics to find and know the best possible treatment. The therapists must view each client as representing a unique culture (Kr estan 2000).
Experts are imperative to this insidious behavior especially to prevent conflict and strife amongst members of family and society. Alcoholism is often to slow to be discovered in society even by family members capable of providing treatment. When the victim is unable to control his drinking, he or she could lose their job, family life, and well-being.
Most alcoholics and family members rarely admit to themselves the presence of alcoholism hoping it will miraculously vanish. Most of the time, lack of knowing early symptoms of alcoholism is what has handicapped society the most. Special efforts by, not only doctors, but also regular people can help others to discover the illness in its early stages. Unfortunately, there is no simple procedure detecting alcoholism from the unconsciousness state of the mind. In the mind’s conscious state, some common factors can help identify the disease. Experts theorizing and discovering modern factors of alcoholism in the conscious state then can provide treatment.
The quantity of alcohol consumed alone is a common factor identified with alcoholism but the behavioral patterns are much more noticeable. Attentiveness to a person’s consumption rate and drinking habits is one way to label an alcoholic. A person might get drunk three times a year, few times in a week, and every day of the year, so frequency is another labeling factor of alcoholism. Acts of violence and passive behavior felt by society are the strongest ways to identify alcoholism. Violent types of alcoholics are more visible more noticeable than passive alcoholics who keep mainly to themselves.
Drunkenness effectively labels itself in some areas while in others it is not as easily recognized. The state of drunkenness to others and their reaction determines the labeling of an alcoholic. Society is a key factor in labeling alcoholics. The eyes of the employees, lawyers, police officers, agents, and many other social workers frequently label and discover the signs of alcoholism first. More than ever before, it is essential for parents, teachers, employers, law enforcement, and the general public to learn the facts about the alcohol abuse (Instructor’s Guide, 2000).
Alcoholics crave alcohol either for an arousing affect or to escape a state of depression.
Alcohol can be used as a coping mechanism because it can reduce negative affect or increase positive affect (Blane & Leonard, 1987).
The treatment to alcoholism is to manage the episodes of intoxication to save the person’s life and prevent effects of excessive alcohol abuse. Then provide proper treatment to the person inflicted by the chronic illness until they recover. Treatment will prevent long-term behavioral acts of violence and depression that can cause great harm to society. There are far more programs of sobriety than there are types of alcoholics. The challenge comes in recognizing the person’s needs and providing the most suitable form of therapy.
The alcoholic’s experience of the beginning of treatment might be strongly felt with a severe hangover or ill feelings of with drawls. Most of the time, the withdrawal stage is the definite beginning of treatment. People suffer from acute overdoses in different times, which should be given immediate attention and treatment by medical specialists. With alcohol as with many drugs, an acute overdose may be fatal (Kinney, 2000).
Few hospitals today will offer treatment, and the majority still avoids accepting alcoholics as patients. Officials feel that an alcoholic’s behavior can be so erratic that in a hospital they become too hostile and too demanding.
Patients that are accepted usually pay for the room and perhaps the services of a 24-hour nurse to monitor their needs. Others that cannot afford pay are sent to a local jail or to state hospitalized psychiatric wards. This place only concerns themselves with sobering the person, treating obvious wounds, and then letting him or her go as quickly as possible. Treatment centers and programs are available but most people do not admit to having the disease.
Self-labeling ones self an alcoholic and seeking treatment are the most progressive steps leading to recovery. Efforts to form inexpensive and effective treatment centers are becoming increasingly established. For example Betty Ford, wife of former president Gerald Ford, created a treatment program in California. Many famous and influential people have been helped at clinics created by famous or nonferrous people alike. Some expensive treatment centers have been labeled ineffective when dealing with the disease. Treatment experts say patients and families should be skeptical of programs that promise much higher success rates-say 80 percent or more (Brink, 2001).
Most programs are knowledgeable of today’s form of alcoholism to provide proper treatment than ones that are not. Attention has been greatly increased in the field of alcoholism and recoveries are more affective than ever before. There is still much to be learned, and consentient research is the number one factor for recovery. The modern idea of alcoholism is more understood thanks to the research of experts and even society.
Society must become more informative of alcoholism moment to moment to cure this chronic illness.