Sedensky 1

Carlie Sedensky
Mrs. DeBock
18 October 2016
English 4
The effects of alcoholism

In the United States, about 17.6 million people suffer from alcohol abuse and or
alcohol dependency. Many outcomes to this illness can put a persons life in danger
physically and mentally. Therefore, the number of people whose lives depend or are
addicted to alcohol causes an distress and harmful environment for others.
When an individual becomes dependent on a substance like alcohol, it absorbs
into the bloodstream and affects the functions in every part of the body. In the long term,
this can put your body at a serious risk. According to researchers, Studies showed that
once the body becomes dependent, the body function become limited (National Institute
on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism).When human functions become limited, it causes a
person to not be able to stop drinking. A more serious but common problem may addicts
encounter as the body becomes dependent, is called binge drinking. Binge drinking is an
action where an individual consumes a large amount of alcohol in a very little amount of
time. It has been proven, that men consume five or more drinks in two hours. Woman
on the other hand can consume four or more drinks in two hours, Stated National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Too much alcohol can cause serious danger
to a human's motor skills and damaging the hard working organs in the body. Results
have shown that too much drinking can increase the risk of getting cancer which can

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damage the liver, brain, or other organs. Today, statistic show that about 88,000 deaths
from 2006-2010, summarizes National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Overall, drinking can be harmful for you health.

Furthermore, alongside the effects on the body, alcohol can change a person's
actions including their emotional state. When a user begins to withdraw themselves away
from family and friends, this results in one of the biggest problems called depression.
Researchers have came to the conclusion that, Many people with an alcohol addiction
will develop a new social circle that consists of other people with a similar addiction.
They will have trouble maintaining any meaningful relationship. Due to these actions,
many people and families will struggle with this negative energy causing people to break
away from an addict. When addicts become alone, their emotional state becomes worse
causing them to drink even more and feel depressed. Studies show, Alcoholism will
have a negative effect on relationships in the work environment as well as at home.
People with an addiction will not be able to get along with co-workers, which can lead to
the loss of the job. Alcoholism poses a threat to every aspect of the addicts life. No
matter what, they will suffer physical effects. Most will also suffer from psychological
effects. Counselors have proven that, The effects include unexplained mood swings,
anxiety, severe depression, suicidal thoughts and tendencies, angry outbursts and acts or
violence(International Drug Alcohol
Rehab). This can be a threat to the safety of the addict as well as any other person
the addict comes in contact with.

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Not only does Alcoholism cause serious health issues on the body and the
emotional state of a person, it can also cause a vold in many families and relationship.The
effects of alcoholism on families can cause more damage and pain than any other internal
or external influence. When dealing with an alcoholic, many families become disrupt and
can cause harmful effects that can last a lifetime. According to U. S. Department of
Health and Human Services, Seventy six million American adults have been exposed to
alcoholism in the family. Alcoholism is responsible for more family problems than any
other single cause(Heffner). Each member of the family may be affected differently. In
other words, serious situations like alcoholism, should not be taken lightly because
someone's life could be endangered. Members of alcoholics families very often become
codependent. Codependency is an unconscious addiction to another persons abnormal
behavior( Heffner). For example, many addicts will go for a short period of time without
drinking, and seemingly do well, leading the codependent person to believe that the
problem can be solved. This may conclude that treatment or counseling can be a great
coping way to stay on track and repair relationships between family members.

The number of people whose lives depend or are addicted to alcohol causes a
distress an harmful environment for others. Certain studies have shown that alcohol can
affect people differently mentally and physically. As the increase of people becoming
addicted to alcohol, treatment is a great way to cope and get the right help to lead addicts
in the right direction.

Work Cited

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"Alcoholism." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 2016, 1p., 2014. Web.
"Alcoholism." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2014. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 21 Sept. 2016
Heffner, By Dr. Christopher L. "Alcoholism and Its Effect on the Family." AllPsych.
N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Oct. 2016.
"Physical and Emotional Effects of Alcoholism." Rehab International Drug Alcohol
Rehab Guides. N.p., n"Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse: MedlinePlus."
Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse: MedlinePlus. National Institutes of Health, n.d. Web. 28
Sept. 2016.\.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.
Wood, Debra. "Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism." N.p., n.d. Web. Jan. 2015