Consuming Alcohol : Flourishing Industry Or Destroying The Young ??

What is alcohol ?
    Alcohol is a drink that alters the state of mind of a normal person. Today alcohol has different breeds such as beer, wine, rum, whisky, vodka and many more. So why is multi billion dollar alcohol industry growing year by year ?

Addiction
    Addiction is a repeated 'must have now' behavior seen in a person regardless of its negative consequences. A person who is addicted is sometimes called an 'addict'. The dependency of the person on the substance is known well only when the substance is suddenly withdrawn from the person. How often the person craves for the substance shows the level of addiction.

Combining the terms Alcohol-Addiction
    Just by the definition of the two we can have an idea of their deadly combination. So what is alcohol addiction ? Why is it increasingly becoming a problem in our society ? Who is responsible for this rise ? How do we tackle in curing this problem or rather how do we prevent it from creeping into our society ?

Alcohol Addiction
    This AA is a substance which when taken as a routine habit stops a person from being in a normal state of mind disrupting his day to day lifestyle. It creates illusions, comfort zones in a persons mind. The person may think that it makes him forget the sad phases of life.
    As said by American writer , Joe E. Lewis , " I drink to forget I drink. "

Why and The Who
    The answer lies with the person consuming alcohol. But few of them are as follows :

    The young generation feels the need to have a cool image among his friends. It has become a status symbol.
   'The Forbidden Fruit'.
    The abusive childhood.
    The trauma of death of a valuable person.
    The common belief that alcohol and gyming leads to good health. But how much is too much ?
    Some drink to forget about their past and many other bad events.
    Some drink to showoff that they can comsume more than others. They feel, they have the capacity of a barrel.
    And then there are few who drink because they have issues with their parents that can be forgotten or delayed by the choice of drinks over healthy lifestyle.
    Fast changing lifestyles, increasing social pressures, the rush to stay in the competition and maintaining a face value, the fear of being left behind, all of these are responsible for the rise in alcohol addiction. Gone are the days when taking the name of alcohol was considered to be a sin.
    Today, celebrities and sportstar, everyone is endorsing for the alcohol. They walk away home with huge sums but leave behind a tainted image to the society. They do not realise the problems of alcohol they are encouraging for a youth to try out.
    But the most important cause maybe the Willpower of person to give into the situations easily. They often say people catch bad things faster than the good things. This is becoming a reality in modern age.






Symptoms
    Physical signs :
Cirrhosis of the liver
Loss of appetite
Vitamin and mineral deficiencies
Slurred speech
Stomach ulcer
Jaundice
Increased risk of breast, stomach and liver cancer
Impotence
Numbness in fingers and toe
Menstrual problems

    Psychological signs :
Difficulties with balance
Committing an offence under the influence of alcohol, e.g. drink driving
Slow reactions
Poor personal hygiene
Depression/increased risk of suicide
Lack of interest in one’s appearance
Lack of concentration or focus
Impaired judgement
Neglecting work, family, friends etc
Possibly early onset of dementia






Consequences
    Before a person realises it, he has already lost too much ground.
    Withdrawal from social circle.
    Emotional breakdown.
    Drawn into negative behaviour, suicidal thoughts.
    Not accessible for help.
    Own Pain No Gain policy.
    Frightened to live a normal life as to get hurt again.
    Abusive Behaviour.
    Refusal to leave the comfort zone created.

Treatment
    Well, the good news is alcohol addiction can be treated. It is a slow procedure but effective. How?

    Admitting that the person has the problem is the first and most important step.

    Next, gather help and support from friends and family.

    Strong willpower will be required.

    Reach for rehabilition institutions for guidance programs.

    Detoxification process.

    Join Group therapy and mutual help groups.

    Take medications properly on time.

    Spend quality time with people you care.

    Children are often great stressbusters. Visit a park. Remember your childhood.

    Discover your lost passion. Work on your dream project.

    Switch onto the button popularly known as 'LIFE'.

Know yourself
   In the well known words of Lady Nancy Astor,
"One reason I don't drink is that I want to know when I am having a good time. "