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ALCOHOLISM — What is it? GEORGE O. CHATYRKA D.O. Facts and Theories John, Steven and Walter have been good friends since their college days. They’re in their mid to late thirties and each has achieved success in his area of work. All three are married and have families. These men are moderate drinkers, having a few drinks a day. At times they would have one or two drinks at business lun cheons, perhaps several drinks when unwinding at home from a hard day’s work, and sometimes have beer or wine with dinner. Each one is proud of the fact that he has not been drunk in the past 20 years even though on social occasions each may drink heavily. Recently all three men had physical examinations and were pronounced healthy. Each one was found to be free of any classifiable mental disorder and able to handle the stress accompanying his position. The three friends are active in their church and social organiza tions, have hobbies and pursue other activities that pla ces them in the mainstream of society. Yet suddenly one of the men, Steven, became an alcoholic. Why suddenly? After all, hasn’t he been drink ing for the last 20 years? And now, as an alcoholic he may live for another 20 years. Along the way the chances of family discord and divorce are increased and may occur up to seven years prior to the loss of a job as a result of alcoholism. How is the word ’’suddenly” justified? Effects on the body Alcohol acts as a depressant to the central nervous system and its effects persist even after it is out of the system. The body tries to maintain its balance and pro duces catecholamines to counteract the action of the alcohol. These catecholamines are stimulants that con tinue to act long after the alcohol is out of the body, thus increasing the irritability of the person drinking alcohol. Again, at what point in time and to whom this occurs is impossible to predict. To illustrate the point one can picture a mountain road which reaches its summit, beyond which the way is continually down, so Steven did not need a drink at point A, but at point B, once the addictive trigger was fired, Steven had to have a drink. This point marked the beginning of Steven’s decline, for no matter how long it takes he will destroy his family, his career and himself. What triggered Steven’s alcoholism? Why did he become an alcoholic and not his friends John or Walter who used to drink as much as he. We don’t have all the answers, but there are many theories and some hard evidence that is emerging from recent research. There is solid evidence pointing to heredity as a factor in the tendency toward alcoholism. For example, it has been proven that adopted children with an alco holic biological parent have twice the probability of de veloping the condition than adopted children whose bio logical parents are not alcoholic. Similarly, if one identical twin becomes an alcoholic, the other twin has a 50% chance of becoming an alcoholic too. There are theories suggesting defects along meta bolic nutriative pathways similar to the diabetic model of disordered carbohydrate metabolism There are psychological theories which identify specific personality types prone to alcoholism. Then there are social theories based to a large extent on the heroin addiction epidemics which periodi cally sweep large American cities. Each of the above theories may be correct, or each may contain a segment of the truth. We don’t have all the answers. But with all that is known plus what is strongly indicated, we have enough criteria and methodology to diagnose the disease of alcoholism and treat it with greater success than many of the more familiar con ditions. Handling the illness The earlier the condition of alcoholism is detected and the patient brought to the point of accepting that he has the illness, the greater chance of success of treat ment and control of the disease. The major hurdle is breaking through the denial that is expressed by the alcoholic. An important aspect in the treatment of alcoholism is educating the patient and his family about the course and effects of alcohol on everyone involved. Local hospitals in many areas are developing de partments which will offer medical and other related services in the treatment of alcoholism. Various Alcohol ics Ananymous, (AA) groups for the alcoholic and Alanon for the family of the alcoholic provide a great deal of help on the road to recovery. Test Yourself The following is a list of questions the reader can answer to see if he or she has a problem with alcohol which may require attention. 1. Do you drink? 2. How do you drink? Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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