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ALCOHOL TO RELIEVE STRESS? Geogre O. Chatyrka D.O. (This is the second article in the series about alcoho lism. In the first part Dr. Chatyrka introduced the reader to three friends, one of whom, Steve, became an alco holic, although all consumed almost equal amounts of alcohol in their daily lives. Dr. Chatyrka explained the triggering of addiction, the various theoretical causes of alcoholism which are being researched, and touched upon the problem of the alcoholic and his family.) If one remembers our friend Steve from the previous article, the question may be raised as to why he became an alcoholic. Quite often the answer might be that he was under a great deal of stress. Indeed, to relieve the discomfort of their stress-filled lives, millions of people turn to alcohol and drugs. We are reading more and more about stress and how it contributes to serious health problems, in current magazines and newspapers. Stress has been with us always, it seems. There are many causes for stress and they affect people in different ways, depending on the individual’s age, cultural background or socio-economic status. In general, stress results from some of the fol lowing forces: imbalance in life style, too much work and too little play which leads to feelings of being over whelmed or overburdened; conflict of goals or needs where a person feels trapped and helpless; the need to make a right decision where there is no right decision; threat to survival needs, such as economic insecurity or ill health; abandonment, bringing with it a sense of hopelessness. Competition is one of the greatest sour ces of stress, the competition to get to the top, and the competition to stay there, which of course is prevalent in the job market. For the majority of people alcohol is a relatively safe relaxant. However, for a minority of unfortunate people the consumption of alcohol sets off a series of events which lead them toward alcohol addiction. The ratio is one in ten, which in a room of one hundred peo ple, ten are likely to be alcoholics. The illness pro gresses in an insidious manner in some individuals, while in others is quickly evident and progresses rapidly. Initially, these individuals may find that alcohol makes them more at ease, more relaxed, more “normal”. Instead of feeling tense or geared up, they are able to relax and interact more freely with others. However, with time the body compensates and metabolizes the alcohol more readily, so that the feeling they got from a few drinks, now requires a larger quantity of alcohol to obtain the same effect. The direct effects of alcohol last four to six hours and then wear off. The body has its own mechanism to counteract the activities of alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant, and the body in response, pro duces stimulatory chemicals to counterbalance this action. These stimulatory chemicals remain active in the body long after the alcohol is metabolized. This will further add to the tension from which the alcoholic seeks relief. Thus, alcohol adds fuel to the fire, indi rectly increasing the tension level of the alcoholic whose life is already stressful. The alcoholic quite often doesn’t realize the fact that the alcohol is potentiating the stress. He only realizes the relaxing properties of the alcohol, which is his only source of salvation from his tension. And so, a pattern is established, and the person becomes depen dent on alcohol. The long range stability which was sought in alcohol is never achieved. The alcohol that initially provided some sense of well being, now causes disruption in the life of an alcoholic. One cannot view what is happening to the alcoholic alone as if he or she was in a vacuum. The family of the alcoholic, as any family, must be thought of as a mobile, where the action of one family member will cause coun teraction or reaction in the entire family. The family tries to maintain an equilibrium in the interest of survival. The alcoholic adds increased instability to the family for which the other members try to compensate. This increased stress and abnormal behavior may result in negative biological and psychological symptoms in other family members. The destructive interaction between the alcoholic and his family is not a one-way street. The family members’ actions may cause the alcoholic to continue drinking. Some family members may also become alco holics and affect the patient in exactly the same way he is affecting them, which is by increasing the stress that may interfere in the recovery process. Some family members may unconsciously enable the patient’s depen dency, in order to maintain control over the various aspects of family responsibilities that the alcoholic may have relinquished as a result of chronic intoxication. Alcoholics suffer from low self worth, although they may be able to hide it very well. As a result, „they are incapable of maintaining a healthy marital relationship or encourage their children to develop a high self esteem. In time, the personal disintegration of the indi vidual and his family occurs. It is interesting to note that among non-alcoholic wives of alcoholics, 60 percent had fathers who were alcoholics. Statistics also show that approximately 50 percent of the alcoholics were themselves children of alcoholics. As a result of the various interactions between the alcoholic and other family members, it is important to remember that if the alcoholic is to be successfully treated, the whole family must be involved. Inherent in this illness are certain behavioral patterns that develop, leaving emotional scars for everyone concerned. By involving the family in the treatment it can be shown through education and soul searching, how stress and bottled-up emotions have sucked everyone into the whirlwind caused by this illness. ’’НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, БЕРЕЗЕНЬ—КВІТЕНЬ 1985 25
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