The Psychological Effects of Alcohol Consumption - Research Paper Example

?The Physiological and Psychological Aspects of Alcohol Alcohol has existed for centuries. In some cultures, it was used for only ceremonial purposes, but has since then developed into a recreationally used substance. The effects of alcohol are widespread and have prompted many to take action against it. Movements such as prohibition in the United States were meant to address the societal issues caused by the consumption of alcohol. Today, we know much more about the effects of alcohol and what it does to our bodies; however, alcoholism and alcohol related illnesses continue to plague our society. Alcohol is created through a chemical process of fermentation usually involved in a process of brewing or distilling. There are three main classes of alcohol: beer, wine, and liquor. Each one is unique in their strength and how they are made. Beer is traditionally brewed from hops using yeast for fermentation. Wine is made from a variety of grapes which is fermented to increase the alcohol content. Hard liquors have the highest alcohol content and are often created through a process known as distillation. There have been many different legislative actions which have influenced the use of alcohol in United States history. The first major event was the ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment which prohibited the sale of alcohol in the United States. This caused an increased crime rate and increased sales of alcohol on the black market. The only way in which a person could get alcohol legally was through the prescription from a licensed physician. This was repealed by the twenty first amendment which once again allowed alcohol to be sold legally. There has also been legislature which has determined that no one under the age of 21 may consume alcohol in the United States and states are given the right to set restrictions on types of alcohol sales and hours of operations for establishments selling alcohol (Gately, 2008). What is alcohol? Alcohol is both water and adipose soluble. The chemical composition for alcohol (ethanol) is C2H5OH. The polarity of the molecule caused by the oxygen is what allows alcohol to interact with the body. This means that alcohol can go in and affect around 90% of the body’s components and systems. It specifically functions as a depressant by lowering the neuroelectrical activity in the central nervous system which in turn affects other parts of the body. Ethanol is specifically linked to dealing with the inhibition of the neurotransmitters acetylcholine, GABA, serotonin, and NMDA receptors. Alcohol also stimulates the secretion of dopamine in the dopaminergic reward pathway which is what accounts for the euphoric effect associated with drinking (Begleiter, & Kissin, 1996). This is also seen in the interaction with GABA receptors. GABA is principally used by the body to control stress response. Alcohol stimulates these receptors on GABA neurons which are why people usually report feeling calmer and more relaxed after consuming alcohol. This is also what helps with the psychological effect because this good feeling is reinforcing the alcoholic behavior. In addition to the physiological effects that are caused by the disruption of the levels of these neurotransmitters, there are also psychological effects to be considered. Once alcohol enters the body, it is metabolized in the liver where the alcohol is converted into acetylaldehyde. This organic molecule is then broken down into acetate, water, and carbon dioxide. The human body is able to process approximately one drink an hour. This is however dependent on many factors. The first key difference is in gender. Males can typically process alcohol faster than women due to water to fat ratio. This is because alcohol is soluble in both water and fat. Metabolism is also another important key factor in the process of alcohol. Too much alcohol can cause damage to many different organs. First, the liver is the most susceptible to damage. Even though the liver is the fastest regenerating organ in the body, scarring caused by overdrinking can lead to complications in the healing process. It has also been shown that in addition to disrupting key chemical and thought processes in the nervous system, overconsumption of alcohol can lead to cellular necrosis in the brain. Other effects of alcohol consumption can be increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, increased chances of cancers, etc. Another side effect of chronic overuse of alcohol is that alcohol alters the metabolic pathways in the body which are responsible for breaking down fatty acids, proteins, lipids, etc. (Goldberg, 2010). On average, the body can process approximately one gram of pure alcohol for every ten kilograms of body weight every hour. Understanding how to measure one’s alcohol content is important in determining the effects of alcohol on the body for legal reasons. A standard drink is: one twelve ounce beer or wine cooler, a five ounce glass of wine, or a one and a half ounce of 80 proof distilled spirits (Coombs, 2005). The way of looking at how much you are being affected by alcohol is based on your BAC, or your blood alcohol content. There are a couple different ways of determining one’s BAC, but the most common are through a breathalyzer or urinary analysis. The BAC level is typically used when trying to determine how impaired one’s ability is to function. Generally, around a 0.030, the person begins to experience the euphoria associated with drinking. The most lethal level on the BAC scale is when one’s level reaches 0.40 or greater in which the central nervous system has been compromised which has resulted in unconsciousness and usually leads to a fatality. The concept of the BAC scale is related to the serious issue of drinking and driving in which there has been a great deal of legislature that has been passed in order to address the legality of this issue (Cohen, 1985). Depending on the state, there are different categories regarding underage consumption of alcohol and driving under the influence. The next important question to ask is why do people use alcohol? Everyone knows about the proverbial story of the twenty first birthdays and its place in our culture. Alcohol consumption is portrayed in the media and commercials as the “cool” and socially acceptable thing to do. Even though we know of the dangers of alcohol, we continue to use and abuse this. For some people, this is used as a maladaptive coping measure for stress. They associate the decrease in stress with alcohol because it is a depressant. Therefore, it creates a strong psychological reinforce between the person and alcohol. It is also important to look at the social context. In colleges, it is common for teenagers to abuse alcohol in the partying atmosphere. However, it is considered to be socially acceptable because that’s what is deemed acceptable in the college atmosphere (Peck, 2009). Addressing socioeconomic status can influence the use of alcohol in culture. Typically, those of the lower to middle class can only afford cheaply priced alcohol such as beer and other lower alcohol content products. Higher middle class and the upper class can afford the more expensive distilled liquors. If left unchecked, these risky behaviors with alcohol can translate into deeper and more complex physiological and psychological problems. The overuse of alcohol can lead to chronic conditions which have both psychological and physiological consequences to them. The Diagnostic Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders classifies two specific conditions related to this: substance abuse and substance dependence. Substance abuse is when the person is initially developing the habit by engaging in risky, destructive behavior with a drug, which in this case is alcohol. This is equivalent to what most teenagers experience while they are in college. After a while of this, the drug abuse begins to translate into substance dependence which roughly is equivalent to addiction. This is where the transition from the psychological aspect (substance abuse) begins to translate into the physiological condition (substance dependence) (Meyer, & Quenzer , 2005). What happens is the body begins to have trouble functioning without the drug or alcohol in the system. As a result, there is a dramatic increase in functioning, and in some cases can lead to death. There has also been links to depression and comorbidity of alcohol abuse with other drugs such as heroin, marijuana, nicotine, etc. Alcohol has also been involved as an implication for some acts of aggression, such as bar fights, which are highly publicized on American programming. A specific key feature associated in psychology which only applies to women is fetal alcohol syndrome. There are key points that are imperative to the development of the fetus. When a woman suffering from alcohol addiction or dependence drinks while she is pregnant, there can be a wide range of physiological problems as well as birth defects that can result, both cognitively and physiologically. Some of the systems in particular that chronic excessive drinking of alcohol effects is the cardiovascular system, the nervous system, and the digestive system. In the cardiovascular system, it has been shown that alcohol abuse can lead to many different kinds of conditions such as cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure, and possibly even stroke. In addition, excess use of alcohol can lead to an increase in blood pressure and the amount of triglycerides in the blood stream. These platelets can start clinging together restricting blood flow throughout the body which can lead to physiological complications, and death if not resolved. Most importantly to address is the threat of cardiomyopathy in which the heart becomes weaker due to degradation of the tissue caused by the alcohol. This can also lead to death. Besides messing with neurotransmitter levels, chronic abuse of alcohol can cause permanent damage to the nervous system. The toxic effects of alcohol can physically damage the brain and sometimes cause lesions to appear. In younger populations, abuse of alcohol can have a negative effect on brain development which can lead to further comorbid conditions as they age. By altering levels of chemicals in the brain, alcohol has been shown to increase the likelihood of producing major depressive disorders in people. Lastly, the digestive system becomes affected by the overuse of alcohol. The prevalence of large amounts and the chronic use of alcohol can lead to decreased metabolic conditions. The decreased metabolism can cause additional weight gain which comes with an additional set of problems. Excess drinking also increases the likelihood of developing gallbladder and kidney related illnesses such as gallstones and kidney stones. The most important organ that becomes affected by the use of alcohol is the liver. As mentioned before, chronic use of alcohol can cause scarring which does not allow the liver to regenerate as quickly. If the damage is irreversible, this leads to end stage liver failure which requires the use of transplantation of a liver from a viable donor (Galanter, 2000). Alcoholism is characterized by, “impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial” (McKenzie, Pinger, & Kotecki, 2005). About 12% of American adults have had an alcohol dependence problem at some time in their life (Hasin, 2007). Even though this is a dehabilitating addiction, there are medical and therapeutic ways of healing it. The first step is alcoholic detoxification. This is where there is a complete cessation of the use of alcohol in order to purge the body of all excess alcohol. This can be one of the more distressing phases of recovery due to the physiological and psychological need to drink. There are many medications which can be substituted to help curb this and are all in the family of benzodiazepines which include Librium, Valium, etc (Maltzman, 2008). Usually, there is additional treatment needed to correct the problem. Psychotherapy is often suggested in order to determine the source of the excessive drinking behavior and correct it cognitively. There are also many support groups which work with recovering alcoholics, the most famous being Alcoholics Anonymous. Alcohol is a recreational drug which is used by many correctly. It is important to not only be aware of the physiological danger, but also the psychological danger associated with drinking alcohol. It must also be understood from a societal and cultural standpoint because attitudes on drinking vary worldwide. There are also treatments available for those that already suffer from conditions associated with chronic overuse of alcohol. The best way to prevent diseases caused by alcohol is by remembering to take responsibility for yourself and others in order to promote better and safer drinking habits. References Begleiter, H, & Kissin, B. (1996). The pharmacology of alcohol and alcohol dependence. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Cohen, S. (1985). The substance abuse problems, volume 2. New York, NY: Haworth Press. Coombs, R. (2005). Addiction counseling review: preparing for comprehensive, certification, and licensing examinations . Mahwah, NJ: Lahaska Press. Galanter, M. (2000). The consequences of alcoholism: medical, neuropsychiatric, economic and cross-cultural. New York, NY: Kluwer Academic. Gately, I. (2008). Drink: a cultural history of alcohol. New York, NY: Gotham Books. Goldberg, R. (2010). Drugs across the spectrum. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Hasin D et al. (2007). "Prevalence, Correlates, Disability, and Comorbidity of DSM-IV Alcohol Abuse and Dependence in the United States". Archives of General Psychiatry 64 (7): 830–42. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.64.7.830. PMID 17606817. Maltzman, I. (2008). Alcoholism: its treatments and mistreatments. Hackensack, NJ: World Scientific Publishing. McKenzie, J, Pinger, R, & Kotecki, J. (2005). An introduction to community health. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Meyer, J, & Quenzer , L. (2005). Psychopharmacology: drugs, the brain, and behavior. Sinauer Publishing. Peck, G. (2009). The prohibition hangover: alcohol in america from demon rum to cult cabernet. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers Press. Read More