Alcohol Addiction - Research Paper Example

Introduction As children, we were taught that the family is the basic unit of society. Usually, a father, mother and children make up a family. However, there are instances where even pets are considered “members”. Also, the idea of divorce and non-traditional views on parenting and marriage has brought about an influx of single parents where an individual considers himself and his child or children a family. Regardless of its number, though, it has been said that when an individual is at the harshest point of life it is his family who will provide strength and support. There have been a lot of influences on the structure of a family, resulting to how we understand it today. In the early centuries, and still even in some societies of today, marriage was a way to merge or keep two families’ wealth or power. Men and women who did not share the same feelings for each other are forced to marry. At times, they are promised to each other by their parents even before they are born. Children from these societies are born and reared to be the new power formed by the merging of influential families. As they are born not out of love but obligation, the relationship between the parents and children is a strained one, characterized by duties and strict rules. Later on, marriage between man and woman became more about love rather than a duty to one’s parents. Children were not seen as an additional burden. Instead, parents “formed closer parental ties and developed greater concern for their offspring’s well-being.” (Siegel, J. & Welsh, B., 2009) In facing life’s challenges, the individuals making up the family are expected to work with each other to find solutions. According to Bronfenbrenner’s ecology of human development (1981), humans do not live alone but are influenced by their family, home, school, community and society. As such, there is an underlying agreement within members of a family to stick together when things get rough. Life poses challenges to families almost every day. There are issues that make the bond of family stronger, that make each member realize the importance of the other. There are problems, sadly, that find the tie flimsy and weak. Altogether, these problems may be categorized under money, school, health and, at times even, the generation gap. These problems test how strong a family is and serves as an eye-opener on how each family deals with what life throws in its way. One such issue all families have to deal with is that concerning their health. From diseases to health care benefits, it seems this problem has plagued families forever. Ideally, there are solutions all kinds of families can use. However, due to factors such as poverty, unemployment, geographic isolation and physical environment, families’ may differ in their approach to solving such health problems. Family X Mr. and Mrs. X were married 16 years ago. They did not have a fixed marriage. They had met on the Internet where they continually communicated with each other for almost a year. After realizing that they wanted more in the relationship than just being chat mates, they decided to meet in person to celebrate their first year of knowing each other. They got married a month later and, from his job and life in Sydney, Mr. X moved to Perth where Mrs. X had lived all her life and has established a client base for her small retail clothing store at the mall. In addition, according to Mr. X, Perth is a good place to raise children because it has good weather, sites and nice calm people. Together, the couple balance running the store and maintaining the household. Mr. & Mrs. X have two male children, Reno and Dominic. They are aged 15 and 13, respectively, and have grown-up to be responsible kids. Reno and Dominic study at Rosemoine, a local school which provides quality education to its students. The X’s live in a comfortable house which has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The couple uses two cars although they can easily go to work together. While Mrs. X goes to their shop, Mr. X drops off the kids at the school before heading to the shop himself. After closing their store, Mrs. X heads back home to prepare dinner for her family. Meanwhile, Mr. X would leave the store earlier to pick up the kids and bring them home. At times, when he is too early to pick up the kids, he drives to a nearby bar to wait until the children are let out. The X family may sound like a typical family. They are, however, experiencing several issues. Because of the recent international economic crisis, their clothing store is not earning a sufficient income. Mrs. X, who is a soft-spoken and gracious lady, is now often irritable. Mr. X, who has been his own boss for a long time, is hesitant to start applying for an office job which would put him at the mercy of supervisors. Their children, Reno and Dominic, who have been quietly observing the changes in the household brought on by their parents’ behaviors, are starting to do poorly in school. There are letters coming from the school principal about the children not participating, not paying attention in class and doing poorly on tests and activities. Their biggest problem, as of this time, is Mrs. X new hobby – drinking. Brought on by stress and depression, for Mrs. X drinking had started out as an end to very stressful day at the shop. According to Mrs. X, on that particular day several things had happened making her invite some friends out for a drink. Sale was at its lowest in all her years in business; a call from Dominic’s homeroom teacher had come through at the shop about her son’s poor performance in class; and, she and her husband had had an argument about their finances earlier in the day. Mrs. X shared feeling “really good” after her night out that she wanted to feel that way again afterwards. Alcohol Addiction Historically, alcohol has given more of a benefit to society because of its “medicinal, antiseptic and analgesic properties.” (Johnson, D., 1995) However, due to misuse by some people, consumption of alcohol beyond the necessary has now become a social problem. It has not only brought harm to the individual’s health. This addiction also causes many vehicular accidents and greatly affects the individual’s personal relationships. Because of its effects, control groups have sprouted in countries where alcohol addiction is prevalent in efforts to save the victims. As an alcoholic affects children, wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, relatives, alcoholism can be termed as a family disease. (Parsons, T. 2003) One out of four families has problems with alcohol. (Silverstein, H., 1990) Alcoholics may also be the reason for other problems those people around them will suffer from such as depression, other diseases and even death. In a report done on alcohol consumption in Western Australia, it has been found out that alcohol consumption is prevalent in the country and has caused significant financial burden on the nation’s health system not to mention increase in hospitalizations. The addiction has also brought on an increase in alcohol-related deaths. (Department of Health WA, 2008) 11.2% of women drink alcohol at hazardous levels according to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NH&MRC) guidelines for safe and responsible drinking. (Corti, B., et. al., 1990) There are several factors why people become addicted to alcohol. This can be due to genes, childhood trauma, mental disorders, drug use or effect of social environment. (Addiction.., 2010) Discussion The way families handle an issue can be affected by different factors. Taking a cue from Andy Garcia’s character in “When a Man Loves a Woman” (1994) it takes a lot to make a family work when it has an alcoholic member. Poverty is said to be influential on how families manage health issues. For those who were born and live with limited finances, poverty may result to limited food or unsanitary living conditions. On the other hand, those who are not used to poverty and are now experiencing something similar to it are driven to alcoholism to escape from reality. According to estimates of personal income (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010), Mr. & Mrs. X’s combined income before the recession hit is about average for Western Australia earners. As of this time, Mrs. X’s habit is not severe enough to warrant concern about lack of finances. However, alcoholism is one expensive habit. With the recession still causing problems at an international level, it might not be long before the X family discovers how much more troublesome having a health problem is when one does not have the needed finances. While he does not resent leaving his career as a Senior Accountant in Sydney, Mr. X has found himself recently wishing he had a looked for other employment right after moving to Perth. Although his wife’s business was doing very well then, Mr. X now feels it is always better to have a stable job providing steady income. With his wife’s current health condition, Mr. X is not very confident their savings would cover for medical expenses, the kids’ school fees and living expenses. The X kids, Reno and Dominic, feel sorry for their mother and father. They understand the crisis their family is experiencing right now. However, they were not expecting their mother to breakdown as she did. This disappointment is the cause of their poor performance at Rosemoine. Once carefree teenagers, the boys are not timid and reluctant to mingle with friends. They are scared that other people might find out about their mother’s addiction and think badly of her and the entire family. Resources Thankfully, for Mr. & Mrs. X there are a number of groups in Perth that can help the X family with their dilemma. Generally, people addicted to something do not want to admit they cannot kick the habit. However, as these groups assert admission is the first and most important thing to be done if one is to achieve recovery. The BCL website (1995) provides links to websites of various support groups that help individuals through counseling. The Perth Clinic (2006) is also a major player in helping Western Australians deal with their drug and alcohol dependency. The clinic offers programs specializing in helping the individuals recognize the problem, what triggers it and provide means of handling the problem. The Alcohol and Drug ACUTE Therapy Program from the Perth Clinic has sessions on weekdays from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. A day of therapy lasts 3 sessions with 1.5 hours per session. It also offers the Relapse Management and Prevention Program which is designed to help patients who had been participants of drug and alcohol treatment at Perth Clinic. The Australian Government has also provided some assistance to help individuals with their alcoholism. The National Health and Medical Research Council has come up with national guidelines focusing on adults, parents, young people, pregnant and breastfeeding women. In addition, the government has provided funding to address binge drinking among young people. Funds have been released for community level initiatives to stop binge drinking, to intervene and assist young people and to pay for advertising about the consequences of binge drinking. As a health professional, I can further assist individuals who are addicted to alcohol like Ms. X by coordinating with established dependency clinics in Perth. Moreover, I will ensure regular communication with Ms. X to thwart any further addiction to alcohol. Because my profession requires me to promote the well-being of patients, I would take it upon myself to learn more about Ms. X as a person, not as a patient. This way I can understand her reasons for turning to alcohol. References: Addiction: Understanding Addiction: Why do some people become addicted? Retrieved on April 30, 2010 from http://www.hbo.com/addiction/understanding_addiction/14_some_people_become_addicted.html Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2010). Estimates of Personal Income. Retrieved on April 30, 2010 from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/1376.0~Mar+2010~Main+Features~Estimates+of+Personal+Income?OpenDocument Brofenbrenner, U. (1981). The ecology of human development: experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, U.S.A.:Harvard University Press. Corti, B. (1990). Alcohol Consumption of patterns of women in Perth, Western Australia. Drug and Alcohol Review. 9 (1). pp. 23-31. Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. doi: 10.1080/09595239000185041 Department of Health WA. (2008). Impact of Alcohol on the Population of Western Australia. Johnson, D. (1995). Preventing Alcohol Abuse: Alcohol, Culture and Control. Wesport, CT: Praeger. Parsons, T. (2003) Alcoholism and Its Effect on the Family. AllPsych Journal. Retrieved on May 8, 2010 from http://allpsych.com/journal/alcoholism.html Perth City Life. (1995). Retrieved on May 5, 2010 from http://www.bcl.com.au/perth/help/talk.htm Perth Clinic (2006). Retrived on May 5, 2010 from http://www.perthclinic.com.au/treatmentprograms/dependance.asp Siegel, L. & Welsh, B. (2009). Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice, and Law. Kentucky: Cengage Learning. Silverstein, H. (1990). Alcholism. New York: Franklins Watts. When a Man Loves a Woman. (1994) Touchstone Pictures. Read More