Seeking recovery help can be a difficult thing for someone who is trying to live a sober life. For some it is a life-changing experience that they fail to grasp and often struggle with. Addiction can become so severe that an individual in the blink of an eye can become a completely different person than they were a minute ago. Alcohol addiction is a very serious thing, and although it is becoming a more common addiction nowadays, awareness and self-help groups are increasing to ensure that others do not have to go through the things a person experienced recovering alcoholic. This article will be supported by reading textbooks which will explain more about alcohol and the substance problems that come with it and how treatment is affected. Other sources will include eight required readings that will connect ideas and support alcohol use issues and how medical approaches address and identify problems. To continue with the sources, two lectures will be included, as well as the film used for the reportage and the interview reportage. Each source will help you understand the importance of alcohol, the danger that comes with drinking, and the possible causes that could push someone to start abusing the substance. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The subtopic will be about alcohol and addiction. Hart and Ksir describe that the term alcohol comes from an Arabic word meaning “finely divided spirit” and originally referred to that part of the wine collected through distillation, the essence, or “spirit” of the wine (187). When alcohol was first discovered, it was used to study the effects of treatment on certain medical conditions. However, over the years, it has become an increasingly common pleasure to drink on social occasions or to relax the mind after a long day at work. One fact about alcohol is that it's not just a liquid you'd call vodka. Hart and Ksir explained that beverages such as beer, wine, scotch, and other components of these types of beverages are considered alcoholic beverages and have a significant effect on individuals who drink too much on a daily basis (188-190). Even the smallest amount of alcohol in a drink can be dangerous, but with the precautions of knowing one's limit, one is able to understand when they have had enough while alcoholics do not see it and continue drinking. From the following information which now makes us aware that alcohol is dangerous if consumed in excess of what the recommended consumption should be, it is often speculated that it may be a psychological disorder in someone who may drink a lot but doesn't feel it the effects and behaviors after drinking. In an interview I had with an acquaintance of mine, he stated that “alcoholism is a mental illness” (Parrell, 2015). Deepening his perception of why he considered it a mental disorder, he began to explain that an alcoholic doesn't know when to stop; when they are sober they know that they must be in control at all times and cannot afford to fall back into unhealthy patterns. Therefore, if an alcoholic were to take even a single sip of a drink, they would immediately lose control and instead of saying “I am in control” the alcohol will change their perception to “you are fine, you can handle one more drink” ( Parrell, 2015 ). The possibility that a psychological disorder could be one of the factors causing alcohol consumption is something that many researchers and psychologists are still trying to identify today. Although there are theories that supportthe idea that one of the causes of alcoholism is a psychological disorder, there have been cases where a certain trauma in an individual's life led him or her towards alcohol. An example of a traumatic event in history was that the Ojibwa of Grassy Narrows experienced large amounts of mercury leaking into the waters they use and the river system had to shut down. Due to the toxins in the water, fish and other food sources were infected with the poison causing many illnesses and deaths in the community. Therefore, due to such events, speculation arose after approximately 35% of the population would die within three months causing a crisis and creating a drinking wave that hit Grassy Narrows "like a tornado" (Kai, 29). A large number of reasons behind alcohol addiction is an important part of psychological dysfunction. Whether it is a mental disorder, a trauma that was too much for an individual to handle the situation, these small issues can lead to serious consequences for an individual later on in case they use alcohol as a source of relief. Additionally, since alcohol addiction is a mental disorder, the case of a crime being committed while intoxicated is something that is being brought up more and more in today's society as more violent crimes occur and prosecutors are trying to figure out how to enforce the defendants. for their actions. A man named David Musto, an American expert on US drug policy and the war on drugs who served as a government advisor, wrote "The American Disease" and described how the concept of "deviance" as a category, created by majority of society to describe certain minorities on the basis of criteria perhaps unrelated to "justice", has made the perception of unusual or atypical behavior more realistic (237). This means that, if a crime were to be committed with a person involved in alcohol intoxication, depending on their previous cases if convicted or previously detained for possession of certain substances or crimes, in some cases they would not be charged with the crimes they committed . Musto explained how this has been going on since the 1960s and how in 1962, according to the Supreme Court, addiction was a disease and not a crime (237). Additionally, some cases of people on trial for crimes they have committed are often given ultimatums such as needing to go to a court-ordered facility to get sober. Entering a program that will help a person live a sober and clean life can cause a lot of anxiety for an individual who feels they are not yet ready to live such a lifestyle. While there are so many programs that are helpful and help people solve their addiction problems, one of the most effective programs commonly known for helping them is Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). An MD and Ph.D. professor of medicine named Miriam Rodin, explains how programs like these work best and why they help more people recover than other programs they might enroll in or join. Rodin explains that the methods behind AA programs are intended to help people feel safe and welcome. Upon entering the meeting, a president convenes the meeting by first welcoming everyone and introducing himself. Afterwards the presidents will do some readings and often prayers. They will then begin to introduce each speaker and allow them to discuss their stories and to ensure the speaker does not feel judged, advance chairs make the environment friendly and like to warm up beforehand as they say things that make everyone in the room comfortable room (43-45). Hart and Ksir believe that AA is now seen as a “milestone in treatment” (412). TheAlcoholics have an anonymity that they keep to themselves and do not share it with others because anonymity is an important part of their identity. However, in AA programs anonymity is broken to spread their awareness about the danger that comes with alcohol addiction. A twelve-step program designed to help the individual slowly begin living a sober life. Hart and Ksir support the perception that the alcohol-dependent person is held responsible for managing the illness on a day-to-day basis, but they do not need to feel guilty for being different (412). Although a person in AA has sponsors, he must begin to teach himself to be dependent on them because no one else can help him but his own being. The most important component in self-help groups is the individual who wishes to receive help. An alcoholic is a victim of himself since he is his own greatest enemy. Joseph Gusfield, a historical sociologist and leader in transforming the study of alcohol consumption in the United States, explored how moral issues were socially constructed and established that one factor in alcohol abuse is the enemy drinker. According to him, “the call for laws to limit alcohol consumption seems to arise from situations in which drinkers hold power as a definitive social and political group and, in their validity, norms of abstinence” (180). Thus, indicating that if a person does not agree with something, he will rebel. The conference discussed the Universe of Norms and how political, religious, self-organized, and biologically based norms were all contributions between individuals. For example, the difference between a social control agent and a deviant was explained. Agents of social control were an integral part of society, like law enforcement, the federal constitution, and other systems of which people are a part; deviants would be criminals, drug addicts, homeless people, terrorists and so on (Maida, 2015). If an individual does not feel part of society or is consistently judged by society, it will lead to a substance that he feels he feels good with, and in the case of an alcoholic, alcohol is his solution, alcohol is his Pleasure. Although there are self-help groups that help people live a sober life, there are others who do not want to seek help and continue to drink alcohol for their pleasure. The danger is that when a person drinks too much alcohol it can actually affect their body biologically and in many cases those bodies end up in the hospital if they are not dead. In class we talked about the campaign against stigma II: the encounter with health and the role of the patient. In this conference we had learned that individuals should know their role and not get sick and if they get sick, ask doctors for help (Maida, 2015). Doctors have the power of authority because they have the knowledge, experience and skills needed to help someone who is sick and be able to provide them with a diagnosis and treatment. This type of power however, depending on the patient, not everyone wants to receive help from a doctor because some may not be from the country and therefore have no knowledge and have uncertainty about what they are told by the doctor, especially if the language the doctor is speaking is not their primary language. Additionally, the big issue why so many avoid hospitals in general is their insurance company (Maida, 2015). We've learned that insurance is the main reason why we go to the hospital or not, because we don't know how much everything will cost. Someone who continually drinks heavily can develop serious health problems and may have to spend thousands of dollars on medical trips if they don't control how much they drink or seek help living a sober life. This probleminsurance also became intertwined with the research of William White, a senior research consultant as he examined the rhetoric of dependency. White concluded that while private institutions such as insurance companies almost universally benefit from a very narrow definition of billable diagnoses, federal and state government agencies charged with funding addiction treatment have somewhat conflicting interests (54). Insurance companies are making things more difficult for those who are trying to live a sober life because they have to pay for everything they do during treatment. If one were to be sent to an institution, whether through court orders or directed by a doctor, institutionalized treatment often never helps an alcoholic or motivates them to live a clean life as they tend to feel more cravings to drink during hospitalization. Such facilities are known as mental institutions, prisons also have a place for those struggling with addiction, and even missionaries provide help in treatment. How a patient recovers will determine their level of sobriety; if someone were deemed to be progressing, even if they wouldn't be released immediately, they don't need to be contained while those who refuse or fight are locked up. A PhD from the National Opinion Research Center, he analyzed the routing dilemma in institutions and wanted to understand how patients responded to treatment. What was discovered was the different way in which an alcoholic is treated in each behavioral context and that these approaches resulted from an obvious differentiation in drinkers' characteristics and response to rehabilitation efforts; so some drinkers may respond better to punishment, some need help dehydrating before they can stop drinking, some need self-understanding, while others thrive in an environment of strict rules and spiritual guidance (Wiseman, 53). Wiseman then concluded that each institution or facility is assigned special areas where they would force patients to do things. He believed that the things that patients go through add more fear and anxiety to them and that is why they prefer to run away from the place and continue drinking rather than seek help. Not seeking help causes many social problems. In the movie "The Basketball Diaries", the main character and his friends robbed residential areas and stole money from strangers walking on the streets of New York. They were all part of the social norms that the community respected, but after substance abuse and excessive alcohol consumption the idea of ​​threatening people and running away from their problems was normal when in reality it was the exact opposite. Ultimately, the characters became a social problem and were judged by many and despised. The danger with alcohol is that you destroy your tolerance level. Hart and Ksir refer tolerance to a phenomenon observed with many drugs, in which repeated exposure to the same dose of the drug results in a minor effect (30). Alcoholics want to feel something when they drink or feel nothing; when they do this, they increase drink after drink and the danger they put themselves in is, for example, they drink eight drinks in one night, they might want the same amount the next night, however after eight drinks they don't feel the pleasure, so add more drinks in their system. Hart and Ksir also explain how a behavioral act is followed by a consequence, resulting in a greater tendency to repeat the behavioral act; the consequences can be described as pleasant or as a “reward” (31). With this information known, it is one of the great struggles for sobriety. A developing alcoholic?