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Societies the world over have long since encouraged the role of alcohol as an integral part of their celebrations. From the workplace, where board meetings are often followed by a round of drinks, to celebrations which often call for the customary toast alcohol is viewed as a harmless indulgence which lifts spirits and fosters a sentiment of togetherness, as people bond over a drink or two. But very often, it does not take long for this one drink to multiply into two, and then four, and to find these instances which call for a drink cropping up at increasingly regular intervals. And this is when the disease called alcoholism takes its roots, growing into a web of despair and illness that enmeshes the victim when he is at his most vulnerable.

Alcoholism is one of the most difficult of all diseases to detect and diagnose, as the victim himself is unaware of how grave his addiction is. This is further complicated by the fact that people around him tend to overlook his addiction as a mere indulgence that can easily be dealt with, if he simply makes up his mind to put an end to it. And thus, the victim keeps deceiving himself until his addiction gets the better of him and causes terrifying consequences. Alcohol is directly responsible for a host of physical complications, which, over the course of time, also affect the individual’s social interactions and gradually but steadily, the society and even the economic growth and development of the country.

Excessive consumption of alcohol claims its stake on the victim’s body, inflicting him with a multitude of physical illnesses like heart and liver disorders. Needless to say, his performance at work is affected which, over time impairs the functioning of the organization and thus hindering the progress of the economy which the organization is a part of.

With the decline in income that the individual faces, there is also the rising expenditure he has to incur as a result of his addiction, which compels him to buy increasing amounts of alcohol. The financial security of his family being at stake, the alcoholic will also have to face marital tensions, which he tries to evade by drinking more alcohol which traps him in a malicious circle. Unknown to many, alcohol is a depressant, which means that the more you drink, the deeper your depression grows until you are finally drinking to escape the gloom alcohol has brought on to you.

Society is not very sympathetic in their outlook towards alcoholics as most people scorn victims of alcohol abuse as too weak to control their excesses. This takes its toll on the victim’s self esteem a condition that is compounded by the psychological disorders that alcohol is responsible for. The chronic depression that the alcoholic suffers from matures into more terrifying diseases like paranoia and even schizophrenia in the long run. Alcoholics are also more inclined to other forms of substance abuse which complicate the problems alcohol is already causing them.

Children, whose parents are victims of alcohol abuse, are also more susceptible to depression, which exhibits itself in the form of uncontrollable crying, bed wetting and nightmares, when they are younger and acting-out behaviors as they grow older. This means that they may either be very rebellious, failing classes and engaging in destructive behavior, or they may be overly compliant and obsessive about their grades, extremely self-conscious and suffer from phobias. These children often isolate themselves as they have no one to confide in about their fears and often believing that they are destined to be failures, no matter how hard they try.

With the harried pace at which we live life today, in the modern world and the increasing pressures we have to deal with, both at the workplace and in our social interactions, it is not uncommon to find more and more people resorting to alcohol to alleviate their woes. But before surrendering to the bottle and all the promise it holds, first stop to think about whether the gamut of evils that this seemingly innocuous beverage causes is worth the momentary feeling of satisfaction it brings you and whether you are willing to take that risk and toe the line when the security and happiness of your family is at stake. The choice, though not difficult to make, may be a hard one to live up to but once you do take that first step, you’ll soon see the world of difference it brings about.

Tags: Health & Fitness //