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Alcohol, The Most Abused Drug And It's Tragic Affects...


Alcohol abuse hurts us all in many ways. How? Moderate drinking causes some changes in everyday behavior such as loss of inhibition, self-destruction and impulse urges, mood changes and psychological disorders. Alcohol also impairs nerve-cell activities and functions of the central nervous system. Damage may include poor vision, memory loss, loss of coordination and sensation I recently served four years with the Department of Defense as an Administrator overseas. During that time, I did an extensive study on alcohol usage and it's affects. I have found that the most common cause of behavioral problems amongst American service people was centrally due to alcohol usage. Unfortunately, during that time I also became closely acquainted with many of those men and women. One of them, could not function in an orderly manner or socially mingle unless he was induced with alcohol. Otherwise, he remained withdrawn and hard to get along with amongst his peers. I also observed this same person do things while under the influence of alcohol that he otherwise wouldn't do when sober. For example, this individual claims to have involved himself sexually with over 42 minor Filipino girls between the ages of 8 10 15 years old - a weekly average for this activity whenever he got off-duty time. And later revealed that during those times, he could not remember once being sober. During my studies, this individual could not verbally communicate normally to anyone directly in a intelligent conversation unless he was under the influence of alcohol. However, the alcohol abuse never prevented him from performing his job well. Therefore, his co-workers never noticed. I have recently been in contact with him after many years of not having any contact with him and he shared with me that his health is now suffering from constant painful stomach ailments due to the years of abusing his body in his youth. Another result of the abuse is that his family must now deal with the withdrawals from them much of the time - quality time that otherwise would allow him to spend quality time with his wife and sons.

There are approximately 148 million drivers and about 100 million drinkers. Approximately 55,000 traffic deaths annually are alcohol related as the graphic photos in this article clearly depicts. As a consequence, many innocent lives are wasted on U.S. highways. Statistics show that the overall rate of alcohol related deaths, alone, are 10 percent higher than that of all other drugs combined. What is alcohol and why do we call it a “drug?”
Alcohol is actually a depressant in the same general psychoactive drug family as anesthetics, sedatives such as barbiturates, and narcotics such as morphine, opium and heroin. So you see, alcohol can have devastating affects on your health, but especially the brain and liver. People drink alcohol for many different reasons. These reasons may include relieving tension, but the most common reason is to compensate for stress. For instance, the individual I mentioned earlier in this article showed signs of deep stress relating to the absence of maternal affection in his childhood. Studies showed that he harbored a subconscious intolerance of anyone who reminded him of what he missed as a child. The only avenue of dealing with this inner storm raging inside of him, was turning to alcohol. Whenever vacation time came, he even found excuses to not go home to visit his father for fear that the surroundings would bring back to many memories of his childhood when his mother died unexpectedly of a heart attack when he was only 8-years-old. However, peer pressure also plays a big role in alcohol abuse, especially today when parents are more passive and allow their young children to be more promiscuous.

It is very important to be accepted in society, particularly among those of whom you have daily contact. This seems to be a growing concern and problem among teenagers, people who are seeking friendships and people who are confined to unfamiliar surroundings. Much like the individual mentioned earlier and so many other military people especially over seas, alcohol abuse also puts the user on the defensive whenever anyone approaches them with a comment or action that they conceive as threatening to their lifestyle or anything or anyone that may reminds them of their past. Is there a cure or prevention?

Education is the best medicine. Learn about proper health care. Get involved in programs that are working to solve the problems that lead to alcohol abuse. Be sensible about alcohol. Understand the dangers and damages it eventually causes. Know your limits. Then, set an example for others, especially tomorrows leaders –your children. Most importantly, instead of masking the causes of the problem by abusing alcohol and other destructive drugs, get involved with reputable counseling to understand why the problem is there. Then seek constructive ways to resolve them.