Building Self-Confidence...

ALCOHOL  ABUSE-THINK BEFORE YOU DRINK

WHY PEOPLE DRINK?  This is the very first question that comes in one’s mind while reading or thinking about the above mentioned topic. Why they are so much influenced by alcohol and its effects? Why a person who starts initially with a shot of 30 ml turns out to be an alcoholic or drunkard? The answer to this is really simple. It all depends on one’s thought process. The reason for consuming alcohol varies from individual to individual or person to person. For some it’s a route or track to enjoyment. For some consuming alcohol is considered to be cool i.e. if u are taking alcohol then you are considered to be a cool guy or girl. In many of cases it’s seen that alcoholism is a result of peer pressure as well. A friend of yours insists you for the first shot of your life and gradually it becomes the habit.

Let’s now discuss that what basically alcoholism is, what are its causes and what are its effects. In medical terms alcoholism is defined as an addiction to the consumption of any kind of alcoholic drink or in simple words alcoholism is a broad term for any drinking of alcohol. When it comes to the causes both environmental and genetic factors play a great role in leading to alcoholism. A person whose parent or sibling is alcoholic is three to four times more likely to be alcoholic himself. Environmental factors may include social, cultural and behavioral influences. Experts strongly believe that high stress levels, anxiety are also the root causes of alcoholism. Alcoholism or drinking effects an individual to such an great extent that when he/she comes to know about the damage done by , it’s too late. The main organs that are affected due to hazardous drinking are liver, kidneys, pancreas and brain. This can even lead to nervous disorders or brain hemorrhages’. Alcohol effects everything an individual has, it’s not only the health that is affected by it but everything including the family life, emotions, wealth etc. alcohol has ruined million of families, lakh of people lost their sons, wives lost their husbands, children lost their fathers, sisters lost their brothers, fully fledged families turned into barren lands. All family members are equally affected because of a single alcoholic. Alcohol results into many other problems and the major one out of all is domestic violence, a person who is alcoholic or is under the influence of alcohol looses all the capability to think and understand what he is doing. He is not able to judge whether he is with his wife, daughter mother, sister, son etc and the toxication or the effect leads to various inhuman activities. Many a time we come across the clippings that a father raped his daughter under the influence of alcohol,  our newspapers are full with the headlines as wife died due to rigorous beating by husband. This is the kind of society we are living in, believe me people this is not the scenario of one house, street, city, town, state or country but it is the scenario of the society we are living in. alcohol has affected the whole society in such a great extent that every house is a victim of it in one or the another forms. It is nothing like that alcohol effects only the poor or the rich but it affects all the classes of the society equally, starting from the famous to an ordinary man, all are influenced by it. a very famous editor wrote an article “his journey from a reputed editor to a drunkard” in which he mentioned all the phases he had gone through and the worst one was that his parents who brought him up and were so proud of him, he had thrown them out of his place because of the influence of alcohol. His father wrote a letter to him that it’s a curse having son like him. He lost his job. In his article he clearly stated that the process of drinking started when he was in college and the first shot was offered by a friend of his and slowly this turned out into routines and later on became alcoholic.

The other major problem that is faced due to alcoholism is accidents. Numbers of time we come across the banners or hoardings stating “don’t mix drinking with driving” but do we people actually follow these sayings. Numbers of families have been ruined by drunken driving. A person who is drunk and is driving is considered to be a criminal according to the law but the hard core reality is that 98% of people who are involved in such accidents are never put behind bars or sentenced. Number of innocent people who don’t have any relations with alcohol or drinking, lost their lives because of drunken driving. An influential family of Delhi has lost their son who was just 15 because of drunken driving. The boy was an all rounder and went for party with his friends after completion of his board exams. His father called him to pick him up but he refused and said that he has driver and will come with his friends. An hour passed and again parents called, this time the phone was received by a stranger and he said an accident took place. The parents rushed to the accident site and the accident was so massive that even the car was not being recognized. Three boys who were in the age group of 14-15 lost their lives because of a drunkard who was 19 and was driving. The family lost their only son, this is only one and there are many more like this. A research conducted by WHO recently stated that in organization like AIIMS 10-12 cases of drunken driving are registered every day out of which 5-6 are brought dead in the hospital means 50%. In a hospital in Bangalore 25% people had injuries because of alcohol and 35% people had injuries because the others have consumed alcohol. Studies reveal that 1 out of every 20 persons who is alcoholic is a drunkard. Worldwide 2 shots of 30ml are considered to be the normal or acceptable amount or in other words social drinking. The upper limit can be stretched up to 3 shots of 30 ml each but if we talk about India then the social drinking is considered to be up to 5-6 shots of 30 ml each that is it even exceeds the upper limit of social level of drinking.

A famous psychiatrist stated that drinking is not a habit it’s a disease. The first time drinking leads to the formation of receptors in brain which increase with the passage of time and the person cannot control and keeps on getting indulged. . When a person drinks for the first time he never believes that in future hell be a drunkard but the process starts with the very first shot.

A study conducted by WHO stated that 208 million people were found with alcoholism worldwide i.e. 4.1% of the total population and believe me friends this is not a small number. Alcoholism directly resulted in 139,000 deaths in 2013 . The number is increasing alarmingly. Now it’s the time to keep a strong check on it. Let’s join hands together to eradicate this evil of the society. Alone government can’t make it happen or alone individuals cant. Both have to work together to improve the situation. If we want to see the change we will have to be the change first.

“EH ZINDAGI TU HI BATA, KHOYA HAI JO PAUN KAHAN

HAR BHOOL KI MAAFI MILE, ROOTHE PALON KO MEIN LAUN MANA”