Alcoholism

    Alcoholism is a condition where the rate of alcohol consumption and the quantity of which a person takes it can affect their brain in a devastating way. This condition is insinuated for a variety of reasons including issues with family, work, and overall stress[ES1] . It does not only mess with the person suffering from it. The way the person behaves and the things they do differently can badly affect the people around them like their family and friends.

    I found that many people suffering from alcoholism, or alcoholics, don’t realize that they are addicted until a family member or friend points it out to them. Some symptoms that many alcoholics tend to experience are: not being able to limit the amount of alcohol you drink, drinking alcohol on a regular basis, feeling a kind of craving for alcohol, etc. Experts were looking for one main cause for alcoholism, but the truth is that there are all sorts of things that induce it. People might turn to alcohol in order to relieve their stress, this is [ES2] because they have issues with their work or at home, traumatic experiences, and much more. Since children’s brains, under the age of 18, haven't fully developed yet, the consumption of alcohol takes a negative effect on them much faster and the effect is[ES3]  worse. This is why underage drinking is an issue that our society deals with. [GU4] 

    When alcohol is consumed in great quantities, it can mess with your brain. The person may not be able to think straight, and many people seem to let go of a lot of their cares and inhibitions. This state is referred to as being drunk. People who are undergoing a lot of stress tend to use alcohol as a way to relieve that stress. While it may seem harmless at first, over time it can cause a lot of damage to the person themselves and to their life. If a person were to drink alcohol in large quantities and regularly, their body would begin to get used to the amount of consumption and it would [ES5] start to feel like it’s a routine. As their body gets used to the alcohol, it will start to need more in order to reach that drunken state of bliss. Soon enough, they are drinking far more alcohol than their body can take in order to remain healthy and since they are doing it regularly, they will grow accustomed to that feeling. A lot of alcoholics won’t admit that they have an addiction until the alcohol gets [ES6] taken away from them. Fairly quickly they will start feeling the symptoms of withdrawal. Withdrawal is the effect that the immediate lack of whatever substance you may be addicted to (in this case alcohol) has on a person’s[ES7]  body. They may start to have headaches and a serious craving for alcohol, the lack of it making them physically ill. Depending on how addicted the person is, this loss of alcohol could make them do some regretful things.

    George F. Koob is a professor and former chair of the committee on neurobiology and addictive disorders. He is also the director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, otherwise known as NIAAA. Koob’s research works around the idea of how stress can play a role in drug and alcohol addictions. When he looks at the brain of someone who has an addiction and someone who doesn’t, he can see how stress and anxiety affect each brain in a different way. With this research, Koob intends to examine how the changes in neurocircuits in the brain can and do convey negative emotional states. This could later contribute in the motivation to seek out drugs or alcohol. By discovering this, he and his team believe that they may be able to prevent an addiction from taking action before it has even become evident yet.

    In conclusion, alcoholism is a condition that is caused by many things including stress, work or family issues, past trauma, and much more. This addiction can mess with a person’s brain and can make them drink alcohol excessively and do or say things that they wouldn’t normally do or say. Drinking alcohol as a routine while being[ES8]  under the age of 18 is very unhealthy because the brain has not fully developed yet so the negative effects that alcohol has are worse. Scientists and neurologists are hoping to [ES9] soon be able to detect and prevent an addiction before it has even taken action.