Alcoholism: Consequences, Addiction, and Rehabilitation - Essay Sample

Introduction

Alcoholism is a significant health problem, and it is among the behaviors that make many people addicts with ease. The addiction may also occur unknowingly. The consequences are far-reaching since people face not only adverse health outcomes but also social problems such as family neglect and alienation from friends. Emotional problems occur too. When addiction reaches the chronic phase, people usually become defeated and seek help. It is at this point that rehabilitation as a way of restoring emotional control, physical strength, and one's sobriety, among other objectives, becomes crucial. The recovery path is steady, and an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting that I attended shed more light about the entire process.

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Meeting Description

Since I live in Stockton, California, the most convenient place to attend the meeting was a nearby location. I attended an open forum by Delta Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous. The meeting was not professional and was friendly for any person to participate apart from children. The objective was to share experiences on alcohol problems and the recovery process and the ease of getting help in Stockton. The meeting followed the premise that alcoholism is a significant health risk, and alcoholics should get instant help from family members, friends, social workers, and healthcare providers. In this frame, it is an issue that requires a holistic approach.

The meeting started and progressed as planned. It commenced at noon and ended at 5.00 pm as per the working schedule of Delta Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous. In practice, Alcoholics Anonymous embraces inclusivity in their activities. As a result, people from all ages, socioeconomic backgrounds, and races, among other factors that cause isolation are incorporated in the recovery program. It was the same case in this meeting. Both genders participated, and a mix of races and social class was evident too. I could differentiate social cadres since the participants identified their locations and occupations.

The Story of the Meeting

Although many narrations took place in the meeting on how the attendants tried to do recover from alcoholism, one man highlighted his case in a way that can help analyze it by the Jellinek chart. He claimed that he started drinking to forget a problem; this was after losing his daughter through an accident. He was unable to regulate the behavior and started blacking out. It became excessive. Unfortunately, he started missing work and had many conflicts with his wife too. After seven months, it became apparent that alcoholism has overtaken everything in his life. Relationships did not matter, and he had no priorities. It is at this point that there the option of rehab worked out. The goal was to get him back to life.

The Crucial Phase

From this story, and as the Jellinek Curve depicts, alcohol addiction takes place progressively. The problem can get worse if a person does not get the necessary help, but it can be made better through recovery. In most cases, rehabilitation helps to break the cycle of addiction.

Pre-Alcoholic

In this step, the reasons for taking alcohol vary, and the person may not be aware that the behavior may become problematic. It marks the initial stages and addicts often regret not seeking professional help. As Doweiko (2013), observes, the main reasons for drinking before addiction include inducing a better feeling. People are sometimes dull after something happens in their life. Regarding that, they would drink to forget it, and it was the same case with this man. However, there is no surety that everything will turn out as planned. The drinking usually escalates leading to the early alcoholic stage.

Early Alcoholic

As narrated in the story, efforts to control drinking fail at this stage. There is a sudden loss of willpower and a decrease in alcohol tolerance. The blacking out from drinking as the man narrated is one of the early warnings that a problem is on the way. A person starts drinking without control. When people close to them start questioning what is happening, potential addicts are likely to lie about their state. As Miller (2012) further suggests, they become obsessed, and it is this obsession that causes health and social problems. The person starts struggling, which signifies the chronic phase.

The Chronic Phase

Middle Alcoholic

At the chronic phase, there is no denying that a person needs help. Often, people miss work and become uncontrollable. They are irritable too. Apart from these emotional problems, it is also possible to see the deterioration through physical signs. Loss of weight is typical. Other noticeable features include sluggishness and facial redness. A person starts drinking with chronic users and can be a victim of impaired thinking. Support groups are necessary at this point; they give emotional guidance and help the affected people to adjust (Kurtz, 2015). If there is no such help, the late alcoholic stage commences.

Late Alcoholic

This step marks the boundary between addiction and recovery. It is the point where drinking preoccupies everything in a person's life. The addict is unable to stop drinking. If he or she tries, there is a high chance of hallucinations or tremors. According to Doweiko (2012), family problems intensify due to drinking, and the process leads to an endless cycle of addictive behaviors. When it reaches a point where nothing good is happening to a person's life, and they have few options, including death (Miller, 2013). Rehab helps to get the person back to life. The goal is to help stop taking alcohol, return self-esteem, and enhance self-realization as well as realistic thinking.

Recovery/Rehabilitation

In practice, Alcoholics Anonymous endeavors to enable its members to stay sober. At the recovery stage, the goal is to help them transit from detox to treatment and maintain soberness in the end. At this juncture, the addict has already admitted that he or she is powerless and help is necessary (Doweiko, 2012). As a result, rehab helps to rebirth the person's normalcy and to get a new circle of stable friends. Other goals include increasing emotional and physical control, tolerance, and courage. Eventually, the person becomes more enlightened and can open up to educate others about the process as it happened in this meeting.

12 Steps Communities

Everything requires a clear plan for it to succeed. Considering that recovery is a lifelong and comprehensive process, the 12 steps come in as a way of getting what works the best according to the individuals' needs. As a therapeutic modality, the first step is admitting that the addicts are powerless and life has become unmanageable. Admission of a problem helps the person to open up and agree that it is only through a power higher than them that can help to restore sanity (Smith & Passik, 2008). Doing so ensures that they can make decisions willingly hence a quick recovery.

In the 12 steps as Alcoholics Anonymous outlines, there is a search for self-moral inventory as the victims ask God to remove their shortcomings. They also show a willingness to amend their wrongdoing as they look for methods that would not injure anyone. Other essential inclusions of these communities include meditation to improve consciousness through prayer and seek spiritual awakening (Blum et al., 2012). As a therapy process, it is apparent that it starts with admitting that there is a problem that requires external help, and spiritual intervention plays a vital role in recovery.

Personal Experience

Although I did not take notes or participate actively like the people in the recovery path, I observed several things about meeting arrangement and control. Regarding the observations that resonated with me, being organized was highly encouraging and enabled smooth flow of activities. There was a clear plan of what would take place at a particular time. However, the fact that too many people were allowed to ask questions was discouraging. It could hamper the general flow of the meeting. For a better organization in the future, there should be a way of dealing with distractors and uncooperative participants.

Concerning my view about the 12 step groups for people with addictions, there is no denying that it is a practical approach and can bring about the best outcomes. It is result oriented and focuses on the needs of the addict. The only problem is its religious touch. It calls for spiritual interference; this means that nonbelievers cannot be comfortable following such a process even though there have been efforts to come up with a model that fits even the atheist community. Improvement is necessary to make it universally applicable to addicts.

Conclusion

Overall, the entire session was a great awakening and offered valuable lessons regarding the issue of addiction and how to recover. It showed that addiction starts for many reasons and grows with time. As it grows, the problems that a person faces intensify too. Therefore, there should be support groups in all communities to offer immediate support and to identify the ones in need to avoid the problem of addiction from reaching unmanageable levels.

References

Blum, K., Femino, J., Teitelbaum, S., Giordano, J., Oscar-Berman, M., & Gold, M. (2013). Molecular Neurobiology of Addiction Recovery: The 12 Steps Program and Fellowship. Springer.

Doweiko, H. E. (2012). Concepts of chemical dependency. Brooks/

Cole.Kurtz, L. (2015). Recovery Groups. Oxford University Press.

Miller, P. M. (2013). Principles of addiction: Volume 1. Elsevier/AP.Smith, H. S., & Passik, S. D. (2008). Pain and chemical dependency. Oxford University Press.