Influences Towards Alcoholism

Cathy took her first drink at the age of 15. One day at the park near her house, where a number of older neighborhood teenagers liked to hang out and drink beer, one of the older boys offered her a beer. Self-described as perpetually painfully shy and feeling ignored and left out by the older kids, Cathy drank the beer and at first described everything as seemingly wonderful. She wasn’t as shy anymore, she could talk to people, dance, and sing without any apprehension. That was the day Cathy’s slippery slope into alcoholism began.

In the beginning it was only on the weekends, but Cathy’s drinking consistently increased, as well as letting her grades slip, to the point where she was kicked out of her current school. Though her parents were now aware and deeply worried about her, Cathy’s drinking continued to escalate; to the point where she even slashed her wrists in an attempt to gain a boy’s attention. Even after Cathy continued to abuse alcohol, drinking before, after, and during work till she soon lost her job, her boyfriend, and her health was severely declining. It was only when Cathy finally made the decision to enter addiction treatment, that she was able to get healthy again and begin her path to long-term addiction recovery.

Cathy’s story is a further example of the significantly increased likelihood of serious negative life consequences and events which can happen to an individual struggling with alcohol abuse. The disease can bring about major harmful side effects that can deter an individual’s life such as:

• Arrest and criminal prosecution
• Involvement in fatal or non-fatal car accidents
• Involvement in risky sexual behavior
• Episodes of fatal or non-fatal alcohol poisoning
• Poor academic performance
• Involvement in other forms of substance abuse
• Homicide
• Suicide and long-term disruptions of normal brain development

So what leads an individual to decide to start experimenting with drugs and alcohol? Studies have determined there are some specific factors that may contribute to a child’s thinking on alcohol use in his or her formative early teenage years. For instance some of the factors that may influence an individual’s attitudes towards alcohol use and abuse may include:

• The alcohol related attitudes and actions of parents and other family members
• The alcohol related attitudes and actions of other adults encountered outside the family unit
• A teen’s level of exposure to pro-alcohol and anti-alcohol messages through various forms of media
• The attitudes towards alcohol use held by a teen’s peer group
• The actual level of alcohol intake in a teen’s peer group

In Stacy’s case it was the high consumption and positive attitude towards alcohol held by her peer group which led Stacy to begin experimenting with alcohol, and take her first steps towards her eventual struggle with alcoholism. Regardless of how it originates, alcoholism is a very serious and dangerous disease that knows no boundaries and can cause any individual’s life to careen off-course. If you or someone you love is struggling with alcoholism, give us a call today take a stand before it causes any more damage. Recovery is possible.

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