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With Alcoholism on the Rise, 1 in 8 are now Reported Alcoholics

Alcohol addiction: the blindfolded disease. It’s the one that everybody talks about but you don’t always see right in front of you. Some call them spirits- others call them liquors, but the nickname matters not when the gloom is delivered the same. Alcoholic beverages of sorts have been around probably as long as rotten fruit- which may be bringing us back to the dawn of man for all we know. However, fruit doesn’t deliver the same blow back that alcohol does.

When it comes to health and looking into the crystal ball of the future, no one said there’d be times like these. With alcoholism on the rise, the numbers of those dealing with the obsessive struggle are multiplying on a regular basis that is leaving friends and families around the globe devastated. The last several years have brought about an opioid epidemic that goes hand in hand with this alcoholic crisis that has swirled together to create a perfect storm of addicted populous’ looking for answers.

Destructive Alcoholism or Alcoholic Destruction?

Either way you look at it, the detriments of alcoholism on the rise absolutely project fear. For a drug that is so widely accepted and worldly, it’s amazing how many do not recognize the bottle and the damage done. How much harm can a liquid really do? Well, it’s all smoke and mirrors when you’re guzzling fizzy bubbles that make you feel invincible.  

Alcoholism on the rise in the last several years has increased the mortality rate in America drastically to nearly 88,000 Americans dying from alcohol related ailments every year. Alcoholism rates itself has increased 49% since the early 2000’s and it doesn’t look like there is a plateau for it to level out anywhere on the horizon.

New studies are showing that 1 in 8 or 12.7% of Americans are undergoing what would gladly fit into the psychology acclaimed DSM as an alcoholic disorder. The Center for Disease Control has explained that alcohol abuse in itself is responsible for quickening the process’ of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, liver cirrhosis, several types of cancer and infections, pancreatitis, type 2 diabetes, and a conglomeration of other injuries and illnesses. Yikes!

The Bottle and the Damage Done

A drink made for glamorous euphoria induced consumption that for many ends with shrouded misery covered unhappiness. In a world with so much uncertainty- we allow the bottle to be a means to an end but not an answer to the means. Drinking becomes our holy answer. We imbibe for more reasons than one has fingers like

  • To celebrate
  • To grieve
  • To create comfort
  • To create discomfort
  • To deal with
  • To not deal with

Basically any emotion we can make an excuse to drink for- alcoholic thinkers and abusers will use that as their living, breathing motivation. Alcoholism on the rise shouldn’t be ignored when anybody can be the next victim.  The revolution will not be televised because everybody was too drunk to watch.

passed out alcoholic man

Every Drunk is Like a Setting Sun

This recent study performed by the National Institutes for Health (NIH) conducted a number of polls that would survey alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence across the nation. With a list of common alcohol related problems, having enough of them apply to your life would be the criteria to fall under the category of drinkers with alcohol use disorder.

Bridget Grant- a researcher at the NIH and the study’s lead author suggests, “I think the increases are due to stress and despair and the use of alcohol as a coping mechanism.” The collected information shows that the increases in alcoholism were “much greater among minorities than among white individuals,” most likely stemming from ever growing social inequalities after the recession of 2008.

The study showed the different demographics suffering from alcoholism on the rise with men and Native Americans being more prone to exhibiting such symptoms. The study went on to even narrow it down and show that every 1 in 4 adults under the ripe age of 30 are likely to be alcoholic.

Statistics Don’t Lie

Unfortunately, the numbers don’t show us everything we need to know, just the underlying issues at hand. Alcoholism on the rise won’t be slowing down anytime soon while the fermented beverages remain legal. With alcoholism on the rise, the fate of many is just lurking nearby waiting on its opportunity for premature destiny. Those inflicted with alcoholic thinking have a mental ailment that causes them to abuse basically anything that numbs reality or increases euphoria. Without Alcoholics Anonymous or the 12 steps- we are the doomed to live off chemicals after we have that first taste.

Alcoholics are like the shark that can’t stop after it gets its first whiff of blood. Ignoring alcoholism on the rise will in turn create higher costs for preventable E.R. visits, higher costs for impaired children who are likely to need care for many years due to alcohol related neglect, and higher costs for jails and prisons that are already over populated for the number of persons per capita that the United States imprisons. The reality is that there is a growing alcohol problem that must be addressed immediately before the tombstones and illnesses multiply at a rate that can’t be kept up with.

Fermented Slavery

Alcohol abuse has been an issue for decades but the last several years have caught the eyes of many with shock and awe. Unfortunately, we cannot remove alcohol entirely from our lives, but we can remove ourselves entirely from the life of alcohol. What do you do if you can’t do anything but there isn’t anything you can do? You do what you can. If you or a loved one has been struggling with getting a firm grasp on sobriety and need treatment for alcohol, please call1-800-481-8457 or visit oarcstaging.wpengine.com. Our teams of specialists are waiting by to help figure out what options are best for sending your life is a comfortable direction that you can proudly stand behind.

 

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