What Causes Alcohol Abuse?
The
cause of alcohol abuse is usually pain. People will self-medicate or abuse
in order to find relief from discomfort. This is true after a person has
experienced problems due to developmental or situational stresses. Developmental
stresses are caused by problems with development of a person when he or
she is going through one of the stages of growth such as pubescence, adolescence,
adulthood entry, middle age or old age. These stresses may include social
rejection, shame due to not meeting up to peer standards, unmet expectations
or feelings of inferiority when passing through one of these stages. Situational
stresses are those which occur accidentally or because of circumstances
or poor judgment. These stresses may include divorce, loss of a loved
one, the onset of a disease, an accident or any failure.
Alcoholism is caused by a combination of genetic factors plus drinking
alcohol. It is not a matter of poor spirituality or weak will or stupidity
or psychological weakness. These can be factors present before the person
drinks but are always, to some degree, symptoms of alcoholism. The alcoholic
is unaware of the problem and unaware of the severity. One out of ten
adults in the United States has alcoholism. These persons do not choose
it. They do not plan it. They are unable to stop once the problem is of
a certain duration and frequency. This is individualized. Individual differences
determine how soon a person can drink safely. Differences determine whether
a person can stop easily or not at all and when. These differences are
not very precise and, therefore, very difficult to measure or even talk
about.
What I do believe is that the problem is not chosen or easily arrested.
I believe there is no cure but it can be arrested. I believe that the
problem always gets worse. I believe that the problem can be arrested
by a spiritual (not religious) conversion that entails believing in and
trusting someone or something that is stronger and wiser, more knowledgeable
than you. This can be a person sober and relatively content and successful
in life who has a "daily recovery program."
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