Professor Fahey
English 1A
2 March 2002
Alcoholism
Alcoholism was present in my family and friends. My grandpa would start drinking only on
weekends socially. Then the drinking started everyday when he was passed over for a
promotion.
My grandma would get depressed because Grandpa was unhappy. She then started drinking
also. The drinking increased so much that she started to hide vodka and gin in her bedroom.
One night, her stomach was hurting. She said the pain would not go away. My mom took her
to the hospital and she stayed overnight. The next day, she told my mom that she was seeing
spiders on the wall. My mom said, "There are no spiders on the wall. You are going through the
D.T.s [delirium tremens]." My grandma said that D.T.s are for alcoholics and she realized that
she was one also! She eventually got help soon afterward and stopped drinking.
An Alcoholics Anonymous Regional Service Center in...
A Kranz (wreath) of Kölsch beer.
AA meeting signDo you know what alcoholism is? Do you know the causes of alcoholism and the methods of
treatment? Most people don't.
Alcoholism is a serious disorder. It can affect our lives in many ways. Forty percent of
highway deaths are alcohol related (Channing, What to do 3). Alcohol is a large factor in
suicides and is spousal abuse (Channing, What Everyone 9). The leading cause of teenage death
is alcohol related (Channing, What Everyone 9). Prolonged excessive drinking can shorten
the life span by ten to twelve years (Channing, What Everyone 12).
"In the U.S., alcoholism is involved in a quarter of all admissions to general hospitals, and
it plays a major role in the four most common causes of death in males, ages 20 to 40: suicide,
[auto] accidents, homicide, and cirrhosis of the liver" (Mayo).
Alcoholism can affect many people of all ages, races, gender, and economic...