Alcohol and Your Social Life

The legal effects of alcohol are bad but, the social and behavioral effects are very negative as well. Alcohol abuse can damage relationships between a person and their family. Even though a lot of people drink to make they feel better, alcohol can negatively impact the abusers personality. Increased irribility, poor judgment, and poor reasoning are a few ways that alcohol damages the personality and then go on to ruin relationships. A study showed that the abuse of alcohol is behind about forty percent of serious domestic violence instances. Alcohol abuse can be attributed to verbal and physical abuse of the spouse and children in a home. Children living in the home of an alcoholic tend to have lower grades, higher rates of depression, and can frequently feel socially isolated.

            When alcohol is abused over time, the risk of physiological damage to the drinker increases. Many studies point out the link between alcohol abuse and psychological disorders such as; anxiety disorder and depression. People may over drink to get rid of their feelings of depression but, the more they drink, the more depressed they become. This connection probably explains why 15-70% of people who abuse alcohol suffer from some type of depression.

            People who abuse alcohol often behave in ways that cause others to withdraw them from society. The damaging effects of alcohol don’t only affect the people close to and around the abuser, it affects society as a whole. Alcohol abuse is linked to a lot of social ills. There is a connection between people who abuse alcohol and how often they miss work. Alcohol abuse is also linked to higher crime rates in neighborhoods. Because alcohol impairs your good judgment, it is also connected to risky sexual behavior. Alcohol damages everyone who is intimately and remotely close to the abuser. 

The Legal Damage Alcohol can Cause

In the United States, the legal drinking age is twenty one. Even though you should legally be twenty one to drink, a lot of people participate in underage drinking. If you get caught drinking and you’re not of legal age, you can be sentenced to jail time.

            People also get in trouble with the law a lot because they try to go out and drive while they’re intoxicated. This is also illegal and, there can be a lot of consequences for doing this. Statistics say that, almost half of all drivers who were killed in crashes and tested positive for drugs, also had alcohol in their systems. The statistics also state that, in the year 2010, 211 children were killed in drunken driving crashes. Out of those 211 deaths, 131 of the children were riding with a drunk driver. Drinking and driving doesn’t only affect the person that’s driving, it also affects the people around. Drunk driving doesn’t always result in crashes and death. If someone gets caught by the police, they can be pulled over and arrested for Driving while Intoxicated (DWI) or, Driving While under the Influence (DUI).

            There are various punishments for DWI and/or DUI. In all of the states, first offense DWI or DUI is classified as a misdemeanor, and can punishable by up to six months in jail. The jail time can be increased under certain circumstances. Many states also require minimum jail sentences of at least several days on a first offense. Subsequent offenses may result in jail time up to several months to a year. For a DUI or DWI that has been classified as a felony, either because the driver killed or injured someone or, because this is the third or fourth offense, jail time can be for several years. This depends on the state and the laws. In addition to jail time for DWI and DUI, courts can also impose fines. These fines can range anywhere from $500 to $2,000. 

Alcohol and the Pregnant Woman

Alcohol does not only have an effect on regular people, it also has an effect on expectant mothers. When alcohol enters a pregnant woman’s body, it goes through the placenta to the developing fetus. A baby’s alcohol level can then become as high as the mother’s. Adults can metabolize alcohol but, a fetus is more vulnerable because their livers cannot break down alcohol. Their developing organs are then exposed and prolonged exposure can be very bad. This can cause Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, which causes facial malformations, heart abnormalities, mental retardation, and behavioral problems. Another effect would be increased risk of miscarriage and stillbirth. There is no proven safe amount of alcohol a woman can consume during pregnancy. Women should avoid all alcohol consumption during pregnancy, especially during the first trimester when the vital organs and nervous system are developing.

Alcohol and Your Brain (Long Term)

            Alcohol not only has all of these short term effects on the brain, it also has some long term effects as well. When you consume too much alcohol, you can damage the part of the brain known as the hippocampus. If this part of the brain is damaged, it can be hard to learn and remember things in the long run. You can also permanently damage nerve cells and other parts of the brain. Most damage is irreversible. Drinking too much can also cause Epilepsy and depression. 

Alcohol and Your Brain (Short Term)

One spot that it hits in particular is the central nervous system which contains your brain and spine. Alcohol can hit your brain very fast, that’s why you can feel light headed or relaxed after just one drink. Alcohol affects the nerve cells and the communication between nerve cells. This slows everything down and that’s why our emotion, judgment, balance, memory, speech, and anger levels are off after drinking. Your brain is still developing until you reach the age of 20-25 and alcohol can do some irreversible damage to your brain.

            One part of your brain that is affected is the cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex controls our senses and our inhibitory center. This explains why when you are intoxicated you are very talkative, confident, and socially inhibited. This also causes your thought process and judgment to be off. Another part of the brain that is affected is the frontal lobes. The frontal lobes control planning, forming ideas, making decisions, and using self-control. That is why people who are drunk usually can’t control emotions and urges, they sometimes act without thinking, and they can be very violent and act completely out of character.

            The Cerebellum is also affected by alcohol. This part of your brain controls coordination, being aware, and thinking. This is people who are intoxicated usually can’t walk or lose balance easily and fall. The Hippocampus is also affected by alcohol. The hippocampus is where memories are made. When alcohol hits this part of your brain, you may have trouble remembering things you have just heard, or even worse, you could blackout and not remember what happened the next day.

            The Hypothalamus is the small part of the brain that does a large number of the body’s housekeeping chores. After alcohol hits the Hypothalamus, it increases blood pressure, hunger, thirst, and the urge to urinate. While those things increase, body temperature and heart rate decrease. Last but not least, alcohol also affects the Medulla. The medulla controls the automatic action such as heartbeat and the right body temperature. Alcohol chills the body so, drinking outside and in cold weather is a bad idea. That could cause hypothermia. Hypothermia is the condition where your body temperature drops way below normal. Some people go into a shock and many even die from this. 

Alcohol and Your Body

Healthy people can metabolize alcohol at a fairly consistent rate. One standard drink, which is ten ML of alcohol, is eliminated through the body every hour. A lot of factors affect this process though. Factors such as; gender, age weight, height, general health, presence of food in the stomach, concentration of alcohol in the drink, and illicit and prescription drugs can effect this. Our Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) is why we are affected by alcohol. The BAC is the total amount of alcohol in your system divided by your total amount of body water. Your BAC goes up when your body takes in more alcohol than it can metabolize at a time. That is why it is very good to drink water while consuming alcohol, water dilutes and dissolves alcohol.  

            When alcohol first enters your body, it goes through the body and straight to the stomach where 20% of it is dissolved. The other 80% goes to the small intestine; the heart then pumps it throughout your whole body.

Here is a video of how alcohol can effect your body.

Introduction/Binge Drinking

Alcohol can have many effects on your life. It can affect your life mentally, physically, and socially. Even though alcohol is legal in all fifty states, it is still a drug. Alcohol is a depressant drug that affects your brain and your body in many different ways. Some effects of alcohol are short term, while others are long term.

            Consuming alcohol in moderation is not bad. When people start to binge drink or when it becomes alcoholism, that’s when it becomes a problem. Alcohol can have many negative effects on your life and the lives of the people around you. It can affect your body, brain, and your social life.

            Binge drinking is defined as drinking alcoholic beverages with the primary intention of becoming intoxicated (drunk) by heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time. Alcoholism is defined as an addiction to the consumption of alcoholic liquor or, the mental illness or compulsive behavior resulting from alcohol dependency. Neither one of these things are good for you. Both of these things can bring on all of the physical, mental, and social effects of alcohol.