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The Right Way of Eating Disorder Treatment and Getting Rid of Alcohol Addiction

June 1, 2011 By Psychiatric Disorders Help Leave a Comment

Nowadays, two of the most widespread mental illness affecting people particularly the young ones are eating disorder problems and alcohol addiction. These may be products of the drastic change of lifestyle among the people nowadays or the influence of media. Also, traumas from the long-ago could greatly contribute in the occurrence of these mental illnesses. The family, being the basic unit of society, all the more has the greatest impact on both the occurrence and the possible treatment of these problems.

Eating disorders are not merely a dysfunction in its eating habits and food intake but it is more of a distorted self-image. This comprises a pessimistic mind set towards one’s physical form. People with eating disorders are not |necessarily fat. Usually for people with anorexia, the patients are thin and pale. Anorexics tend to think that they are very plump that they should exercise more and eat lesser, even though in reality they tend to be very thin to the point of becoming malnourished. People who are anorexic intentionally skip meals and almost eat nothing. They feel guilty when they eat. Even worse, just the mere action of thinking about food makes them guilty. They become obsessed of eating less or nothing. On the other hand, another eating disorder called bulimia entails binge eating. Habitual binge eating and forceful vomiting characterize bulimia. Usually, bulimic are not skinny rather, that could be normal in weight only their perception of their body weight is distorted.

The reasons of eating disorder occurrence can be attributed to many factors. One important factor would be the potent influence of media. Media dictates the standards of society. Media materials produce a picture of a beautiful woman through a skinny model and a hot and handsome guy through a male model with full abs and biceps. Undeniably, people watch T.V. more than they do their household chores. It may be an overstatement but the point is people watch television almost everyday. Thus, what media shows, psychologically, registers into their mind set and later on affects their behaviors. Moreover, peer pressure is also one possible cause of eating disorders, most especially among teenagers. We all always have the need to belong. It is during this phase that young boys and girls are still in the process of knowing their selves and trying to find their place in society. And the people that surround them matters so much that most likely, they end up giving efforts to be accepted. Lastly, traumatic experiences during the past may contribute to the occurrence of an eating disorder. People, when faced with a very stressful occasion which they feel they could no longer face, usually opt to doing unhealthy behaviors. Traumatic experiences such as being sexually abused could greatly slow down one’s self-esteem. Lower self-esteem in turn makes the person to feel pessimistic towards the self- a very likely candidate for anorexia or bulimia.

Alcohol intake can also give anyone trauma for taking in excessively. With alcohol addiction, a glass of wine a week becomes a glass of wine a day or worse. Alcohol is a sedative-hypnotic drug that makes the human brain akin to other sedative-hypnotic drugs such as the barbiturates and benzodiazepine tranquilizers. Alcoholism can be blame on one’s heredity but there can be more reasons. Other factors such as the influence of family, friends, and traumatic experiences could add to alcoholism.

The idea of treating eating disorders and alcoholism is not as treating someone with a headache. These disorders require breaking a sort of habit. For anorexics and bulimics, the obsession for weight loss and negative self regard should be eliminated. As for alcoholics, the habit of excessive drinking should be ended. How are these dealt with? Usually, treatment and rehabilitation centers provide medical and psychological treatment. Withdrawal symptoms are handled by providing substitute drugs that would lessen the symptoms. Cognitive and behavioral therapies are also given for a full recovery. The patient should not only be able to end the behavior but also should be able to stop the unhelpful thoughts and the distorted mind constructs. Here, the patient is given a opportunity to start a new life free from addiction and very low self-esteem.

Eating disorder and alcohol addiction are the two most common illness being faced by our society today especially the younger ones.

What is Alcohol Addiction

June 21, 2011 By Psychiatric Disorders Help Leave a Comment

People of different places and culture are fond of alcoholic drinks. It has already been a part that is instilled in some culture and in some places; it plays as a major part. We celebrate victories, birthdays and even small conversation with our old pals over a couple of bottles of beer. It does not really harm. The purpose is for socializing. Parties won’t be a success if not for those comfort drinks. It has been innate in us to like and take on drinking alcoholic drinks. Alcoholic drinks are even genetically predisposed for us to consume as suggested by evolutionary psychology. During the hunter-gatherer age, the era where ancestors’ main job is hunting and gathering, people have already been exposed to these alcoholic drinks, not in a type of drink but in the form of fruits. We are born with a sweet tooth. The sweet substance of alcohol made us like it. With the evolution of time, we learned to like odd tastes. Thus, the preference for the wide variety of alcoholic drinks.

In terms of ingestion, people are not the same when it comes to volume of alcohol intake. Every alcohol addicts varies on the frequency of drinking alcohol. There are three kinds of alcoholic drinkers: light, moderate, and heavy. If you ask people on what category or range they belong, some people would say they are light drinker, coz they drink very infrequently and in a very light volume. On the other hand, moderate drinkers are those people who describe themselves as those who drink in order to socialize and drinks in an average volume and mostly when there is an occasion. Meanwhile, heavy drinkers are people who feast on drinks on large amount and volume, and does not care or keep tabs on how much they have already consumed. Instead of drinking to socialize, these people socialize in order to drink. It has been a way to delight them. Ingesting large amounts of alcoholic drinks is pleasant to them. Alcohol addiction would sooner set in.

According to the Webster dictionary, alcohol addiction is defined as the continuous excessive and compulsive taking of alcoholic drinks that could become a chronic disorder which could lead to psychological and physical dependence or addiction.

Everything should be in moderation. Too much can kill you. Alcohol is never considered a bad drink. Studies have even found uses, benefits and advantage to this considered “common plague” to mankind. According to studies, if used in the proper context, alcohol could be used to save lives, and not waste lives. But for the case of alcohol addicts, they just make use of alcohol to the extent. Vast quantities of alcohol is being taken in. This is a very sad case because alcohol creates tolerance. And worst, their quantity intake increases over time. A small amount would no longer do.

Alcohol addiction affects everyone; it does not choose its victims. Males, females and even babies inside a womb, can be a victim. Alcohol addiction will even become a big problem addiction because it will be a hard habit to break. Trying to get away from it would result to you becoming easily irritated, moody and worst of all abusive.

Alcohol addiction will not only get you into a fight, it will also make you dysfunctional. All of your time, you will be busy contemplating about your craving and urge to take in alcohol. Once you get your hands on a bottle of beer, you will start to lose control. You will soon demand for more and stopping would be difficult. Over time, you will be physically dependent to alcohol; you will feel nauseated, anxious and shaky if you will try to stop drinking. As a result, you will have the need to drink greater amounts to get high again.

Alcohol addiction affects everyone; it does not choose its victims.