What Factors are Present in Alcoholism?

            The perception of alcohol abuse within our culture has been on both sides of the spectrum, it has gone from the moral model, in which the alcohol abuser had freewill in the matter and made the wrong decision. We have now made a 180 degree turn to the medical model, which advocates that alcohol abusers had no choice in the matter because they were driven by a biological vulnerability for addiction. Alcohol abuse and dependence outside the United States can vary, Peru has a 35% of alcohol abuse and dependence, South Korea is 22%, Taipei is 3.5% and in Shanghai its 0.45%.  

           Alcohol is a depressant and a dis-inhibitor.  When alcohol is ingested it acts upon several systems in the brain, it interferes with GABA neurotransmitters, which are associated with anxiety. Also with Glutamate neurotransmitters, which when affected can account for the blackouts and memory loss that many alcoholics experience. Alcohol also interacts with Serotonin neurotransmitters, which are associated with mood, sleep and eating behaviors. Long-term drinking can have severe effects on other organs in the body such as the liver, pancreatitis, cardiovascular disease and dementia. 

        To have the view that Alcohol dependence is one or the other, moral choice or disease, is short sighted and limited. One's body never made someone take a drink, however, over a long period of alcohol ingestion our bodies can become dependent on the substance. We must understand alcoholism as a psychological, social and biological problem as well. People drink because it helps them be social, or it eases emotional pain, its a biological necessity from long-term drinking, or a host of other factors. The fact of the matter is that its not just one thing, but a mixture of many factors.