Many people suffer from alcoholism, which is an addiction to alcohol as a result of persistent indulgence of alcohol. Mainly, the affected person shows signs of mental illness or compulsive disorder. More so, the subject of finding the appropriate treatment is a major issue of concern.

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Analysis on the treatment of alcoholism
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Analysis on the treatment of alcoholism
Introduction
Many people suffer from alcoholism, which is an addiction to alcohol as a result of
persistent indulgence of alcohol. Mainly, the affected person shows signs of mental illness or
compulsive disorder. More so, the subject of finding the appropriate treatment is a major issue of
concern. Many people end up succumbing to the negative effects of alcohol, without the
knowledge of available treatments. The statistics of people suffering from alcoholism and
overindulgence in alcohol is rising fast, while the effects of alcoholism keep posing social,
mental, financial and physical damages. Nevertheless, there are therapeutic options that can help
alcoholics overcome their symptoms and problems of depression, stress and mood issues.
Definition of alcohol
Alcoholism is a health problem brought about by alcohol dependence, which leads to an
incessant desire for more drink, loss of control of the amount of alcohol in a sitting, physical
addiction, which includes withdrawal symptoms and alcohol tolerance (a desire to take more
alcohol than the normal amount to reach the same outcome) (Stahre et al., 2014). Many people,
who become alcoholics, may end up into problems, such as road accidents, injuries, suicide
attempts or thoughts, causing health problems to the baby while pregnant, violence, death and
increased risks of cancer of the liver or a damage of the brain and other vital body organs.
The DSM-V criteria for abuse of alcohol and alcohol dependence entail a trend of alcohol
abuse, which leads to clinically significant damage or stress brought about by the following: an
ongoing alcohol use characterized by inability to function normally; alcohol use to perform in
risky situations, such as driving or operating dangerous machinery; frequent arrests from
alcohol-related problems, such as being disorderly; and continued use of alcohol irrespective of

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the incessant social problems, such as breakups and violence (Hasin et al., 2013). Furthermore,
alcohol dependence is evident when one has to drink to get rid of withdrawal symptoms, such as
shaking, unsuccessful attempts to quit alcohol, reduced social time and increased time for taking
alcohol and a deliberate use of alcohol regardless of the full knowledge of the inflicted bodily
effects, such as ulcers, or liver problems (Hasin et al., 2013).
Many people enjoy drinking moderate amounts of alcohol, which is not harmful to their
health. However, the number of people suffering from alcoholism in America is about 6.6% of
the total population (CDC, 2016). Out of this number, in the year 2012, about 1.4 million adults
were treated for alcoholism and related illnesses in specialized health centers, which is about
8.4% of the total number of adults affected by alcoholism in America (National Institute on
Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, n.d.). Besides, in America, about “88000 deaths and 2.5 million
years of potential life lost (YPLL)” every year, beginning from the year 2006-2010, further
lowering the lives of the people who died by about 30 years on average as a result of alcoholism
(CDC, 2016; Stahre, Roeber, Kanny, Brewer & Zhang, 2014). Most of all, with proper treatment,
it is possible to retain full normal health.
Effects of alcoholism
Alcoholism poses increased damages to an individual, such as social, physical, mental
and health problems. Mainly, according to Klingemann (2001), people suffering from alcoholism
are bound to have poor judgments. In this regard, such people may end up causing accidents
when driving or operating hazardous machinery. They can inflict injuries on themselves or other
people. Moreover, alcoholics have a tendency of engaging in physical fights and violence. Many
are arrested for disorderly and violence or driving under the influence of alcohol. Furthermore,
there are instances where alcoholics engage in unsafe activities due to poor judgment and

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cognitive control, such as sexual, which increase the risks of contracting infections (Klingemann,
2001).
Alcoholics end up with affected social abilities (antisocial behavior), because, many
people around them consider them wayward, violent and unruly. They may as well have poor
hygiene, which pushes away close friends (Klingemann, 2001). In this regard, they end up living
an isolated life. According to Alshammari (2015), families characterized by alcoholic couples
may suffer broken relationships and separations, which further lead to social exclusion.
Furthermore, overindulgence in alcohol leads to over expenditure, which leads to more stress and
family financial problems. The expenditure levels increase whereas the productivity rates lower,
which leads to more financial problems.
Besides, alcohol is a depressant, which means that it affects the balance, brain function,
thoughts, feelings and human behavior. According to Shivani, Goldsmith and Anthenelli (2002),
alcoholism also leads to mental illness, which is attributed to depression, stress, psychosis, panic
disorder, anxiety problems and mood problems. People diagnosed with alcoholism display
psychiatric symptoms, such as suicide thoughts, memory loss, stress, and depression. Some of
the depressive disorders of people with alcoholism may be evident even after abstinence (Shivani
et al., 2002).
Alcohol damages the health of an individual and someone suffering from alcoholism is at
risk of damaging their liver, heart, pancreas and immune system. According to Arranz, et al.
(2012), alcoholism can cause heart attack, stroke or high blood pressure. People diagnosed with
alcoholism can suffer from pancreatitis and liver inflammation, which includes liver cirrhosis,
fibrosis or cancer. Such individuals may also suffer from cancer of the mouth, throat, breast or
liver. Most of all, the immune system of people suffering from alcoholism lowers, which exposes

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them to a myriad of infections leading to illnesses, such as pneumonia or tuberculosis (Arranz et
al., 2012).
Treatment of alcoholism
A Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a treatment process that was adopted to avoid
relapse cases in alcoholics or drug abusers. The approaches set for CBT are founded on the
habitual trends, such as alcohol abuse and the process of acquiring new knowledge. People
enrolled in CBT programs are taught how to establish the problematic habits and how to prevent
the recurrence of these habits through a variety of approaches (Brown et al., 2011). Mainly, these
approaches help the alcoholics to overcome the desire to drink and the contributing factors
behind overindulgence in alcohol. The alcoholics are trained how to cope with their drinking
problem and further fostered on how to adopt self-control. They are introduced to the positive
and negative attributes and implications of alcoholism, which include how they can manage their
burning desire for alcohol or risk factors (Brown et al., 2011). CBT therapy is considered
effective, considering that the skills the alcoholics acquire through the process linger even after
finishing the therapy.
AA and Mutual Help Groups entail community-based groups that aim at bringing
together alcoholics for a process of recovery. According to Kelly et al. (2010), in the AA group
therapy, men and women suffering from alcoholism meet in a secluded place where they share
their alcohol experiences together, with a sole aim of seeking an amicable solution. They work in
teams to mutually provide solutions to their immediate problems. Alcoholics come together in
groups where they speak out about theory alcoholism problem and the challenge of addiction,
with an aim of seeking possible solutions (Kelly et al., 2010). Furthermore, they are introduced
to therapy professionals and peers who help them overcome their addiction problem, through a

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set of group-based steps. These mutual therapy groups can be placed within the community or
without. The alcoholics can meet with their family members on a set basis for moral support and
necessary care that helps in achieving the set results, overcoming alcohol addiction.
A psychopharmacological treatment entails the use of medications to treat addiction,
alcoholism and related illnesses, such as mental health illnesses. The development of
medications targeting alcoholism and the reduction of addiction has led to great improvements in
the patients (Iovieno et al., 2011). Mainly, medications have been used to treat symptoms of
alcoholism, such as withdrawal symptoms, lowering the alcohol use and desire for alcohol,
averting relapse and providing appropriate treatment for psychiatric problems. Antidepressants
and anticonvulsants are the main drugs used to help alcoholics overcome the problem of
alcoholism. Some of these drugs include Gabapentin, Naltrexone, Disulfiram, Amitriptyline, and
Acetaminophen. These drugs help in reducing the levels of depression, mood problems, stress,
and other psychotic problems, which are common in many alcoholics (Iovieno et al., 2011). It is
apparent that alcoholics find it hard to overcome the psychotic challenges that come as a result of
alcoholism. These psychotic challenges form a significant part of their addiction to alcohol.
A comparison of Meta-analysis studies
A Meta-analysis study by Iovieno et al. (2011) indicates that the use of antidepressants in
a bid to reduce alcohol addiction is effective. The study adopted a randomized approach where
about 11 patients of alcoholism were put in a test to establish the value of antidepressants. In the
study, the antidepressants outperformed the placebos in the treatment of stress, moods and
depression in patients with alcoholism. Besides, in another Meta-analysis study by Greenfield,
Weiss and Muenz (1998) established that antidepressants are effective in treating alcohol
addiction in patients. The authors did a study on patients with alcoholism and found out that

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among patients who were not administered with antidepressants when undergoing the discharge
process ended up resuming to alcohol abuse in a period of 4 months. Greenfield et al. (1998)
proved that treating alcoholics is not possible without the administration of antidepressants.
Patients with alcoholism, have a high possibility of relapse in instances where antidepressants
were not administered.
Brown et al. (2011) conducted a randomized controlled trial test to establish a cognitive-
behavioral treatment for depression versus relaxation training for alcohol-dependent individuals
with elevated depressive symptoms. In their findings, they pointed out that the CBT was
moderately effective in managing the stress and motivation levels of the alcoholics. However, it
is apparent that the subject of depression is still a major problem where many patients still
struggled with depression, stress and moods even after the CBT therapy. Mainly, the authors
mentioned that CBT was effective in creating distinctive reward programs for the patients who
overcome alcoholism. Furthermore, the patients were given alternative options to acquiring the
rewards. However, it was apparent that patients would strive to acquire the rewards but still
suffer relapse incidences after the CBT therapy (Brown et al., 2011).
Kelly et al. (2010), in a meta-analytical study, established that various AA and Mutual help
groups may help reduce moods, stress, and depression in alcoholics. However, the authors
established that it was not clear whether these mutual groups would help alcoholics overcome
alcoholism problems and addiction. It was apparent that studies and research on the effectiveness
of AA and Mutual help groups are scarce. However, this therapy has some challenges, which
include an inability to conduct scientific studies based on the anonymity of the participants.
From the Meta-analytical study findings, it is apparent that all these therapies play a
significant role managing the symptoms and challenges that alcoholics go through as a result of

8. ANALYSIS ON THE TREATMENT OF ALCOHOLISM 8
addiction. The psychosocial therapies examples seem to help alcoholics overcome social issues
related to alcoholism, such as helping boost their motivation levels, self-esteem and social
interaction skills. However, they are inadequate in dealing with the exact habitual trend of the
alcoholics, considering that many alcoholics, enrolled in the psychosocial therapy programs, still
had a tendency of relapse. On the other hand, the pharmacological treatment alternative was
effective as it helped get rid of the addiction problem in the alcoholics and reduced the psychotic
problems, such as moods, stress and depression, through the administration of medications. From
the findings, the pharmacological approach can be integrated with any of the above psychosocial
therapies, the CBT or AA and Mutual help groups for greater outcomes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, alcoholism is a major problem and many people continue to suffer from
the effects of alcoholism, which pose immense problems. Many alcoholics endure social, mental,
physical and financial problems as a result of alcoholism. The number of people suffering from
alcoholism is rising as much as the number of alcoholics receiving treatments is still
insignificant. There is a need for alcoholics to find proper and effective treatment options. From
the comparison of the three therapeutic options highlighted above it is clear that the most
effective approach to deal with alcoholism and the symptoms is by combining a psychosocial
process, such as the Behavioral therapy and AA and Mutual Help Groups and
Psychopharmacological therapy. These three therapies help avert the addiction problems, mainly
the moods, depression and stress. Moreover, they boost the social aspects of the individual, such
as increasing motivation and self-esteem.

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