Effect of Alcohol in Family Life

We have often seen that there are many such families in the society where at least one member has a habit of drinking alcohol. This is a common Vice in today’s times. Getting intoxicated on Alcohol seems like a Social Standard, and you’d be an outcast to many a group if one chooses not to Drink at a gathering. Even in families where drinking is a Taboo, due the Families’ Mental and Social Constructs, eventually break free of the Groupthink of the household and develop the vicious habit of Drinking Liquor. 

There is a famous saying of Albert Einstein that “A wise man is the one who knows where to return after walking on an unknown path”. Before indulging in any form of a Substance, one must know all the angles to it, its merits and demerits, in order to know whether the Habit pattern is actually causing one mental and physical harm. The symptoms may not be evident at first because of the short term gratification one feels and the mental denaturing yet to be perceived. Say, If today your hair starts falling or you have severe pain in the teeth, then you will definitely go to the doctor because these are the problems which you understand clearly, the symptoms to underlying root cause exist.

Alcohol Consumption too, brings along with itself such clear, evident problems in a person’s Family Life. Alcoholics rarely recognise the harm caused by this habit of theirs themselves.

Many alcoholics lie or blame others for their problems. The loss of trust damages relationships and alienates family members from each other.

Alcohol has a bad effect on not only One aspect of our lives, it effects all dimensions of it, such as, Interpersonal relationships, Stress in married life, Problems related to parents and  Development of children and financial problems. Alcohol as we all know and cherish is actually in medical terms acts as a Depressant.

1. Marital tension: If there is any problem in the life of an alcoholic person or he experiences any sorrow, then instead of consulting his spouse, he prefers to spend time with alcohol so that he can forget his sorrow and troubles. And he does not understand that this intoxication is not the cure for his sorrow. And from here the tension and distance in his married life keeps on increasing.

2. Problems related to parents and development of children: A child’s brain is developed by the age of 7-8 years. The events that the child learns during that time and the emotional experiences associated with them are stored forever in the hard drive of his/her subconscious mind. It is like the memory of the computer that you can never delete.

In those 7-8 years, if the Child sees his Mother and Father Engaging in Verbal and Physical Altercation in his home, then such incidents have a very negative effect on his Gentle mind. For example, if the father comes home after drinking alcohol every few days a week and uses abusive language, then it is quite possible that the child will not be able to control his emotions in a social environment. There may be troubles, which are very difficult for any member of the household to understand. For such, Counselling helps a person who is unable to control their emotional reactions to alcoholism.

3. Financial problems: Drug addiction makes you financially hollow along with your mental state. Until the effects are severe, you may not realise that your financial condition has been weakened by a drinking problem. If you are a frequent drinker, then it is very important that you pay attention to the expenditure on alcohol from your earnings. If you go to a club or bar and get a six-pack of beer it can cost around 1200 to 5000 depending on the brand, and hard liquor, wine and other beverages can cost more. If you follow this routine 2-3 days a week, then soon your life starts running on credit.

Anything in excess acts as a poison, and a bottle of wine clearly states, “Abuse of alcohol can be injurious to health” It is not only for your personal health, but it is related to your life. It affects other aspects as well. And as aforementioned “A wise man is the one who knows where to return after walking on an unknown path”.