Alcoholism

Alcoholism, as a chronic disease, causes healthcare burden and poses a risk to national development and resilience. The disease calls for awareness following high incidents of alcohol-specific hospitalisations and deaths in the UK. This mental disorder is self-inducing through compulsions to consume alcohol and requires interventions for patients to recover. This report addresses the alcoholism, the psychological interventions available for remedying the disease, and social risks that predispose UK nationals to alcohol dependence. Online databases, including Medline, PubMed, and NHS Digital, were used to gather sources of data and information regarding alcoholism in the UK. The search results were filtered by publication date and relevance to alcoholism to retain sources presenting current and credible information. The search yielded sources that facilitated discussion of alcoholism, epidemiological statistics in the United Kingdom, psychotherapeutic approaches, and social risk factors. The findings indicated that cognitive behavioural therapy, family therapy, and motivational enhancement therapy are suitable for remedying alcoholism because there are no pharmacological cures available. Age, gender, and environment were prominent social risk factors for alcoholism. The rising rates of alcohol dependence in the United Kingdom raise the need to implement measures to limit minors from consuming alcohol and reduce the amounts of alcohol consumed by citizens to prevent a future catastrophe.

Alcoholism

Chronic diseases are a significant cause of human suffering to date because they lower the quality of life of patients, deplete their finances, and increase dependency. A plethora of chronic illnesses exist, with infectious diseases, genetic disorders, and addictions covering the most substantial portion. The impacts of these diseases extend beyond the patient, affecting society and the nation at large. As a result, they have become a burden in healthcare, demanding substantial investments towards training specialists, financing emergency medical services, research, and management of the patients (Hajat & Stein, 2018). Besides, chronic diseases pose the risk of co-morbidity, which escalates the risk of mortality among patients. Therefore, it is essential to gain insight into chronic illnesses to determine the extent to which they deteriorate patient lives and impede national development and resilience.

Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a chronic disease that is characterised as a mental illness. Patients develop an irresistible urge for consuming excessive amounts of alcohol, which impairs their functionality, making it a devastating disorder (Haass-Koffler & Schank, 2020). Disregard for nutrition is a typical symptom of the disease, and the patients develop nutritional deficiencies as additional morbidity. Alcoholism contributes to the high mortality rate in society through psychological tragedies, such as suicidal ideation and destruction of vital body organs, such as the liver (Haass-Koffler & Schank, 2020). Alcoholism develops from the everyday behaviour of alcoholic drinks, which develops metabolic dependence. As a result, the condition is self-reinstating and creates the need for developing treatment approaches – pharmacological and behavioural therapies.

Healthcare experts report that alcoholism appears to run in families, which has evoked scientific curiosity regarding the genetic determination of the disorder. The scenario, where some people have a glass of wine – has alcohol as the active ingredient – with meals without developing a compelling urge to use alcohol, while others develop addiction, ignites the desire to explicate whether genes contribute to the pathogenesis of this chronic disease (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, n.d.). The available research findings indicate that there is no apparent association between genes and alcohol use disorder. Studies highlight that activities in the brain-cell network are responsible for alcoholism (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, n.d.), implying that the problem develops out of risky behaviours, such as excessive drinking.

Co-morbidity is a common occurrence with alcoholism and cause patients to portray severe symptoms and impair their independence. Research shows that alcohol use disorder co-occurs with mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, and suicidal behaviour (Kwako, Patterson, Salloum, & Trim, 2019), which increases the risk of harm to other people and increases the risk of death. Progressive retardation of brain activity due to psychological pathologies makes it challenging for individuals with alcohol use disorder to control the amount of alcohol they consume in a day and feel irritated while they are not drinking. Psychological illness creates an alcohol-seeking behaviour that is troubling to society (Haass-Koffler & Schank, 2020); for instance, individuals suffering from alcoholism go into a club, ask for drinks, and become aggressive when the bartenders fail to serve them by deeming that they have had more than enough.

Epidemiology of Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a global pandemic that is contributing to high expenditure in the treatment and rehabilitation of patients. In the United Kingdom (UK), the health challenge is taking the lead in large-scale public surveys reflecting the need for urgent attention (Thompson, Wright, Ashcroft, Van Staa, & Pirmohamed, 2017). The number of alcohol-dependent hospitalisation detects the cases of alcoholism. In 2018, the National Health System reported that 58% of adults in England consumed alcohol, and 1% died due to alcoholism (National Health System, 2018). The prevalence of alcoholism was higher in males than in females, and the disparity extended to age, where individuals aged above 65 years showed a higher rate of developing alcoholism (National Health System, 2018). Reported trends show that alcoholism is on the rise with a notable increase in the volume of alcoholic drinks consumed in a single day (National Health System, 2018). The statistics raise the alarm on the need for strategies to reduce alcohol-specific deaths and the proportion of alcohol users that develop alcohol use disorder.

Surveillance on the separate nations shows a significant difference in alcohol-dependence cases in North Ireland, Scotland, and England. North Ireland and Scotland have the highest rate of alcohol dependence in the UK, and England recorded fewer cases of alcoholism (Thompson et al., 2017). Thompson et al. (2017) reports that individuals from deprived backgrounds are likely to abstain from alcohol use, but when they engage, they are severely affected and record higher hospitalisation and mortality rates. The rising prevalence of alcoholism is raising concerns regarding the wellbeing of patients, sustainability of the healthcare sector, and national development because it is contributing to higher hospitalisation rates and unemployment rates (National Health System, 2018; Thompson et al., 2017). Addressing this issue is, therefore, a matter of urgency in an attempt to improve health and recovery from chronic illness.

The purpose of this report is to address evidence-based psychological approach that can improve the recovery of patients suffering from alcoholism and sociological risk factors in the UK.

Methodology

Data and information used for this report include searches of academic literature to identify credible and current articles, websites, and reports. A review of the literature was performed using Medline, PubMed, and NHS Digital databases. Search terms used included ‘alcoholism,’ ‘Alcoholism treatment,’ ‘Mechanism of alcoholism,’ ‘Co-morbidity with Alcoholism.’ The search criteria yielded numerous articles and reports, which were filtered based on currency and relevance to the topic – alcoholism. Studies and reports projecting epidemiological data were filtered to retain only those that contained recent data collected in the UK.

Psychology

Alcoholism develops as a result of behaviour and contributes to psychological illnesses in most of patients. This chronic disease affected 58% (337,000) adults in England (National Health System, 2018) and higher incidents in Scotland and New Ireland (Thompson et al., 2017). The intervention includes the use of pharmacological agents, but this approach is ineffective – there is no medical cure available for alcoholism – in the absence of psychological interventions, which would promote behaviour change among the victims. As adults embrace a behaviour of repeated consumption of alcohol, they develop physiological and neurological dependence. Therefore, psychological therapy can help to control alcoholism by motivating a willing individual to quit drinking and fostering the participation of the patients in mutual-help groups.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Psychologists use CBT to treat depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses. This approach is also useful for addictions, such as alcoholism. CBT helps alcoholism victims to abstain from alcohol by applying the same learning process that led to alcohol dependence (Chakravorty et al., 2019). The intervention applies the principle that feelings and behaviour arise from a person’s thoughts; therefore, changing the thinking about stimuli to alcohol use can help in abstinence. CBT helps to stop the drinking behaviour and reverse other mental illnesses associated with alcoholism, including depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation (Kwako et al., 2019). CBT alerts patients about the risk factors to relapse and train them to develop healthy habits that would lead to recovery.

CBT is a psychotherapeutic learning approach; therefore, alcoholism victims learn to stay alert and conscious about situations that would lead them to drink and cope with other problems that trigger drinking. For instance, a therapist helps the patient to recall the places where they drink and situations that lead to drinking. Afterward, the therapist helps the patient to develop strategies on how to avoid these circumstances in an attempt to quit drinking. This process allows the brain network – the centre for addiction (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, n.d.) – to slowly unlearn the importance of alcohol in the system, which eases dependence. The therapy session takes 12 to 16 sessions and produces remarkable improvement (Chakravorty et al., 2019). However, the patient must commit to the treatment process as a single drink could send them back to addiction.

Family Therapy

Alcoholism affects families in several ways: aggressive members of the family inflict fear and stress on other family members; Misuse of family finances causes frequent conflicts among family members. In the UK, alcohol dependence manifests in individuals aged 16 years and above (National Health System, 2018). At this stage, teenagers and parents put the welfare of the family at risk. Unstable families cause problems that trigger alcoholism victims to turn to alcohol instead of dealing with them (Chakravorty et al., 2019). As a result, family therapy gains importance as a psychological intervention for alcoholism; it helps families to cope with challenges that come with alcoholism and support individuals who are in recovery.

Alcoholism creates a compulsive urge to consume large amounts of alcohol, and this harms relationships. Therefore, success in recovering from this chronic disease depends on reverting the environment to normality, which includes healing family relationships (Alcohol.org, 2020). A family therapist guides family members through the healing process, which helps them overcome the conflicts that arose in the past. Also, family members endorse the recovery process and help the patient to refrain from intoxicating substances. The intervention fosters psychological health, emotional health, and healthy behaviours among family members, which serve as motivation for the recovering victim. Including family members in the treatment of alcoholism increases the likelihood of the patient completing therapy sessions, translating to better outcomes, and abstinence from alcohol products.

Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET)

This psychological approach helps individuals to resolve the compulsion for alcoholism by cultivating internal motivation for change. MET is useful for alcoholism and substance use patients because it helps individuals to learn about how to change any negative thoughts and behaviours attached to addiction and embrace progress towards achieving healthy states (Diclemente, Corno, Graydon, Wiprovnick, & Knoblach, 2017). Therapy includes two sessions, where that therapist assesses the patient and give feedback using statements that elicit self-motivation. As a result, the approach is brief, and the patient plays the most substantial role in ensuring recovery.

Psychological Approach

Once an individual commit to the treatment of alcoholism, they work closely with therapists to harness the treatment process. Psychotherapists assess patients’ condition at the beginning of the treatment and determine the appropriate intervention. Often, Psychologists use multiple interventions together with pharmaceutical treatment to maximise the treatment process. Standalone interventions often delay the healing process because they fail to address all factors that would cause a relapse of the patient. For instance, creating a motivation within the patient is essential (Chakravorty et al., 2019; Diclemente et al., 2017), but it is insufficient if the patient still experiences conflicts at home (Alcohol.org, 2020). Therefore, psychotherapy involves multiple interventions to guide the patient through the healing process.

Sociology of Alcoholism

Chronic diseases show the distribution across social determinants, including age, gender, income level, and environment. The state of alcoholism in the UK shows similar features. The disease affects a substantial proportion of the adult population aged 16 years and above, crediting it as a social problem. Attempts to address such challenges requires evaluation to understand its distribution across various social groups, environments. The analysis creates a vivid picture that aids in designing remedies for the affected and laying preventative measures for an at-risk population. In the case of alcoholism, the analysis of sociological factors would help to identify the predisposing factors and create an image of the future, which is essential to foster nationwide interventions.

Age

Alcoholism in the UK manifests in children through to the aged population. Although the legal drinking age is 18 years, children as young as 11 years confess to taking an alcoholic drink (National Health System, 2018). This scenario exposes children to alcohol dependence; the country recorded alcohol-dependent hospitalisations for patients from 16 years (National Health System, 2018). However, the rate prevalence of alcoholism is lower for age-group 16 to 24 and above 75 years (Thompson et al., 2017). The problem rises in age-group 35 to 44 years and peaks at age 45 to 54 years, after which it starts to decrease (National Health System, 2018). The epidemiological data shows that age is a critical social factor that determines alcoholism in the UK.

Alcoholism is a chronic behavioural disease; therefore, in the absence of intervention, the problem worsens with time. An individual who starts drinking alcohol at 16 years is likely to suffer from alcoholism at an early age if he/she maintains the drinking behaviour and consumes large amounts of alcohol (Chakravorty et al., 2019). A high incidence of alcohol-dependent hospitalisations in the UK for patients aged 45 to 54 years signifies the interplay of time and drinking. A high level of social interactions that involve the use of alcohol also crests at this age, which explains the high incidence of alcohol dependence (Thompson et al., 2017). Therefore, age is an independent social factor that puts UK nationals at risk of alcoholism. Surveys indicate that the risk is higher in the younger population, but the middle-aged groups record the highest prevalence because people do not seek medical attention until the behaviour impacts their health and lifestyle.

Gender

Even though individuals are free to do as they wish, gender dramatically influences the choices of individuals when it comes to alcohol consumption. In the UK, the rate of alcoholism in males is consistently higher in males than in females (Thompson et al., 2017). The statistics imply that males at an elevated risk for alcoholism than females. Gender determines social roles and conduct; consequently, it influences the conduct of individuals. The evolution of society has tried to impose gender parity, but some aspects remain unchanged. For instance, women still play a significant role in caring for children, which may shape their behaviour and reduce the tendency to consume alcohol. Other social aspects shape behaviour of males, which predisposes them to alcoholism.

Gender factor also contributes to a higher incidence of alcohol-dependent hospitalisations. Statistics show that of all hospitalised patients, 62% were male (National Health System, 2018). Males also contribute to a higher proportion of recorded alcohol-dependent deaths; out of all alcohol-dependent deaths, 67% were males (National Health System, 2018). Therefore, gender is a risk factor for alcoholism in the UK, with males taking a larger share of the burden.

Environmental Variation

In the UK, the surrounding environment determines whether or not an individual will develop alcoholism. Statistics show that the rates of alcohol consumption are highest in North Ireland, followed by Scotland, Wales, then England (Thompson et al., 2017). Therefore, being in North Ireland increases the likelihood of taking alcohol, which would lead to alcohol dependence over time. This scenario implies that there are underlying social factors that trigger the differences in alcohol consumption, such as customs, income levels, among others. Recreation activities can also contribute to the discrepancies in the national statistics. Nevertheless, location is a risk factor for alcohol use disorder in the UK.

Resource distribution is another factor that contributes to the environmental influence on alcoholism. People from deprived backgrounds abstain from alcohol consumption; however, when they drink, they are severely affected by alcohol (Thompson et al., 2017). Resource distribution affects the purchasing power of individuals and contributes to the disproportionate use of alcohol (Collins, 2016). Economic constraints increase stress level, which prompts individuals to consume alcohol – often excess amounts as a way of coping with the challenges. Therefore, living in a deprived background in the UK is a risk factor for alcoholism.

The interplay of the social factors contributes to the disparity in alcoholism. Age, gender, and environment are social factors that place the UK nationals at risk of alcohol dependence. Given that the chronic disease develops after repeated consumption of alcoholic drinks, age becomes a risk and response factor, while gender influences who consume alcohol.

Conclusion

Chronic diseases cause long-time suffering and reduce the quality of life of patients. Alcoholism elicits these characteristics. Alcohol dependence arises from the continuous consumption of large amounts of alcoholic drinks, which affects the brain-cell network. It also creases physiologic dependence, which manifests as a compulsive urge to consume alcohol. Alcoholism contributes to the pathogenesis of other mental illnesses, including depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, which increases the risk of death. Treatment of this chronic disease depends heavily on psychotherapy because there is no pharmacological cure.

Alcohol dependence affects 58% of adults aged 16 and over in the UK, which creates the need to prevent its progression to terminal illness. Psychotherapy helps patients to cultivate behaviour change and embrace activities that prevent relapse. CBT, family therapy, and MET change the perception of alcoholism victims, allowing them to embrace thoughts that promote healthy behaviours. CBT addresses the negative thoughts associated with addiction; Family therapy rebuilds family relationships; MET promotes recovery and abstinence from alcohol through guided motivation sessions.

Determining social risks for alcoholism forms the basis for understanding the health challenge and developing corrective protocols. Age, gender, Nation of residence, and economic background are risk factors for alcoholism in the UK. The disease creeps into society through teenagers who consume alcohol despite the legal age being 18 years.