Introduction
Alcoholism in women is a widespread issue; that is why the topic is important for previous, current, and future generations. Since ancient times, it has been known that a female’s addiction to alcoholic beverages is dangerous not only to her well-being but also to the health of her future children. Doctors noted that drinkers often had stillborn babies and miscarriages long ago. If a child was born alive, they often fell behind in development and had mental inferiorities (Richter, 2019). That is why the laws of Ancient Greece and Rome prevented young people, especially girls, from drinking alcohol (Richter, 2019). At the end of the 20th century, French doctor Demme while studying the offspring of alcoholic families, found that almost 50% of their children died in early childhood (Richter, 2019). 10% of them suffered from epilepsy and dropsy, 12% turned out to be idiots, and only 10% were healthy (Richter, 2019). The purpose of this paper is to explore the topic of women and alcohol and cover different aspects of the theme.
The state of intoxication at the time of conception can harm the health of the child. The ground for this is that alcohol might be dangerous not only for mature germ cells but also can play a fatal role even at the time of fertilization of normal germ cells (Richter, 2019). Moreover, the strength of the damaging effects of alcohol at the time of conception is unpredictable: there can be both mild disorders and severe organic lesions of various organs and tissues of the unborn child. Thus, alcohol consumption affects the fetus negatively; furthermore, the more alcohol was exposed at an earlier stage of the critical period, the severer the damage is.
Appearance of the Issue
Speaking about the time when the issue began, it might be stated that alcoholism in women has recently become an issue of concern. It is strongly connected with the change in females’ social roles and more responsibilities in and outside their families. Besides, the fact that women have started to acquire alcohol-related problems at a younger age is a troubling sign. According to statistics, 70% of females begin to drink beer, wine, and other alcoholic beverages before they turn 18 (Richter, 2019). However, the majority of drinking females develop alcohol addiction at the age of 35 because they experience emotional distress and suffering due to work and family difficulties (Richter, 2019). Regular alcohol consumption, even if not in large quantities, is the first signal for concern.
The causes of alcoholism in females can be divided into physical and psychological grounds. The first group of the reasons includes low muscle mass and water content in a woman’s body that result in strong intoxication and high concentration of alcohol in the organism, respectively (Richter, 2019). Furthermore, the combination of hormones typical for females leads to increased ethanol absorption (McCaul et al., 2019). From a psychological point of view, the cause for alcoholism is that a woman is forced to behave in accordance with her role and often has an overload. At the same time, showing one’s weakness is considered wrong in modern society; therefore, many females regard drinking alcoholic beverages as an easy way to relax. However, hostility towards drinking women leads to their consuming alcohol alone. This tendency only aggravates the problem because a person might feel depressed not only because of strenuous work and taking care of children but also because of drinking secretly.
The Most Affected People
On the basis of the above-mentioned facts, it might be stated that vulnerable and emotional women that are dissatisfied with their lives are people who are most affected by alcoholism. The reason is that they feel depressed or sad more often than psychologically stable females and find consolation in drinking each time. Those who cannot receive support and understanding from friends and relatives also consume alcohol to feel euphoric and forget about problems. It is dangerous because one does not get addicted to alcohol at once and thus, even being an alcoholic already, regards themselves as a healthy person.
There are several signs that can help a female to determine if she has an addiction and needs professional help. The daily desire for stress relief with alcohol, usually beer or wine, is one of such signals. The more often a woman drinks, the sooner tolerance to small doses of alcohol develops, and the antidepressant effect decreases. This leads to an increase in the dose of alcohol, but the substance in large quantities inhibits the production of pleasure hormones. Typically, in women, the way to alcohol dependence begins with beer alcoholism. One more warning sign for possible alcoholic addiction is a female’s attempts to hide the fact that she drinks from her family and friends. Other troubling signals include a lady’s lack of critical attitude to her behavior during intoxication, finding excuses, and more or less acceptable reasons for consuming alcohol, and changes in appearance and behavior. Drinking women have swollen faces with baggy skin below eyes, trembling hands, and extra fat. They become rude and cruel towards relatives and acquaintances and demonstrate a decrease in intellectual abilities.
The Least Affected People
Since women’s getting addicted to wine, martini, beer, and other alcoholic beverages depends on their emotional state to a large extent, people who are least affected by the problem are psychologically stable females. Even though it is thought that men are calmer than women, some ladies do not worry much about trifles. They also usually do not have significant problems or know how to cope with upcoming difficulties without alcohol consumption. Some of the females who are less likely to develop the dependence have supportive friends and family members who help them solve problems. Thus, it is important for women to pay great attention to their psychological health.
To overcome difficulties and stay calm, one might include various relaxation practices such as sport, yoga, or walks in their everyday routine. Sleeping is also important for coping with stress because it helps people to lead a normal life, be physically active, and achieve psychological balance. During sleep, the organism produces hormones that are responsible for the restoration of body functions. The methods described above will allow females to enjoy life and stay strong without consuming alcohol which gives one an artificial feeling of euphoria for a short period but causes numerous health problems.
The main problem with alcoholism is that it is hard to cure; a factor that makes the treatment of an alcohol dependence in women more complex is the late diagnostic. Due to experiencing increased emotional tension, shame, and guilt, many women do not turn to special clinics for help (McCaul et al., 2019). It is necessary to assist a female in admitting her problem: this is the first and most important step on the way to getting rid of alcohol dependence.
Works that Support the Decision
The topic of women’s addiction to wine and other beverages of this kind has been explored by many researchers due to its being acute.
- Alcohol and Women: Unique Risks, Effects, and Implications for Clinical Practice by Richter and Alcohol and Women: A Brief Overview by McCaul, Roach, Hasin, Weisner, Chang, and Sinha are works that support my decision. The first paper discusses the results of women’s alcohol use disorder and presses the point that vulnerable women who have strong feelings on problems are more likely to develop alcohol addiction (Richter, 2019). Furthermore, such ladies might not notice getting used to consuming wine or beer regularly (Richter, 2019). The author also states that women’s alcoholism is easier to prevent than to cure (Richter, 2019). Therefore, after recognizing signs of any mental torment, a lady needs to turn to a psychologist for help, not to try solving problems by drinking.
- Alcohol and Women: A Brief Overview also recognizes increased emotionality as the main reason for ladies’ getting addicted to alcohol. Besides, the authors describe three stages of the disease analyzed, with the first one being the loss of control over the amount of the substance drunk (McCaul et al., 2019). In the second phase, the sensitivity to ethanol is decreased, and abstinence symptoms can be seen (McCaul et al., 2019). A patient has drinking periods that last from several days to weeks during that a woman might be inadequate, act rashly, and violate moral standards (McCaul et al., 2019). The final stage of alcoholism is characterized by personal degradation; its signs can be noticed not only by professionals but also by laymen (McCaul et al., 2019). Thus, dependence on alcohol results in a woman’s gradually ruining her life.
Works that Do Not Support the Decision
In spite of the above arguments, some researchers do not support the statement about the correlation between alcoholism and emotional stability. They state that the risk of developing an addiction to alcoholic beverages is predicted by genes; thus, people who are affected by the problem to the highest extent have a specific gene combination. This point of view is explained in GABBR 1 and SLC 6A1, Two Genes Involved in Modulation of GABA Synaptic Transmission, Influence risk for Alcoholism: Results from Three Ethnically Diverse Populations. “An analysis of combined GABBR 1 rs29220 and SLC 6A1 IND genotypes showed that rs29220 heterozygotes, irrespective of their IND status, had an increased risk for alcoholism” (Enoch et al., 2016, p. 93). Hence, a woman with such a genotype has a high risk of becoming an alcoholic even if she does not consume alcohol in large quantities.
These conclusions are shared by Zhu, Hu, and Soundy in their work Genetics of Alcoholism. In addition to the fact that genes determine a female’s chances of getting used to drinking, there is a direct link between genes and one’s self-control while consuming alcohol (Zhu et al., 2017). Therefore, people who are lucky to have a genotype that lets them not to depend on alcohol much are the least affected by alcoholism ones. Moreover, it should be remembered that women’s addiction to alcoholic beverages is different from that of men because males usually drink in company. At the same time, a female starts drinking with her husband or a couple of friends; later, she might get used to consuming alcohol alone. The majority of experts in narcology state that women succumb to alcoholism easier and sooner than men.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is significant to press the point that alcohol dependence has become a serious problem in modern women that might negatively affect their children. It is partly explained by changing social roles, numerous responsibilities, and dissatisfaction with life. Some researchers believe that psychologically stable women are less likely to develop a dependence on alcoholic beverages. However, others state that a particular combination of genes influences a female’s inclination to drinking and self-control.
References
Enoch, M. A., Hodgkinson, C. A., Shen, P. H., Gorodetsky, E., Marietta, C. A., Roy, A., & Goldman, D. (2016). GABBR 1 and SLC 6A1, two genes involved in modulation of GABA synaptic transmission, influence risk for alcoholism: Results from three ethnically diverse populations. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 40(1), 93-101.
McCaul, M. E., Roach, D., Hasin, D. S., Weisner, C., Chang, G., & Sinha, R. (2019). Alcohol and women: A brief overview. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 43(5), 774-779.
Richter, L. (2019). Alcohol and women: Unique risks, effects, and implications for clinical practice. In Neuroscience of Alcohol (pp. 21-28). Academic Press.
Zhu, E. C., Hu, Y., & Soundy, T. J. (2017). Genetics of alcoholism. South Dakota Medicine, 70, 225-227.