Introduction
Addiction is the fact or condition of being dependent on a particular substance or activity. Alcohol addiction, on the other hand, refers to the continued excessive consumption of alcoholic drinks. Alcohol addiction has a huge impact on oneself, family, or society at large. Some of these effects range from health issues to social networking, community, and even the economy at large. In this case study, we are going to dwell on the alcoholic addiction of Whip Whitaker, a fictional character playing the role of a commercial airline pilot in the movie, alongside the impact of this addiction on Whip Whitaker’s way of doing things. Additionally, the study will address potential recommendations for curbing alcohol addiction.
Main body
Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington) played the main character’s role in the movie (Zemeckis, 2012). In this movie, he was hit by the tragedy of losing his family and had no idea of how to cope with the pain. As a result, Whip turned to the habit of excessive drug and alcohol usage. Problems in the family pushed the hero to alcohol, and gradually the escape from personal issues turned into a real addiction. Alcohol was an easy way for Whip to relieve internal tension. Addiction had a physical effect on him in that it drew him away from the reality he initially lived in. The connection between him and his job weakened, forcing him to move from one place to another in a bid to find some value due to his inability to function correctly.
As the film begins, Whip is finishing up a night-long party in the company of a flight attendant named Katerina, wherein he intoxicates himself with two lines of cocaine. In a disturbing rainstorm, their flight takes off and encounters turbulence that forces their co-pilot to scream out. Unexpectedly, Whip powers the plain at high speed into a safer space of clear sky before the aircraft develops a mechanical malfunction, making the plane uncontrollable. The veteran pilot then inverts the aircraft to halt its descent, resulting in the plane flying upside-down until he once again rights it, subjecting them to a crash-landing in an open field. Six people died in the crash.
The viewer wonders whether this tragic event end Whip’s drinking. He retreats to the farm where he was raised, his grandfather’s farm. During his stay at the farm, he’s told by his lawyer and the union representative that the blood tests carried out indicated that he truly was flying the aircraft while drunk (he faces a possible life sentence as a result). In the meantime, he is befriended by Nicole, a woman whom he met while at the hospital. She then takes him to an AA meeting, which Whip does not consider crucial to him.
His drinking spree costs him a marriage. That not being enough, his son’s high regard for him eventually wears out. One of the weirdest happenings is that of Washington’s performance in regarding himself as a hero, claiming that no one could have landed the aircraft in the manner in which he did. Washington is a sympathetic actor, and his performance is grounded in obsessive functioning. Washington’s entirely depends on what he sees and has a clear manner of acting on inner emotions.
Alcohol addiction subjected him to not having the type of function that made him understand and have appreciation for life as it was. Equally, the addiction had an adverse negative impact on his work at the airline. It degraded his ability and the quality of his work in multiple ways. Occasionally, it made him destroy the good working relationships that he had built with his coworkers. Addiction had no exemption, not even for those that he truly valued. Often, addiction does exactly this since it compromises and interferes with one’s ability to recognize values or virtues of interaction and integration within society.
Furthermore, this is the manner in which drugs and alcohol addiction react to one’s functionality, distorting the person’s normal understanding and way of living. This is the continued negative effect on one’s significance in life. In regards to studies involving scientists and health experts, alcohol is considered the most dangerous drug due to its ability to cause indirect negative effects on other people, closely followed by cocaine and heroin. Alcohol is also regarded as the third most harmful drug when it comes to direct negative effects.
Excessive alcohol consumption was responsible for ninety-five thousand deaths and close to three million years of potential lives lost as a result in the United States of America between 2011 and 2015 (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse, 2022). Alcohol abuse also has physiological effects, ranging from depression, violence, and nervousness, amongst other irrational behaviors. Heavy drinking also results in memory loss, cancer of the mouth and throat, premature aging, frequent colds, as well as heart failure.
Other negative effects of alcohol addiction are trembling hands or fingers, painful nerves, numbness, and impaired sexual performance in men. Alcohol and drug abuse also results in pancreatic inflammation, ulcers, and impaired sensation, leading to falls. Excessive alcohol consumption also leads to vitamin deficiency, severe stomach inflammation, not to mention diarrhea and malnutrition.
However, the impact of alcohol and substance abuse can be reduced by early intervention alongside other control measures. These measures include, first, behavioral treatments. These are measures that are aimed at changing the drinking patterns of the affected. They include counseling carried out by health professionals. These practices are very beneficial in that they subject victims to fewer encounters with alcohol and other substances. Studies show that this measure can be highly reliable.
The second category is medications. There are three medications that have so far been approved for use in the United States of America. These treatments aid in making alcoholics stop or reduce their alcohol consumption. These medications can be administered by a health professional and can be used solely or in conjunction with counseling. A primary care physician can also administer this measure.
Finally, another recommendation is the use of mutual-support groups. Alcoholic Anonymous, alongside other twelve-step programs, offers peer support for individuals striving to quit or cut alcohol. A combination of mutual-support groups and medication can result in an appealing outcome. Furthermore, as a result of the anonymous nature of mutual-support groups, it is therefore difficult to determine and quote their success rates in comparison to those led by health experts.
Conclusion
In conclusion, alcohol and substance addiction have a great impact on individuals who are alcoholics as well as the societies they hail from. Alcohol and substance addiction also affect the families of the affected negatively. Therefore, the above-stated recommendations ought to be implemented to curb this menace effectively.
References
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2022). Alcohol facts and statistics. Web.
Zemeckis, Z. (Director). (2012). Flight [Video file]. Web.