ALCOHOLISM: THE LOWS ABOUT THE HIGHS YOU SHOULD KNOW. NO CHEERS!

An excerpt from  FEMINA BELIEVE  (March 29, 2006)

ALCOHOLISM:

THE LOWS ABOUT THE

HIGHS YOU SHOULD KNOW.

NO CHEERS!

One innocent drink may mark the beginning of a slide into

alcoholism and a lifetime of living with the disease. Purabi Shridhar profiles the alarming trend of alcoholism among women in India.

“ IMPLICATIONS OF ALCOHOLISM

Psychotherapist Suneel Vatsyayan, who is also founding director of Nada India, takes a long hard look at the disease.

“We have to look at women alcoholics not only from the gender perspective, but also in the Indian context. A woman in India is vulnerable even without being alcoholic- dependency on alcohol is like adding fuel to fire.

PHYSICAL IMPLICATIONS-: The deterioration starts immediately. Physically, alcohol affects women much more intensely than men. The ravages of alcoholism that begin to show within four to five years in men start showing in women in two years or so. The liver is the first to go, and with increased susceptibility to hepatitis, chronic liver diseases can lead to cirrhosis and pose a risk for liver cancer. The emotional distress and depression also aggravate the physical side effects. Recent research has shown that death rates among alcoholic women are 50 to 100 percent higher than male alcoholics.

MENTAL IMPLICATIONS-: Most women alcoholics tend to go into isolation, which aggravates the disease. Alcohol becomes the answer to every question and problem; the deciding factor. She will fight guilt because in Indian society, the woman is the caretaker; she has no one to take care of her. She begins to have low expectations of getting out of the condition, which triggers further depression and stress-related problems- it becomes a vicious cycle.

SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS-: In Indian society, a woman alcoholic faces ostracism and criticism. Questions may be raised about her morality and character. The alcoholism is not seen as a disease. Society may develop some tolerance for a man with alcohol dependence, but not for woman in the same situation. The problem becomes all the more acute with the lack of gender sensitivity as well as the acute dearth of de-addiction centres specially for women. “....