I remember being nearly awake at two or so in the morning on March 18th, 1991 tossing and turning in my bed and then in the middle of my restlessness, a gun fired. The cops rushed the door, placed her in handcuffs, all the while I was looking from a distance in my pseudo sleep stage, not quite sure if what I had seen really happened. This day marked a new beginning and a healthy approach to life for my mother. On this day, which I came to learn some months after the fact, was my mother's new birthday. Luckily, the bullet grazed her head, only to shatter a mirror behind her. Alcoholism is a drug addiction. Alcohol is the culprit drug and it's classified under a group called depressants, which affects the central nervous system, impairing concentration and judgment. Soon after rehabilitation started, I learned that my mother was an alcoholic and the problems associated with alcoholism were both physical and mental.
My mother's problems with drinking came way before I was conceived and some would argue that her problems came before her conception too. Although it has not been proven, there is substantial evidence that supports alcoholism is hereditary. Offspring of alcoholics are three to four times more likely to develop alcohol problems than offspring of non-alcoholics. The most unusual thing that I learned after my mother stuck me in Alateen is that alcoholism is a disease. Alateen is a place for teenagers to get advise in dealing with their alcoholic parent or parents and is a growing department of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Alcoholism has serious physical consequences, but there are several steps that lead to this disease. Your body gradually inherits a tolerance over a period of years and becomes dependent on the drug. The second step occurs when the victim notices memory lapses and blackouts. Lastly, the victim becomes powerless over alcohol and consumes beyond the normal limit.
