My Problem With Alcohol Abuse example essay topic

No More Lies Reaction Paper Alcohol abuse has been an issue in my life for quite some time now. I had my first "taste" at the age of fifteen, and from that moment on I was hooked. My father is an alcoholic, as was his father, and I was apparently unfortunate enough to be born with that same gene that quite possibly led to their self-destructive, difficult to break, habit. It took five years of belligerent drunkenness, trouble with the law, broken relationships, and denial for me to realize that I am an alcoholic. Luckily though, I have finally realized that I have a problem, and I am doing something about it before it is too late.

The vast majority of my life, since freshman year in high school, has been full of regret. There are so many choices I have made, or not made for that matter, as a result of drinking, that have led to negative consequences. I have been in more trouble with the law than any twenty year old should, and I have spent one too many days of depression in bed, my mind overflowing with thoughts of guilt and disgust of the events that had taken place the nights before. I received my first MIP (Minor in Possession) when I was sixteen, but it did not even phase me. My second offense occurred three years later. This time, I was much less fortunate.

It wasn't a measly little MIP that I could take care of by paying a small fine, it was a DUI (Driving Under the Influence). I didn't just get pulled over as a result of swerving over the yellow dotted center line in the road. I was in a car accident. A horrible car accident that obliterated my car, and nearly took my life; landed me in a hospital bed for three days, and left me with severe whip lash, bruises all over, and glass embedded in my skin from head to toe. The final prognosis: a fractured pelvis in two separate spots. The result: inability to walk for weeks without the aid of a walker or crutches.

I was arraigned at the Muskegon County Jail the day I was released from the hospital. At nineteen years old I was a convict who could not even walk. I lost my license, my freedom, and any bit of respect that the people around me once held. I was fined five-hundred and fifty dollars by the court, ordered to complete an outpatient alcohol treatment, and demanded to attend a victims panel presentation. My life was over, as were my days of drinking.

Or so I thought. As soon as I could walk again, actually as soon as I could support myself on crutches and walk without looking like a complete clown, my drinking habit returned. I had sworn I would never touch a drink again, but somehow my inner desire for that toxic little substance overrode my conscious mind. The problems soon returned.

Only five months later I received my second MIP (my third alcohol related offense), and just two weeks ago received another four-hundred dollar fine as a result of it. I am thankful that I am still alive after the accident, and grateful for the last MIP because since then I have made vast improvements, but the trouble I have been in with the law is only a small factor of the negative impact alcohol abuse has had on my life. I have engaged in many unwanted and unintentional acts as a result of impaired judgment due to drinking. I cannot even begin to count how many nights I don't remember, but unfortunately my friends can and always have been more than willing to inform me of those embarrassing moments.

On too many occasions I have had sexual relations with people I would not even talk to while sober. One night in particular, according to close friends and witnesses, I was passed out while a friend of mine (or so I thought) took advantage of me. He should have been charged with rape, and ironically was accused of rape by another girl a few months later, but I was too scared and embarrassed about my own stupidity of drinking half of a fifth in twenty-five minutes. I was only sixteen, and weighed about one-hundred and fifteen pounds; with the knowledge I hold now, I would never try that again.

As for my personal relationship with alcohol, well it is complicated. My problem with alcohol abuse escalated the summer after my sophomore year in high school and basically stayed at its peak for the next three years. I was drinking a little too much, a little too often. Spending afternoons and evenings completely annihilated, drinking to the point of all-night long blackouts, falling down stairs, making unhealthy decisions involving the opposite sex, skipping work and classes, sleeping all day because I was too depressed to think about what I couldn't remember I would soon be informed I had done the night before, and then starting all over again because I was unable to handle the pressures of every day life while sober.

My life was a disaster, my relationships a mess. The friends that truly cared about me couldn't stand to see me doing this to myself; committing a slow but effective suicide. The friends that I did have, my "fun" friends, only stuck around because they enjoyed the funny, entertaining, completely false, belligerent Angie. I was losing focus on the very reason for my existence, and my alcohol abuse was slowly chipping away at the blocks of life that made me who I was. I spent my entire first year of college at this stage.

My tolerance was amazingly high; I could out drink every girl I met, and even the majority of guys. However, regardless of my high tolerance, the blackouts continued, and I had completely lost my grip on reality. It took my accident last summer for me to realize what I was doing to myself and the people around me. My hopes and dreams had vanished out of sight, and basically out of mind. I was a disappointment to my friends and family, as well as myself.

I no longer cared about anything or anyone. I would drink to avoid my problems, but it was ultimately leading to a more problematic existence. I was not my self, I had become a monster. I finally began to realize that if I ever wanted to be someone and do something with my life, things were going to have to change.

After this past Christmas break, I began substance abuse counseling. I still see a counselor once a week, and it is helping immensely. I have attended a few AA classes, but due to anxiety I do not attend regularly. I have begun to turn my life around, and although it was outrageously hard at first, I am finally starting to feel happy sober. I still drink occasionally, because being at college makes it rather difficult not to, but I do not remember the last time I made a horrible decision that I regret. I feel great, and for once in my life I am proud of myself.

The best results I could imagine would be to stop drinking altogether. It will be hard, but eventually I will do it. I just need to continue with my counseling and keep myself busy with other, more positive activities. I am glad I have caught my problem with alcohol abuse before it was too late. I look forward to accomplishing my hopes and dreams, and I hope to someday practice a life of complete sobriety.