Staying healthy physically amounts to being healthy in other aspects too. When the body is strong physically, it can cope with stress and pressure that may cause emotional distress. In some instances, outbursts of emotion could be due to unhealthy living. Negative habits that affect the body negatively, therefore, cause to damage to the body and mind. Among these, and the most common in society is the excessive consumption of alcohol and smoking. Bad childhood and grief resulting from the death of a parent are causative factors that predispose individuals to the bad habits.
Alcohol affects individuals differently since bodies vary in the way they respond to alcohol. While some people can control their drinking, some cannot. Excessive consumption of alcohol has damages that go beyond health to social impacts (Sherman, 2019). Prolonged excessive consumption of alcohol affects the cerebellum and limbic context, which interferes with motor coordination and loss of memory and emotional control. Smoking also causes lung cancer and respiratory infections. It also increases the risk of coronary-related diseases. Both excessive and smoking also cause immunosuppression, especially in people living with HIV/AIDS. However, despite all these known effects, some of which are life-threatening, people still engage in their use.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Excessive alcohol use and smoking are sometimes caused by factors that the victims cannot control. No matter how scared they are of the effects and wish to quit, they cannot. Among the factors that cause addiction to alcohol and smoking is bad childhood or death of a parent. Use of alcohol or smoking is sometimes due to a desire to fill a gap. It is in search of fulfillment that individuals eventually find themselves abusing alcohol or smoking.
Death of a parent culminates in grief, especially when it happens early in life or abruptly. The grief could last days, months, or years. According to Pilling et al., (2015), the shock and loneliness, if not taken care of, pushes people to find solace in what makes them forget. It could also result in violent behavior, anger, and depression. Alcohol, for instance, is said to “hibernate” the thoughts for a moment (Sherman, 2019). At brain Alcohol Concentration level of 0.2-, 0.5 cause relaxation, and elevates the mood. This explains why some people drink when stressed. Alcohol is a depressant of the central nervous system. It slows down the Brain, which accounts for the "forgetfulness." However, levels above this cause blacking out, respiration complications, and loss of motor coordination. It also permanently slows down the brain when taken for a prolonged time and in excess. When individuals start drinking due to the loss of a parent, they only aim at reducing grief. However, it becomes an addiction before they can know it.
Smoking may also result due to the death of a parent since it helps pass time and buries the grief for a moment. Grief leads individuals into alcohol and smoking. If it is unspoken of, it culminates to stress, which if not dealt with develops into depression. Cigarettes contain nicotine, which stimulates the brain to release dopamine. Dopamine is a feel-good hormone released by the body due to pleasure and wellbeing. This good feeling creates a feeling of reliving from stress and false wellbeing but goes away immediately the nicotine levels drop (Mishra et al., 2015). Smoking is, thus not a long-term stress reliever. As the nicotine levels drop, the smoker also feels edgy and becomes irritable, which accounts for violent behavior. To prevent this, smokers opt to light a new cigarette after another. Nicotine, but the grief remain, could temporarily blur the grief of losing a parent, as it continues to compromise the smoker’s health. It also affects the general health of an individual since it is an appetite suppressant. Nicotine inhibits insulin, the regulator of sugar levels in the brain. The smoker thus achieves hyperglycemia as long as there are sufficient levels of nicotine in the body (Mishra et al., 2015). Hyperglycemia blocks signals of hunger to the hypothalamus, which gives them a sense of false satiety. Besides being unable to remain physically strong, lack of proper nutrition also makes the smoker prone to emotional imbalance.
Childhood is a major determinant of how the child behaves in adulthood. It is during these years that a child is progressively learning and picking habits from their environment ( Smith, Cowie, & Blades, 2015) . They do not know to differentiate right and wrong yet, so their environment shapes their decisions, attitudes, and perspective on life. Bad childhood makes bad adulthood. For instance, children brought up in a family where the father is abusive will grow up with the belief that men can beat women ( Smith, Cowie, & Blades, 2015) . The same applies to parents who drink alcohol excessively of smoke. No matter how many times the parent says it is wrong, the children will not believe. For children, their parents are their heroes. Whatever they do is right, therefore telling them not to do as the parents do is not right. In such families, the rules on alcohol and smoking are also not as strict. Children have access to alcohol and cigarettes early in life, which makes it a lesser evil for them. They start to view them as normal as having vegetables in the refrigerator. Their brains are already pre-exposed to alcohol and cigarettes, thus using them in adulthood are not a big deal.
Bad childhood and death of a parent are not eternal condemnations to excessive drinking and smoking. No matter the level of addiction, the victims can still turn back. However, having the wrong group of friends makes the turn hard. Friends who indulge in the same make it look usual and cool. While the friends could be doing it for fun, the victims will never realize they have become due to underlying issues that need to be solved. Having a group that leads them away from the addictions is thus important to regain their health, achieved by solving the underlying cause. Once they have made peace with their past, they can start the journey of recovery and regaining of health.
Conclusion
Excessive drinking of alcohol and smoking could be more than for pleasure. Bad experiences in the past could be the cause, in a bid to find comfort. Stress and physiology being major contributors to the addictions must therefore be dealt with to free the addict. After the individual starts reforming, the group of friends they keep must also encourage them to stay fit and eat healthy to regain their health.
References
Mishra, A., Chaturvedi, P., Datta, S., Sinukumar, S., Joshi, P., & Garg, A. (2015). Harmful effects of nicotine. Indian journal of medical and paediatric oncology: official journal of Indian Society of Medical & Paediatric Oncology , 36 (1), 24.
Pilling, J., Thege, B. K., Demetrovics, Z., & Kopp, M. S. (2015). Alcohol use in the first three years of bereavement: a national representative survey. Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy , 7 (1), 3.
Sherman, L. E., Rosenbaum, G. M., Smith, A. R., Botdorf, M. A., Fettich, K., Patrianakos, J. L., ... & Chein, J. M. (2019). The interactive effects of peers and alcohol on functional brain connectivity in young adults. NeuroImage , 197 , 264-272.
Smith, P. K., Cowie, H., & Blades, M. (2015). Understanding children's development . John Wiley & Sons.
