It has become pretty common to play a deadly game in Addis Ababa actually almost in the whole Ethiopia. Some of those are drinking and driving, unprotected sex with some one we never even met before and so on….But i am not talking about those issues today. My topic today is about something which also become one of the only options of fun we think we have in Addis Ababa. ”DRINKING ALCOHOL AND GETTING WASTED”
What does it do?
I think we all know that alcohol is a central nervous depressant which affects all body tissues and we still don’t mind having a sip or some more specially when we are at either on wedding parties or any parties we mostly have on weekends in Addis right?…:) Any ways, it’s not my intention now to write about that since it could be fun sometimes for some of us….ok my point is many people don’t recognize it when it gets out of hand and develop alcoholism and eventually showing unusual signs both physical and psychological which will cause losing life eventually.
By the way there are two obvious dependence to alcohol consumption. Ok so, one is Physical dependence and it is when there is a physical/biological need for alcohol to avoid physical withdrawal symptoms. The other one is when a person is psychological dependance which is expressed when a person is craving for the subjective effect of alcohol. Now that i said some things about alcohol…..
What are the risk factors of becoming an alcohol abuser?
- Biological predisposition
- Depression and highly anxious characterstics
- Low self-esteem
- Poor self-control
- History of rebelliousness, poor school performance, delinquency
- Poor parental relationships
What are some of the signs commonly seen in alcohol abusers?
- Missing work or school ( where ever he/she has duties)
- Drinking alone
- Increased tolerance to alcohol
- Arguments about drinking
- Careless physical appearance
- Creating/making excuses to drink
- Confusion
- Restlessness
- Denial that a problem exists
- Suspiciousness
- Depression
- Decrease in self – esteem
- Irritability
- Isolation
- Blood alcohol levels of 0.1% which is 100mg alcohol per deciliter of blood or higher
We all know there are consequences to all the unhealthy things we do in general but what are the complications of alcohol abuse and what can it cause to our body? With chronic alcohol use one can end up having:-
- Hepatitis; cirrhosis of liver
- Brain damage
- Esophagitis and gastritis
- Vitamin deficiencies
- Pancreatitis
- Immune system dysfunction
- Cardiac disorder and etc…
All of these things which could lead to – DEATH!! So let’s evaluate where we are today and take action accordingly right now!!
Ethiohealthcare 
April 12th, 2011 at 12:01 am
this sounds very professional and timely. you have been touching very important issues. High health risks which can easily be avoided. Thanks!!
April 14th, 2011 at 7:17 am
Thanks M!
April 12th, 2011 at 9:09 am
Scared but what can you do? There is no activities you can do in addis with out drinking but loved the article.
April 14th, 2011 at 7:19 am
Like Mike said there are a couple of recreational things we can do if we don’t want to go to the movies and the cafe’s we can do something like the sikakawa doro book collection we’ve talked about, swimming, a trip to Diredawa 🙂 May be let’s all go bowling this weekend…something different to do..it’s also interesting and feels! Let’s try it!
April 12th, 2011 at 11:12 am
sirarmany supporting? no… lol
i absolutely love this article. i was thinking about a friend-well, an ex-friend now, when i was reading this. I tried to get through to them and i couldn’t so i just gave up.
it would be nice if u can include on how to talk to people who show these signs…
great article though. 🙂
April 14th, 2011 at 7:25 am
Thank u! You know it is kind of hard to talk to them mostly because they deny and resist help. But it is possible to rescue them before it gets too late. Very importantly we should provide care in nonjudgmental manner and i will write in detail how can we help them on my next blog.
April 12th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
well after reading the article what just come to my mind is…Is there any rehab centers who provide this service for the victims?..people who are suffering of the above mentioned problems…And in addition, are there any recreational places besides cafe’s and movie were one can chill and get over his bad mood or something. well having this question at hand, may be establishing this kind of organization should be the task of the government or any other stake holders that might give a hand for core problem of the society especially youth. And sebli, drunk yards are not afraid of death, the only thing that bother them when they wake up is not the issues you have raised or the DEATH thing…rather it is the money they have spent and how they gonna spend the end of the week…any who please look forward for the solution also..it is cool web..cheers
April 14th, 2011 at 7:53 am
Thanks Mike, as far as i know there is no rehab center in Ethiopia so far actually for any addiction in general this could be something we can think of doing in Ethiopia. It is not just up to the government but also our duty as a human being and as health professionals. I hope we can at least establish AA group with some professionals involved very soon. It is very scary if one goes to Amanuel Hospital and try to study the reasons of admitting those intelligent people and it is mostly because of different kinds of addictions/substance abuses. Like you said may be they are not afraid of death but why do they worry about the money they spent when they wake up the next morning? Isn’t it because they are afraid of surviving the coming days by buying something to eat or feed their family? I wonder why, but my guess is something to do other than alcohol!