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Alcohol for many is used as a depressant, meaning that it reduces the functional and nervous energy. Excess drinking is known to cause damage to the brain, and leads to depression. The use/abuse of alcohol can also be caused from depression. While depressed people tend to resort to the recreational use of alcohol/drugs to make them feel “better” for a short period of time. This actually makes their depression worsen because it only fixes these feelings for a short period of time.

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A few years ago, my aunt became an alcoholic. I was able to see how her mental states changed and worsened, the more she drank. She was eventually diagnosed with several things, depression being one of them. She became very sad and was very irritable, making things worse for her children.

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Similar to depression, people often drink to relax and reduce their anxiety, but alcoholism can also lead to anxiety. Alcohol can be known to trigger panic attacks, cause low blood sugar, dehydration, increased heart rate, and increased level of stress.Tension reduction hypothesis is the theory that individuals who cannot cope with stress often become dependent on alcohol to reduce tension.The biological theory is the theory that genetics can explain why some people abuse alcohol.

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This connects to my life because many of the students in high school that I know drink to reduce their anxiety. In reality, it has been proven that this is not an effective way to reduce anxiety, and in the long run just makes it worse.

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Heavy drinking can lead to or cause liver damage, cardiovascular disease, and multiple types of cancer.Drinking increases your heart rate and blood pressure, straining on your cardiovascular system.It damages the cells that line your intestines, and blocks the absorption and breakdown of the body’s nutrients.

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This connects to my life because I know that many teens my age drink alcohol, and sometimes excessively, they do not understand the impact that the alcohol can have on their bodies.

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Self medication is when an individual uses a substance (in this case alcohol) to self-administer treatment for something. Many alcoholics claim that their usage of alcohol helps them “feel better”, when in reality the usage is only making things worse. This self-medication may give them an excuse as to why they do drink alcohol.

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This connects to my life because I have experienced this with a family member. She became an alcoholic, and swore to everyone that it was just something to ":take the edge off", when in reality it was poisoning her body.

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“Alcohol and Mental Health.” Mental Health Foundation, 27 Aug. 2018, www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/a/alcohol-and-mental-health.

“Alcohol and Mental Health.” Drinkaware, www.drinkaware.co.uk/alcohol-facts/health-effects-of-alcohol/mental-health/alcohol-and-mental-health/.

“Alcohol Use, Abuse, and Depression: Is There a Connection?” WebMD, WebMD, www.webmd.com/depression/guide/alcohol-and-depresssion#1.

“The Link Between Alcohol Abuse and Depression.” Alcohol Rehab Guide, www.alcoholrehabguide.org/resources/dual-diagnosis/alcohol-and-depression/.

“Alcohol and Anxiety: How Drinking Can Cause Panic Attacks.” Addiction Resource, addictionresource.com/alcohol/effects/anxiety-panic-attacks/.

“Self-Medication.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Apr. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-medication.

“The Effects of Alcohol Use: Short & Long-Term Physical & Psychological.” Alcohol.org, www.alcohol.org/effects/.

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“Anxiety.” MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 8 Apr. 2019, medlineplus.gov/anxiety.html.