MIDTERM PAPER 1
Midterm Paper
Jaeda Manuel
Drugs, Society, and Human Behavior
11 March 2018
Patterns of use of substance abuse that you have seen in your life
My grandfather (moms dad) consumed alcohol throughout his whole life beginning when he was just a teenager and worsened as he aged and continues to worsen as he grows older. He was enlisted into war at a young age but had no choice on going because during that time they were signing people due to lack of men they had. He fought in several wars, gaining him a purple heart, but the wars have made a serious impact on him that will follow him for the rest of his life. He developed PTSD (post-traumatic-stress-disorder) when he was finally coming back home from war for good, which caused a lot of problems within his family, friends, and all around his social life. He became dependent on alcohol at a young age and found some courage to try and go get help and stop drinking so that his health would not be risk. My grandpa looked eighty-years-old when he was only sixty-two-years old, which resulted from his nonstop drinking and damaged his body inside and out. I remember every time my family and I would travel to visit him on Christmas, for Thanksgiving, or even just for a trip in the summer his appearance and health seemed to be deteriorating significantly in the short periods of time of not seeing him. Our visits started to become less frequent as all of us, us referring to his own children and grandchildren, were growing up and beginning to age in to maturity and knowledge expand. As I got older, I recognized that he was always intoxicated no matter where he was at or where he planned on going, the man would not go unless he was drunk or getting drunk. He had a special lunchbox he would fill with ice and beer and set it right next to wherever he was sitting, so that he would not have to get up and get another one when gets done with one. Sometimes even going as far as double-fisting two beer cans at the same time. His health has been very poor lately and he seems to always find himself sick, sometimes to the point where he cannot even move or perform everyday task because he would be in so much pain. His alcohol addiction affected his relationship with all three of his wife, children, and grandchildren, but that does not and never has stopped us from loving him unconditionally. Even my grandmother who could care less about the man or his well-being, checks in on him from time to time just to make sure that he is still alive. Knowing what I know now and from experiences, I am aware that his alcohol addiction is going to be the reason that he dies. What kills me the most about his situation, is knowing that he does not care at all about his own well-being and doesn’t listen to anything anyone tells him. He would rather sit by himself every single day and drink himself to death when he had numerous opportunities to go get help and chose not to go. I knew that he had decided his life’s fate and ...
