EMMA JANE BIGGINS

BENEATH THE SURFACE

Alcoholism is an addiction that grows slowly. Alcohol is often utilised by many people as a coping mechanism to alleviate the emotional trauma of life’s setbacks, until eventually it is the only solution to deal with deeper emotional and psychological issues. Seeing a loved one suffering from alcohol dependency is emotionally distressing. One gains an insight into the internal anguish that people who rely upon alcohol face daily, turning to it to deal with all adversity. Alcohol slowly starts to displace all other relationships and eventually becomes a companion of sorts. This reliance develops from an emotional despondency, and a feeling of low self-worth verging on self-hatred. Often feeling an outsider to society and finding it difficult to emotionally connect with loved ones creates an immense feeling of loneliness and isolation, this pushes them to numb their emotions with alcohol consumption. It is easy as a loved one to overlook or miss their emotional turmoil and not understand that addiction is more than just lack of self-control.