Karen Opas Research Paper

Alcoholism is one of the many problems that exist in today’s society. It may not be one of the most talked about when compared to foreign problems, but it is evident across the globe and many people are affected by it daily. Alcoholism is detrimental to the well being of a person’s health, other people’s health, and carries risks towards a nation economically. People may think excessive drinking or even drinking in trivial amounts does not affect them, but in reality everyone experiences the pain and hardships alcoholism brings about. Karen Opas is a perfect example of someone who thinks they are all right with their consumption, but it slowly took over her life. The first time Karen was drunk, to her standards, was at age thirteen, when …show more content…
Karen was at a “bush” party, or a party held in a secluded area, when her friend was raped by her date. This could have been avoided if it were not for the fact that she had been intoxicated out of her mind and could not fight off her date, the offender. By age seventeen Karen was drinking three to five bottles of wine, five days a week. She had no sense of where she was. In a recount of her past she stated she outside in below freezing temperatures in a t-shirt and a skirt. The alcohol she drank that night made Karen forget where she lived and she could have died if the police had not shown up to take her in. The real signs of alcoholism’s damage came later in her life. She was in collage and could barely attend classes due to her frequent hangovers as well as her constant spending of earnings on booze and illegal drugs leading to debt from borrowing to pay rent. She dropped out and after looking back blamed it on the inability to perform in school due to the hangovers and alcohol in general (Opas). Stories like those of Karen Opas are more common than they seem and this is all in part due to the easy accessibility …show more content…
Chemical transmitters are alerted in the way they send signals to the brain (Simon). They send signals because of the lack of alcohol in the body. These signals transmit into everyday issues such as stress or excitation (Simon). Serotonin and dopamine are the big two transmitters related to alcoholism. Serotonin controls behaviors such as eating, relaxation, and sleep while dopamine controls basic everyday responses in the body. The signal sent from the brain varies person to person and can cause a variety of issues due to the imbalance of feelings of stress or excitation. This imbalance can affect some more frequently while others more