Dry A Memoir Essay - 1539 Words

After finishing this memoir, there is no denying that the main character, Augusten Burroughs, has a problem. From a very young age his alcoholic tendencies (coupled with other drug use) have caused hardships for both himself and those around him. As he aged, so his alcoholism increased. In Dry: A memoir we get to see Augusten’s challenging journey from a life revolving around alcohol to sobriety. As previously mentioned, it is undeniable that Augusten did have a problem. But, does this automatically mean he is clinically diagnosable with an alcohol related disorder? Unfortunately, in this case, the answer is yes. Augusten Burroughs is not only diagnosable for clinical substance dependence, but could be considered the poster child of the†¦show more content†¦At the age of 18, he drinks five drinks a night to get drunk. By the time he is 20 this had moved up to 10 drinks a night to get drunk, with the occasion (self-labeled) binge. The fact that Augusten has said that h is binges go well beyond the clinical definition of a binge. There is a strong argument that the clinical level of a binge (4 drinks for women, 5 for men) is too small for truly problematic drinking (Wechsler, 1998). By the time Augusten was 21, he was drinking a liter of Dewar’s along with cocktails. Overall, it is impossible to deny that as Augusten got older and his drinking habits progressed, he developed a very strong tolerance for alcohol. When Augusten was checked into his rehab center, he had relatively few symptoms of clinical withdrawal. The only major one pointed out was a high blood pressure, which could have easily been due to the journey in which he knew he was about to embark on. But, it is a different story altogether when he is in the midst of a relapse. After a sleepless, sick feeling night, Augusten falls into withdrawal. It starts with hallucinations of spiders (criterion B.5 for the DSM diagnosis of withdrawal). After 24 hours of no alcohol he feels as if he is dying. His body is shaking and his hands have such bad tremors â€Å"they vibrate† (criterion B.2). His heart rate has increased dramatically (Criterion B.1) to the point that it â€Å"woke me up†¦beating so wildly in my chest†¦like someone pounding on the front door†. TheShow MoreRelatedDry : A Memoir By Augusten Burroughs1490 Words   |  6 Pagespercent of persons over 11 years of age binge-drinking at least five times each month (NSDUH,2010).† (Comer, 2014) With such high amount of people who consume alcohol, alcoholism can be considered one of the most common substance abuse worldwide. In Dry: A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs, he describes his previous experience on heavy alcohol abuse and how alcoholism forces him to change his daily life. 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