Question

• Conduct an Interview:
  • someone who suffers from a chronic physical or mental illness or disability that is stigmatized in our society; or
  • a close family member of someone who is stigmatized because of illness or disabilitySome possible illnesses or disabilities include HIV/AIDS, mental illness, alcoholism or other drug addiction, or physical deformities.
• In the interview you should ask:
  • what kinds of people tend to react negatively to the illness or disability
  • what particular actions of these people suggest they think negatively about the ill or disabled person
  • how these actions make the person feel about themselves
  • how these feelings have affected their social interactions.
• Bring a written report of your interview (summary notes)

Answer 1

ALCOHOLISM- AN INTERVIEW BASED REPORT/ SUMMARY NOTES

Alcoholism is alcohol related disorder emerged out of the uncontrolled, excessive and entire dependence on alcohol. Numerous people in the world are the sufferers from alcoholism.

An interview of a person/ addict to alcohol beyond normal drinking was conducted with the help of the given questions. I am from India and therefore the background is an Indian one. In India, alcoholism is not socially acceptable. It carries a very negative shade with it.

What kinds of people tend to react negatively to the illness or disability?

Nearly all Indians except those who are habitual of alcohol consumption react negatively towards the person under the impact of alcoholism because the cultural heritage, spiritual practice and religious codes of ethics strictly deny and prohibit the consumption of alcohol.

People who are followers of a religion by true means tend to be away from an alcoholic person, they avoid him/ her.

Women, specifically are comparatively more reactive to this disability.

What particular actions of these people suggest they think negatively about the ill or disabled person?

Avoidance, not talking, cursing and humiliating the alcoholic, breaking relations, getting irritated, denying financial or friendly informal assistance are some of the actions through which people can be recognised with negative attitudes.

How these actions make the person feel about themselves?

The alcoholic feels alone, boycotted, guilty and turns to be either a less confident person or looses the whole confidence, the pessimism increases and the person leads a very dull and purposeless life.

Thus, the person further increases the consumption of alcohol and gets trapped more in it.

How these feelings have affected their social interactions?

The person intentionally minimises the social contact as he feels people around him laugh at him. The chance of humiliation destroys the zeal to live. The person does not take initiatives.

Further, gradually, versatility, extrovertness extent, multi task handling are hampered.