If you are a sufferer of alcoholism, you are probably cheating yourself into thinking that you are just a consumer of alcohol, whereby the reality is that alcoholism is consuming you. That includes the consumption of your salary, your physical energy, your time that could be better spent and the one that tops the list is your health.
If we are going to describe what alcoholism is, it would be a person who knowingly consumes alcohol while being aware of the negative physical and social consequences that it implies. Medically it would be described as somebody who just can’t say no to consuming alcohol. So as a whole we could describe alcoholism as being the tendency to compulsively consume alcohol, while being unable to recognize its negative effects.
There are people who have problems with alcohol consumption, but are able to suppress its characteristics and symptoms. This would be classed as alcohol abuse implying that a person heavily indulges in consuming alcohol but is able to have certain control over its use. The difference would be seen in the fact that an alcohol abuser is not completely dependent on alcohol like an alcoholic is.
This is a very serious disease as backed up by statistics produced by the National Council of Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, which has estimated that in the region of 18 million Americans abuse alcohol. This is also highlighted by figures showing that over 100,000 Americans die of alcohol related health problems and that 50% of road deaths are due to driving under the influence of alcohol.
Unfortunately even the hardest of alcohol drinkers will try and refuse that they are addicted to the stuff. They will have a certain drinking pattern which will allow them to drink in different places throughout the day and this becomes like a daily routine. It will be difficult to maintain though, as their urge will make them drink more and faster.
Social commitments in their life will begin to take second place as their memory deteriorates and then begin to form ‘blacking out’. Any form of social activity or pleasurable entertainment will no longer appear to be of interest as their mind will only be focusing its energies on the next shot. They will begin to appear extremely irritable if they are unable to consume their next dose and they will turn their backs on anyone who is close to them in their lives. They will become very tolerant to the effects of alcohol and will have the urge to drink larger quantities in order to feel the effects again.
Alcoholism or in other words, a physical dependence on alcohol can be described as a disease that will slowly but surely take over the body. Brain chemicals like gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) will suffer an alteration in balance due to an increased alcohol intake, but although this can help to keep impulsive behavior under control, the presence of glutamate will only excite our nervous system. Excitable behavior is also provoked by the increased level of dopamine in the brain. The habit of drinking alcohol will have an effect on the levels of these chemicals in the brain and will just cause the body to crave for more alcohol.
Discover more about this tried and tested support to help Stop Drinking Written by Ed Philips and Quit Alcohol In Only 21 Days
Related posts:
- Alcohol Rehabilitation – The Detoxification Procedure The initial phase of alcohol rehabilitation is the detoxification. The...
- The Actual Similarities In Alcohol And Drug Detox Alcohol or drug detox will be the procedure of eliminating...
- Concrete Evidence That Alcohol Does Have Effects On Sexual Health For centuries, alcoholic beverages have been linked to a temporary...
- The Complete Report On inpatient alcohol rehabilitation in kentucky Ultram abuse in addition to eventual addiction has generated loads...
- The Most Important Facts About Pennsylvania Alcohol Rehabilitation While enrolling in to a drug recovery center, individuals must...
Comments on this entry are closed.