Alcohol Addiction: How Dangerous It Is
Alcohol addiction, gambling addiction, food addiction, and internet addiction: it seems that today the human being needs to feel dependent on something. The extremism of the concept is identified as a risky condition, both for physical and mental health.
This is why addictions are of great interest and cause great social concern.
What is alcoholism?
Before going into the maze of alcoholism; let’s take a step back to try to understand when an addiction becomes pathological. Let’s take a look at the definition given by WHO (World Health Organization), which we report below:
“… sometimes even physical condition, derived from the interaction between a living organism and a toxic substance, and characterized by behavioral responses and other reactions, which always entail a compulsive need to take the substance continuously or periodically for the purpose of try its psychological effects and sometimes avoid the malaise of its deprivation. “
Today the concept embraces a wider vision and also includes all forms of addiction that do not involve the intake of substances, but which are revealed through behaviors and activities that are necessary to satisfy a need; a need that can even become physiological.
Let’s go back to the in-depth analysis to which our post, alcoholism, is dedicated, and let’s try to explain in simple words what it is.
It is a chronic disease characterized by altered behaviors, both physically and psychically, caused by excessive alcohol consumption (abuse). Addiction identifies a compulsive search for alcoholic beverages, which over time causes addiction and triggers the need to ingest ever greater amounts of alcohol to achieve fulfillment.
As with any other type of addiction, the interruption of the consumption of alcoholic beverages causes abstinence, the syndrome of which can cause, depending on the case, nausea, vomiting, tachycardia, tremors, hallucinations and even convulsions. In such cases, home alcohol detox is needed.
Be careful, however, not only those who are defined as ‘alcoholics’ suffer the consequences of the disease. It should be remembered that excessive quantities of alcohol, even if they are not part of pathological addictive behaviors, can still be harmful to the health and safety of the individual and those around him.
Alcoholism as a family disease
Data regarding the problem of alcoholism are extremely dramatic and even more so when you consider the disease a family and social phenomenon: in fact, not only suffers from the abuser of alcohol, but it is the whole family to suffer, to manifest a physical and psychological pathology due to alcohol abuse by one of its members. Alcoholism is a hidden problem that kills 60 times more than heroin: the person who abuses alcohol and his family tend to deny themselves the problem, deny it and hide it for a long time, which is why it is often not recognizable and evaluable.
Symptoms
Let’s now analyze the symptoms, that is the signals that indicate an addiction.
List them all is quite complex so we have identified the most frequent symptoms:
Inability to control / limit alcohol consumption
Compulsive search for alcoholic beverages to avoid the withdrawal effect
Tendency to overcome addiction with increasing doses
Behavioral alterations
Tendency to insulation
Deterioration and loss of social relationships
Social, family and work problems related to mental suffering
Loss of interest in all other daily activities, more or less pleasant
The effects
As for the consequences of alcohol abuse, they depend on each case. We have already mentioned them in part during the previous paragraph.
Let’s start with the effects that compromise physical health. The most damaged organs are the liver (cirrhosis and liver malignancies) and the brain, although in reality alcohol can also increase the risk of developing diabetes, stroke and cardiovascular disorders.
Problems such as gastritis, esophagitis and pancreatitis are quite frequent.
As far as the effects on the psychological sphere are concerned, addiction compromises the entire psychological and socio-relational sphere of the individual. In particular, alcoholic substances damage the nervous system, reduce inhibitory brakes and create a series of emotional problems.
Prevention and intervention
When it comes to addictions, to anything or behavior they refer to, it is impossible not to talk about prevention and intervention. As mentioned at the beginning of the post, pathological addiction is risky both personally / physically and socially. This is why the medical-scientific and social-care sector works hard in the search for effective strategies and approaches to stem the problem and treat pathology. The pathological addiction sector requires highly qualified profiles, able to understand addiction in all its forms and expressions. In the end, personal awareness is the earliest preventative measure needed. Awareness that excessive drinking of alcohol is very dangerous. When awareness is possessed, the sufferer can seek related assistance, for example Serenity home detox which has been proven to help so many people get rid of alocoholism.
Alcoholism and responsible consumption
The alcoholic is the one who has developed an addiction to alcohol, that is, he uses the substance to face his daily life, his fears, to take courage in relating to the family and social way; can not help it, he is convinced he can control their intake, but in fact it is the victim. There are alcoholics who at the beginning of the addiction story took alcohol only in the afternoon or evening; over time they arrive to take alcohol from the early morning.
Responsible alcohol consumption is moderate and conscious consumption, fully compatible with people’s personal and social life. Drinking without being in control, drinking at the wrong time, in the wrong place and for the wrong reasons, instead means drinking in a dangerous way because the greater the chances are that an addiction can develop. Every responsible behavior will distance the individual from the danger of alcoholism, which not only has the potential to harm oneself in the long run but also the people around him. Hopefully this article will awaken you and anyone who reads this article about the real dangers arising from excessive drinking of alcohol.