Alcohol Abuse Causes, Signs, Symptoms, Effects and Treatment

“Alcohol Abuse” is becoming a big problem in present society. Alcohol is the most popular legal drug which has been used by the people since ages. From the ancient times to the modern period, alcohol has gained immense popularity and admiration.

But, is it really good to consume alcohol? No alcohol consumer is unaffected by its impact. But still, alcohol has the allowance to be manufactured and sold in the market. Anyone can purchase it and enjoy over it.

At the time of pleasure or in pain, people opt for having a drink. And, they do not wait for ordering another one when they find it soothing and relaxing.

Alcohol has been used in cooking as well as directly consumed. It is to be noted that alcohol levels matter a lot. Your body consumes alcohol up to certain levels. Then, let us look at what exactly is alcohol abuse.

What Is Alcohol Abuse?

Alcohol abuse is the condition where a person consumes alcohol even after knowing the after effects. The person knows that alcohol amount he is consuming is harmful, but still he goes on having drink after drink, and this is what is called alcohol abuse.

When a thing has been constantly done, human brain develops a habit, and regarding alcohol, you should know that it has addictive properties. Once or twice you consume considerable quantity and quality of alcohol, you will get addicted to it. The body will develop a habit of drinking and the tolerance to doses increases as well.

We are sure that you know some of the effects of alcohol abuse. Do you?

Alcohol Abuse Definition

A definition can be typical to understand, but informative and brief. It encompasses the complete meaning in a single sentence.

Wikipedia says, Alcohol abuse is “a previous psychiatric diagnosis in which there is recurring harmful use of ethanol despite its negative consequences”.

Frequent alcohol abuse leads to alcohol dependence. Alcohol then becomes the basic need of the body.

Causes Of Alcohol Abuse

Alcohol abuse is a combination of various typical factors- social, emotional and environmental. The place you live in, the family environment you have and the friends you hang out with affect you a lot. These are the social surroundings, which compel you to consume alcohol and with more frequency. Emotional factor states that stress and mental health urges an individual to search for medication in alcohol. If one suffers from depression or some disorder, they take the help of alcohol to help themselves. People who are suffering from a mental disorder such as schizophrenia are engaged in substance abuse thrice the normal people, studies reveal.

Difference Between Drug And Alcohol Abuse

People ask for drug or alcohol abuse differences. Some compare and contrast, and why not, a free mind has the liberty to ask a question upon anything. We like inquisitive readers!

Let us tell you that alcohol itself is a drug. It is a legal drug, and consumed by the common people to large extent. In fact, it is the most popularly consumed drug worldwide. So, how can I differentiate a drug with a drug? Although, there are several types of drugs and each has its own characteristic, but on the base, alcohol is a drug, and in no way different from any other drug. And, if the differences exist, they are very minute and based on the chemical compositions.

Usually people relate to the drugs namely as morphine, cocaine etc. Am I right? So, we will share our views relatively only.

The symptoms of both the abuse are common but at different intensity. It is purely based on the type of drug you are consuming and in how much quantity. Obviously, if you sniff a strong drug in small quantity, it has severe hallucinating effects as compared to a sip of alcohol. Isn’t it?

The recovery process of alcohol abuse is easy and quick, than the process of drug abuse. But, again, it depends on the determination and struggle of the patient. Many alcohol abusers have taken more time to recover than the drug abusers. The process of detoxication is quite similar in both the processes, but the after-effects vary. It is worth noting that recovery process of drug abusers is more planned, organised and supervised. The right tools and the right techniques are required compulsorily.

Effects Of Alcohol Abuse

It is very clear that alcohol affects your health to a great extent. Now, it should be noted that alcohol effects can be short term as well as long term.

If we talk about the quantity, alcohol abuse can lead to several problems. Obviously, we are not talking about low quantity here.

Speech problems such as slurred speech
Drowsy feeling.
Vomiting and nausea
Diarrhoea
Stomach problems
Headache
Respiratory problems
Problem in vision and hearing things
Impaired judgement
Poor concentration and perception
Unconsciousness
Anaemia, that is loss of red blood cells
Can even lead to coma
Memory lapses

And, if we talk about the long term effects, the health problems intensify-

The injuries can be as fatal as in a car crash, falls, burns
A person can drown
Intentional injuries can also take place, such as sexual assault, domestic violence etc.
Loss at workplace
Loss in relationships
Increased family problems
Alcohol poisoning (you can check out further details on alcohol poisoning on our other article)
High blood pressure and very high risk of diseases to heart
Liver diseases and pancreas diseases
Nerve damage
Sexual problems
Damage to the brain and improper functioning
Deficiency of vitamin B1
Ulcers
Malnutrition problems and resulting diseases
Cancer of mouth and throat

Are these effects not scary enough? Do you still want to drink alcohol and continue alcohol abuse? Or, do you still want your loved one to continue with their alcohol abuse?

Signs and Symptoms Of Alcohol Abuse

Millions of deaths are caused just by alcohol abuse each year. Do you still want that more people die out of this bad habit? Look for the signs and symptoms, and be aware about your loved one. Today is the right time to take a step forward. It may be quite confusing to detect the alcohol abuse, but it is not impossible.

The consumption of alcohol interferes a lot at workplace. The person is not able to concentrate and understand things, and the management goes poor. The person also remains usually sick due to which the capacity to work and efficiency level keeps on going down.
The person drinks, and at that time, he just remembers his ailments and grief, or moment of joy, which he supports with the help of a drink. But, the consequences can be as fatal as a car accident or something really very risky. The drunken person may stand tall on the terrace of a building, or may try to experiment with something really dangerous.
The memory lapses are the worst thing to happen with an alcohol abusing person.
The physical and mental condition of the body is destroyed.
The person is not able to control the quantity and frequency of consumption.
If he or she withdraws, the withdrawal symptoms are very severe, which can urge the individual to take a drink to overcome them. The person may sweat, tremble or become anxious while withdrawing.
There is lack of interest in activities.
A great harm to career, if the person is an adolescent or youth.
Spoilt relationships in family and friends
Drinking alcohol becomes a habit. It is as necessary as water.
The people rely on alcohol for solving their problems or finding solutions to their issues. They also take a drink as a memento of joy or happiness.
Even if the person would like to quit abusing alcohol, the alcohol won’t let him go far away.

Check for the above and take some initiative. It is better late than never.

Teen Alcohol Abuse

As we know that alcohol is the most popularly consumed legal intoxicant. We should also know that majority of the population which is consuming alcohol is the budding generation of teenagers. Just imagine that today, even the adults are immature enough to ignore the effects of alcohol abuse, so how can we expect our teenage generation to use their young minds?

The young minds and the young bodies cannot bear the consequences of the effects of alcohol abuse. The behaviour they exhibit after consuming alcohol is really rash and aggressive. They turn violent and cause damage to whatever is around them. They can put their own life at risk as well as others lives. They are not able to understand and they become rebels.

Teen alcohol abuse is a worldwide problem. The consequences are very serious. Search out in today’s newspaper itself. You will find at least one or two cases which involves the teenagers and their drinking problem. In fact, at this tender age, they get involved in legal matters and crime scenes. They commit suicides and engage in unprotected sexual acts.

Teens abuse alcohol because maybe they want to experiment with something new, or they fall under peer pressure. Once they get introduced to this substance, they develop some addiction due to pleasure or feeling of euphoria. Hence, they begin abusing alcohol. Lack of parental care and increased affection from friends is one of the major causes which lead the teens to abuse alcohol.

You can always take a step in the earliest hour. Guide them or take help of the counsellors. There are various ways to help your teenager. You just have to spare some time to look for them.

Alcohol Abuse Treatment

The treatment options are numerous, and can be executed easily if you determine yourself to make a change. Each day, about 750000 people are getting treatment for alcohol abuse. It is not a shame. It is a good step, in fact. You should be proud of yourself that you have decided to change the way you are living.

There are treatment centres or rehab centres to help you out. If you are afraid to go there or are feeling shy, then you can always make a call and ask the centre to keep your privacy. The treatment is of two types- long term treatment and short term treatment.

A key process is of detoxification, in which the alcohol is removed from the body and maximum efforts are made to keep it off from the individual.

Counsellors and therapists are there to help the person become emotionally strong and stable. Very creative methods are used in the therapy, where the treatment doesn’t looks like a treatment.

Apart from the medical treatment, the individual requires love and support of family members and friends.

Chronic Alcohol Abuse

Chronic means long term effects. Here, the chronic alcohol abuse is about the long term effects of the alcohol abuse. When the level of alcohol inside the body increases than the acceptable amount, the bloodstream gets contaminated with it. The alcoholic blood is then circulated all around the body parts. This interferes with the normal functions of the body.

Some problems arising due to chronic alcohol abuse are as follows:

Liver and pancreas diseases
Cancer of mouth or throat
Ulcers
Stomach and gastrointestinal problems
Damage to the brain
Malnutrition and deficiency related diseases
Osteoporosis
Diseases to heart
Accidents, injuries and suicides

Alcohol Abuse Statistics and facts

Facts and statistics are always the most creative and engaging informative points. We don’t believe the harsh realities until we are introduced to some examples, facts that amuse us or some really astonishing statistics.

Nearly 900000 people die each year from alcohol related issues.
Alcohol is the fourth dangerous killer leading to deaths and several impaired problems.
Billions are spent on alcohol consumption and its treatment.
About 200 diseases are caused by the consumption of alcohol and still it ranks as the most popular intoxicant.
There are about 1.4 million driving drunk people who are arrested every year.
About 47% of the crimes occur due to alcohol consumption or anything related to alcohol.
42% of the traffic deaths take place due to drinking and driving.
37% of the violent crimes occur due to the alcohol abuse.

There is a lot more. Just type the keyword in the search engine and you will see complete data which is true and frightening. Do you still you feel that alcohol abuse should be supported?

Take a step now. Stay healthy and stay safe.

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