Understanding Addiction to Alcohol

There's often a lot of perplexity over what actually defines alcohol addiction.

People tend to think in terms of the mumerous drinks they consume in an evening or think it is a matter of how frequently they drink. Alcoholism is defined neither by the quantities a person drinks nor by the regularity of alcohol . Alcoholism is an alcohol dependancy. If the person is hooked on alcohol, they are by definition alcoholic, doesn't matter how much or how often they drink.

'Alcoholism' is a disease, and a disease that affects millions of people around the globe. Moreover, it is a horrific disease that is chronic, progressive and regularly fatal. The disease first attacks the physical health of the victim and then upsets emotional and mental equilibrium by harmful the alcoholic person's family and social life.

It is a disease that is most frequently amongst men, and sadly, most especially amongst young men. Consistent with the distinction we made above, medical practitioners distinguish between two types of alcohol-related problems - namely, 'alcohol abuse' and full-blown 'alcoholism'.

'Alchol abuse' refers to specific incidents where individuals over-indulge in alcohol consumption and so damage their health, but do not necessarily become addicted to the substance such that these incidents become a regular and unavoidable.

'Alcoholism' refers to that state of being where the consumer of alcohol has become dependant. They have ceased all control over their intake, such that they continue to consume compulsively, despite the noticeable inflictions the drug is doing to their physical and mental well-being.

There is a straightforward medical explanation as to how alcohlism . Regular binges in alcohol leads to chemical imbalances in the brain or leads to depletion of certain chemicals, which makes the body ache for alcohol. Having said that, various factors generally combine to advance someone into alcoholism - both social factors as well genetic and psychological ones.

In terms of genetics, it has clearly been shown that persons with a history of alcoholism in their families are far more likely to become alcoholics themselves that those without such a family history. Also, general high stress levels or a particular high emotional trauma can lead a person to drink excessively, as the alcohol has a direct effect on the stress hormones.

In terms of wider psychological arguments, a low self-esteem and depression regularly contribute to increased alcohol consumption, which can result in alcoholism. In terms of friends and peer group, if a person mixes regularly with alcoholic persons, this will obviously make them more prone to the disease.

Ironically, this can be a problem at both ends of the social spectrum. It is often the culture of high-powered business people to drink numerous cocktails and highly-alcoholic drinks at social gatherings, and certainly persistent alcohol consumptions can become the norm for young working class males who make it each day to the pub after work.

There is no quick and easy cure for alcoholism. Different from other diseases, neither drugs nor surgery can do anything to clear the problem. One curious discovery though that researches have made about alcohol addiction is that the person indulging in the habit feels better, not while indulging, but at that instant the decision is made to indulge! This suggests that the best time way to deal with alcoholism may require looking more closely on that moment when thought of indulging enters the brain. If an alcoholic can exercise restraint for himself such that he can divert his attention when the introductory thought arises, this may be the simplest path to a cure!

Of course, given the various of contributing factors and differing levels of self-discipline, every case of alcoholism is going to be unique, which is why treatment is generally best guided by specialized health-care professionals.

Article Source: http://www.rightarticle.com

For more information on Alcoholism and Alcohol Addictions Treatment, visit Alcoholism

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated