Is alcoholism a significant problem in the United States? The statistics talk by themselves. Alcohol has been detected as the fourth leading cause of chronic health problems and preventable causes of death. According to the World Health Organization, alcohol abuse caused 3 million deaths worldwide only in 2016. That is around 5% of the world’s total deaths, with impressively high costs estimated at 245 billion dollars in 2010.
But alcohol is available for anyone to consume, and we don’t have as many advertisements against alcohol as compared to tobacco smoking. Many people wonder what is the dividing line between drinking alcohol moderately and turning it into an unhealthy habit.
In this article, you will find the answer to this question and much more.
How can we define alcoholism?
Alcoholism can be defined as the inability to take control of your own drinking habits. This is a broad concept that covers different types of alcoholism and different degrees. It is not about how much alcohol you drink or how often. Alcoholism is not being able to quit or feeling an irresistible urge to continue drinking. In time, this lack of control reflects the patient’s daily life, work, and relationships with others.
As mentioned, there are different types of alcoholism. We can say there are a mild, moderate, and severe types of alcoholism depending on how many symptoms you have and how bad it has affected your personal life. None of these types should be underestimated because alcoholism is one of those problems that people neglect until they are entirely out of control.
Read Also:
- Foods That Cause Depression: 8 Foods That May Worsen Depression
- Low Fiber Meal Plan: List of 18 Low Fiber Foods and Foods to Avoid!
- Top 10 Antioxidant Superfoods You Shouldn’t Ignore I What Are Antioxidants?, Types, Benefits
- Heart-Healthy Foods: 8 Foods That Are Good for Your Heart I Secrets to a Healthy Heart
- Foods High in B12: Top 12 Foods That Are High in Vitamin B12
- Food Items That Can Treat Anemia: 15 Best and Worst Foods For Anemia Patients To Eat
- The Best Low-Carb Foods I 12 Healthy Low-Carb Foods That Taste Incredible You Shouldn’t Ignore it!
- Low Sodium Foods | Top 20 Low Sodium Foods | List for How to Start a Heart-Healthy Diet
What happens in alcoholism (causes)
The reason why people turn to alcoholism is varied. But regardless of the cause, they gradually create a dependency and turn to drinking as an alternative way to solve their problems. It is common to start drinking when we’re going through difficult times. Alcohol triggers different responses in the brain that makes us feel better temporarily. Our brain detects this false improvement as something to look forward to, and a habit develops that slowly becomes abuse and alcoholism.
People usually start drinking alcohol for one of these causes:
-
They want to relieve stress levels
They may feel that life is complicated and turn to alcohol for its sedative and antidepressant properties. They find pleasure in drinking and look forward to their next shot. As they build tolerance, they need a higher dose to obtain the same effect, leading to a spiral of abuse that sooner or later affects their quality of life.
-
They want to feel good
People who drink often need a break from their reality and sometimes feel the need for alcohol to do better in social situations. They feel relieved and try to escape their own mind, problems, and reality.
-
They need something to cope with their loss
Starting to drink after loss is very common, but not positive at all. People feel the loss of their job or loved ones, and during these difficult times, they turn to alcohol to ease their grief and temporarily feel better. They don’t know that it is more likely to become an additional problem in the future.
-
They need something to feel less anxious
Alcohol is an inhibitor of the nervous system and has anxiolytic effects. In other words, it calms down anxiety. Thus, people who often feel anxious can start using alcohol to overcome these uncomfortable situations, especially if anxiety is associated with social situations. They may feel the need for alcohol if they want to create new bonds and connect to other people. The opposite happens, though, and alcohol starts affecting our social relationships as it becomes a problem.
-
They need to cope with trauma
Many patients with alcoholism had a history of trauma, and this problem is pervasive in individuals with posttraumatic stress. They feel the threat and traumatic memories come in, and then alcohol replaces these feelings with a sensation of being in control or at least calmed down and relaxed. Unresolved trauma should be evaluated to recover from alcoholism.
Risk factors
The risk factors of alcoholism are closely related to the causes listed above. We can break them down into:
- Psychological risk factors: Feeling depressed, anxious, or not feeling comfortable in social situations may trigger alcoholism. This problem is prevalent in bipolar disorder and similar conditions.
- Personality risk factors: Certain personalities are linked to more cases of alcoholism. One of these personalities is risk-takers and people who disregard the consequences of their actions. There are also those social drinkers who feel shy without their drink and feel that they become more likable this way.
- Genetic risk factors: According to studies, being children of alcoholic parents can increase the likelihood of alcoholism. Various genes have been identified (more than 50), but not all cases respond to genes. They only create the baseline and a predisposition to become alcoholics under certain circumstances.
- Social risk factors: Alcohol sometimes has a social aspect to it, and those who live in families who normalize alcoholic behaviors are more likely to become alcoholics themselves. In some circles, alcohol is glamorized, and people start drinking to become acceptable for others.
- Environmental risk factors: Different factors around us can also contribute to alcoholism. For example, easier access to alcohol in some countries may lead to an increase in the cases of alcoholism. Family wealth and having drinks readily available on the counter is also a risk factor. Undergoing stress or enduring loss can also become a factor that is outside of us but contributes to alcoholism.
Signs and symptoms
Detecting alcoholism can be difficult for different reasons. One of them is that alcoholic people are very unlikely to accept that they have alcohol problems. Actually, this is one of the symptoms, as we will look through. Another reason is that alcoholism is usually held in secret, and spotting the signs and symptoms may become difficult at the earliest stages of the condition.
Out of the showing signs and symptoms, these ones are particularly important:
- Regularly becoming intoxicated with alcohol: Intoxicated means that you’re drinking more alcohol than the body can handle. This causes dizziness, vomiting, personality changes, and cognitive problems. There’s no need to lose consciousness to talk about intoxication.
- Reduction of normal interest in hobbies and other activities: Alcohol becomes the center of their enjoyment, and they feel that they won’t enjoy other activities without alcohol.
- Overcoming tolerance has the same effects: These individuals develop tolerance to alcohol. So, they need to drink more to have the same effects. Since they are actually after the effects of alcohol and not only the taste or the act of passing food, they are prone to drinking more heavily until they feel the hype.
- Irritability and tiredness, especially when mentioning the topic: Alcohol triggers neurotransmitters of pleasure, and they become resistant to other stimuli different from alcohol. Thus, people with alcoholism tend to change their behaviors, become irritable when not consuming, and may also look tired. They become angry when someone talks about alcohol and suggests that they need to drink less.
- It is impossible to say no: When they have the opportunity of drinking, they can’t say no.
- Secret consumption and dishonesty: When people around them start questioning their habits, these individuals begin to consume secretly and act dishonestly.
How is alcoholism diagnosed?
Diagnosing alcoholism is done by considering the signs and symptoms above, which are mainly associated with psychological problems that we can’t measure in tests. What blood tests and other lab results do is tell doctors when their patients are undergoing alcohol intoxication and measure the effects of alcohol in their lives.
Still, the diagnosis is complicated because patients do not contribute to detect alcohol problems and deny the problem. Thus, alcohol problems should be frequently screened in apparently normal patients, even if they do not appear to have alcohol problems.
Screening is done in all people older than 18 years and those associated with risky drinking, past substance abuse, or display the risk factors mentioned above. The right way to diagnose alcoholism is through one of these screening methods:
- The AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test): This screening test has 10 questions, each one should be given 0 to 4 points, and the points are added up to evaluate the drinking habits of the patient. They need to be very sincere in their answers.
- Abbreviated AUDIT (Audit-C): This is an abbreviated version of the AUDIT test that only includes three questions instead of 10.
- CAGE questionnaire: This questionnaire is very useful, too, because it is given face-to-face instead of a written questionnaire. It features 4 questions that evaluate the need or desire to cut down on drinking, the feeling of guilt or outside critics of their drinking habits, and the need to drink in the morning.
Complications
When not controlled, alcoholism can lead to several complications:
- Liver cirrhosis: It is one of the most commonly addressed complications. Alcohol is toxic to the liver, and this organ is equipped to break it down, but not in a large quantity. A volume of alcohol that overcomes the liver’s capacity causes injuries by forming free radicals and other substances that slowly destroy the normal structure of the organ.
- Pancreatitis: Pancreatitis is also common in alcoholic people because pancreatic enzymes are activated when exposed to alcoholic drinks. This leads to the destruction of the pancreas when the enzymes are activated inside of this organ.
- Cancer: Many cancers have alcoholism as one of the risk factors. It is known to increase the risk of rectal cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer, breast cancer, esophageal cancer, mouth cancer, and larynx cancer.
- Gastric ulcers: Alcoholism leads to inflammation of the stomach, and when sustained for a long time, this inflammation turns into ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding.
- Brain and cognitive problems: They are a direct consequence of alcohol and become a long-term consequence of alcoholism. Alcohol is an inhibitor of the nervous system and slows down its response and its capacity to store and retrieve memories. Studies show that heavy drinking increases the incidence of dementia in older adults.
- Nutritional problems: Alcohol obstructs the absorption of different nutrients, especially B vitamins. Thus, these patients often have nutritional problems.
- Cardiovascular disease: Heavy alcohol consumption increases cardiovascular risk. It increases blood pressure and the risk of heart failure, angina, and stroke.
- Injuries and accidents: Drinking and driving are one of the most common sources of car accidents. It is also linked to falls, drowning, domestic violence, and other problems with long-lasting consequences after a night out.
- Social and psychologic disturbances: Alcoholism affects our social life and our relationship with others, especially our loved ones and those who care for us. Domestic violence, break-ups, and becoming unemployed are expected consequences, not to mention psychological dependency and withdrawal syndrome.
Treating and recovering from alcoholism
Medical treatment of alcoholism is usually administered in cases of heavy intoxication. But once the patient has recovered his mental capacity, treating alcoholism starts with a brief intervention in which doctors try to determine the extent of alcoholism in this patient’s life. In this stage, it is important to make them understand the consequences of alcohol in their life, as listed above. Using evidence for the diagnosis is fundamental because these patients tend to deny their problems, but doctors should be empathetic and avoid sounding judgmental.
If the patient is ready to change his or her habits, many types of intervention are available, and each patient should choose the ones appropriate for themselves according to their personality, severity of alcoholism, and other features of their condition.
Read Also:
- Foods That Cause Depression: 8 Foods That May Worsen Depression
- Low Fiber Meal Plan: List of 18 Low Fiber Foods and Foods to Avoid!
- Top 10 Antioxidant Superfoods You Shouldn’t Ignore I What Are Antioxidants?, Types, Benefits
- Heart-Healthy Foods: 8 Foods That Are Good for Your Heart I Secrets to a Healthy Heart
- Foods High in B12: Top 12 Foods That Are High in Vitamin B12
- Food Items That Can Treat Anemia: 15 Best and Worst Foods For Anemia Patients To Eat
- The Best Low-Carb Foods I 12 Healthy Low-Carb Foods That Taste Incredible You Shouldn’t Ignore it!
- Low Sodium Foods | Top 20 Low Sodium Foods | List for How to Start a Heart-Healthy Diet
The available therapies and treatments include:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Support group therapy and AA
- Personal consultation and psychotherapy
- Vitamin replenishment
- Alcoholic abstinence
There is not only one way to treat alcoholism, and everyone is different. Our situations and problems are different every time as well. Thus, part of the treatment is being determined to quit alcohol but not being judgmental with yourself in the process.