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Drug Addiction
Alcoholism is a very serious disease, each year more than 100,000 people in the United States die because of excessive alcohol consumption. Nearly 14 million people currently suffer from some sort of alcohol addiction and meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorders. Alcohol is one of the most commonly used drugs among youth under the age of 21 and alcohol kills 6.5 times more young people than all other illegal drugs combined.
Alcohol is a depressant which is consumed in liquid form. When a person drinks alcohol, it is absorbed by the stomach and gets distributed to all the body tissues. The way alcohol effects a person depends upon many factors such as body weight, size, gender and the amount of food consumed prior to drinking. Because of the way alcohol affects a person is one of the main reasons why it is such a popular inclusion in social situation.
The immediate effects of drinking alcohol include; slurred speech, sleep disturbance, dizziness and talkativeness. Low to moderates amounts of alcohol can also increase the likelihood of aggressive behavior, domestic violence and child abuse. Another downside of excessive drinking is a “hangover,” which consists of a headache, nausea, thirst, dizziness and fatigue.
Alcohol addiction is a serious disease which can cause irreversible damage to health. Long term effects of excessive alcohol use include alcoholism and withdrawal when drinking is discontinued. Withdrawal from alcohol can include severe anxiety, depression, hallucinations, tremors and convulsions. It can be very dangerous to use alcohol in large amounts for a long period of time, when combined with poor diet and nutrition; a person can experience permanent damage to the vital organs, brain and liver.
There are tolerance and withdrawal symptoms that come from drinking and having an alcohol addiction. The more alcohol consumed, the more a body depends on it, more and more alcohol is needed to produce the same effect, this is called tolerance. When a person drinks heavily, they will experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop drinking.
There is a profound difference between people who abuse alcohol and people who have an alcohol addiction. Problem drinkers are people who drink too much on a regular basis, while a person with an addiction to alcohol needs the alcohol to function. Symptoms of an addiction to alcohol include; physical dependency, an inability to stop despite severe and dangerous physical and psychological consequences and when the condition progresses, it can lead to impairment of job function and may possibly effect relationships.
An alcohol addiction is a very dangerous disease which requires treatment and medical care. One of the most profound effects of alcohol abuse and addiction is denial, the craving to drink is so strong a person can find any number of ways to rationalize the situation and justify drinking more. Without having the help of an alcohol rehab program, many people are unable to quit drinking on their own.
If you or someone you love is facing an addiction to alcohol, please contact us today for help, you are not alone.
