A Guide To Alcoholism

Studies have shown that adults who drink one or two alcoholic beverages a day often live longer than people who do not drink at all. But studies also link alcohol with a variety of other health issues such as liver disease, cirrhosis of the liver, cognitive problems, and pancreatitis. So how many drinks are too many? When does having a good time become an addiction? Although alcohol remains legal, the fact is that it is a hard drug, comparable in its addictiveness to illegal drugs such as heroin and amphetamines.

The disease alcoholism is a progressive disease in which a person feels compelled to drink in order to lead what they consider a regular life. As a person continues to be an alcoholic, their health will continually diminish until they become sober. As you know, one must first drink alcohol to be an alcoholic, but most people who decide to drink are not binge drinkers.

Alcoholism starts as a psychological addiction and can quickly lead to physical dependence. Once a person feels the need to drink to maintain normality within their life, they are already started down the path towards addiction.

Once this psychological need for drinking has set in, family and friends may become concerned or embarrassed. If the alcoholic continues to drink despite being begged not to, then many alcohol related problems such as divorce, estrangement from children, and spousal abuse may occur. If things like these are taking place and the person still drinks, they are most definitely addicted to alcohol.

This is the make or break stage for alcoholics. If they realize that they are damaging their lives, yet continue to drink then alcohol has become a full-fledged addiction and they are dependent upon getting drunk. People dependent on alcohol manage to incorporate alcohol into normally sober situations. They spend much of their time drinking to excess, and eventually a tolerance for alcohol is built up.

If a physically dependent alcoholic stops drinking, withdrawal takes place in a few hours sometimes. The first stage of withdrawal is uncomfortable at best and can be characterized by moderate shaking, nausea, headaches, anxiety, and sweating. The need to drink becomes desperate and it is at this stage that most alcoholics attempting to quit cold turkey go back to the bottle. Even though this part of an alcoholic withdrawal can be extremely painful in some cases, it is not the worst thing that can happen nor is it deadly.

After a chemically dependent alcoholic stops drinking, the onset of withdrawal can take place immediately. Within hours a heavy drinker will begin to feel nauseous, anxious, and develop headaches. As uncomfortable as this may be for the person enduring it, the worst may be yet to come.

You must simply hope that the person lives through the ordeal and never drinks again. Dropping the bottle and never picking it back up can be difficult, even deadly, but with the aid of support groups or licensed professionals, it can be done.

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