Alcohol Abuse
“When people who believe themselves to be addicts or alcoholics come under great stress or trauma, they mentally give themselves permission to drink or use drugs as a remedy.”― Chris Prentiss
Understanding Alcohol Abuse
Abuse simply means using something in a wrong way. Alcohol abuse simply means consuming more than appropriate levels of alcohol. Drinking once a day in a small quantity for females and twice for males is identified to be a moderate drinking pattern.
When to Worry?
If you are consuming more than a moderate amount of alcohol for a prolonged time and it is interfering with your daily life functioning then it is something you need to take into account. Just imagine falling off the stairs and breaking a bone simply because you were in a hangover or getting unconscious while you are driving both situations are a perfect nightmare and may lead to serious conditions. Except for this too much alcohol consumption itself is injurious to health.
Symptoms of Alcohol Abuse
If you are consuming alcohol in more than safe amounts then you are likely to face the following symptoms of alcohol abuse that are most common among drug abusers:
- Speech problems
- Abnormal motor movements
- Decreased motor control
- Inability to focus
- Inability to register things to memory
- Blackout
- Stomach problems
Direct Risks of Alcohol Abuse
If someone consumes alcohol in a dangerously high quantity the outcomes can be even more severe than the above-mentioned symptoms. Such negligence and irresponsible behaviour can cause the following outcomes:
- Inability to breath
Excessive amount of intake of alcohol cause breathing problems such as asthma and COPD etc.
- Blood clots
Intake of alcohol reduces the formation of blood clots in your body and it causes problems in healing of wounds.
- Irregular heartbeat
Too much consumption of alcohol causes irregular heartbeat which is the reason for heart diseases and sometimes cause holiday heart syndrome.
- Cardiac Arrest
Excessive alcohol consumption is bad for your cardiac health causes heart attacks and respiratory problems.
- Anemia
Anemia is a disease in which the concentration of hemoglobin is reduced in the body and it is also caused by too much intake of alcohol.
Indirect Risks of Alcohol Abuse
Although alcohol has its health problems causing properties if used it can be a cause of some other problems that you don’t want to experience. We have mentioned some of them below so that you can have an idea:
- Damaging someone’s or own property
The state of a hangover due to alcoholism can be a cause of serious problems for you and you may end up unintentionally destroying your useful things such as PC, cell phone and other costly items which may be a cause of problems for you in future. You know what can be worse? If you cause damage to someone else’s property it is a serious crime and you can be held legally imprisoned for it.
- Getting arrested
You may be at the risk of getting arrested by police and be behind the bars for inappropriate behavior at public places such as a café or even in the streets due to alcohol consumption.
- Driving badly
You may face an accident which can be a cause of loss of life and vehicle damage. You may end up losing your driving license due to alcohol consumption. You may also get arrested for breaking traffic rules in the state of high alcohol consumption.
- Getting into a conflict
You may get into a conflict in drinking bar with someone. Alcohol consumption may also get you into a conflict with your loved ones and this will break your strong bonds with family and friends.
Treatment
Two treatments are most effective and useful for treating the alcohol abuse. However it is important for the person to be willing to withdraw from unhealthy drinking patterns.
Medications
Medicines can be given to the people facing this problem to reduce the consumptions of alcohol. These medicines help to overcome the cravings for alcohol which helps in decreasing the quantity consumed. These medicines are necessary to be taken along with the behavior therapy to help it work effectively.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is given to the patients for reducing the consumption of alcoholism and it is one of the most useful treatments. It helps to change the behavior of patients. The best thing about this therapy and medications if used together is that it helps the person in decreasing the risk of developing the same problem again in the future.