Alcohol Addiction Signs and the Health Risks Associated with Abusive Drinking
Alcohol addiction is a progressive debilitating disease with four main aspects:
· Physical dependence – experiencing withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches, the shakes, excessive sweating, or nausea after stopping drinking
· Craving – a strong need or compulsion to drink
· Tolerance – the need to drink increasingly more amounts of alcohol in order to get a “buzz” or to get “high”
· Loss of control – the inability to quit drinking once the individual has started drinking
Alcohol is a problem if it causes major issues in any part of your life. This includes your relationships, finances, health, employment, or your life at home. You probably have a problem with alcohol if you think about drinking throughout the day, if you commonly drink more than you plan to, or if you keep trying to quit drinking on your own but cannot.
The following represents some of the symptoms of alcoholism:
· Experiencing physical withdrawal symptoms such as “the shakes,” sweating and nausea if you don’t drink
· Keeping alcohol in unlikely places in your vehicle, at work, or at home
· The inability to limit the amount of alcohol you drink
· Not remembering conversations, activities, or events, sometimes referred to as “blacking out”
· Experiencing alcohol-related relationship, financial, employment, or health difficulties
· Drinking alone or in secret
The following list includes additional “signs” that alcohol is a problem in your life:
· Loss of self-esteem
· Taking sick days for hangovers
· Blackouts/memory loss
· Getting driving tickets while under the influence of alcohol
· Trouble having erections (men)
· Accidents at work, at home, or in your vehicle
Because denial is commonly a characteristic of alcoholism, it’s unlikely that people who are alcohol addicted will seek medical rehab on their own. In fact, it usually takes family members, friends, relatives, or co-workers to encourage the alcohol dependent individual to undergo screening for alcoholism or to seek professional treatment.
For alcohol dependent individuals all the willpower and self resolve in the world usually does not help the individual refrain from drinking. Stated differently, alcoholics are for the most part powerless to quit or manage their drinking without professional help.
Do you need a drink the first thing in the morning? Do you need an increasing amount of alcohol before you start feeling its effects? If you feel that you have a drinking problem and if you feel guilty about your drinking and can’t seem to control how much you drink, make an appointment with your doctor so that he or she can evaluate your drinking situation.
Based on your doctor’s evaluation of the gravity of your drinking problem, you may require alcohol treatment. Your alcohol therapy will usually consist of a number of stages. If you have become alcohol dependent, treatment may include detoxification, taking doctor-prescribed medications to manage your alcohol withdrawal symptoms, medications to help avoid an alcohol relapse, individual and/or group counseling, support, and outpatient follow-up treatment.
Counseling can help you identify situations and feelings that “trigger” the urge to drink and to find new ways to respond that do not include alcohol consumption.
Alcohol addiction rehab is usually available in rehab hospitals, alcohol rehab centers or clinics, or in residential treatment facilities. Some of the more successful alcoholism programs also provide outpatient follow-up therapy that can last up to a year or longer.
Alcohol addiction is a disease that can be treated, but there is no current cure. Alcohol addiction is a serious problem that affects millions of American families. If you or someone you love has a drinking problem, get professional assistance now.
