By David Peters
Do you find yourself longing for the evening, only to grab a pint of beer or maybe down a few stiffs? Are you the first one to 'raise a toast to that' or propose a celebratory drink? Do you find these occasions where you decide to indulge yourself with just a couple of drinks cropping up a lot more frequently than they used to? If all of these situations sound distinctly familiar, then it's time to take a minute to seriously reevaluate those drinking habits. For these are none but the precursors to the most pervasive addiction of the modern era Alcoholism.
Alcoholism is defined as the compulsive need to drink, even when the practice of drinking begins to hamper your health, cause strains and tensions in the family and when you need to resort to ever increasing quantities to derive that 'high' that alcohol gives you. It also involves you worrying about not having enough alcohol to consume and obsessing about ways to wean out more sources. Similarly, if you feel the need to be intoxicated in order to function 'normally' then you might be in the category of people who are not indulgent, but dependent on alcohol.
The most worrying of all symptoms of alcoholism is that the victim is more often than not, in the state of denial. This means that he is nor only defensive about his habit, but resentful about others commenting on it, simply because he himself is trying hard to convince himself that there's nothing wrong about how much he drinks, or worse, he just doesn't find anything abnormal about it. Also, many alcoholics are deceptively natural in their appearance and interactions, thus alleviating any cause of worry about just how dependant on alcohol they are until they're overcome by their addiction.
There are several factors which determine how susceptible you are to addiction. Although many of these causes are rooted in your psychological patterns of behavior, it could also depend on how genetically pre-disposed you are to teetering on the verge of alcohol abuse. Hence, if you have had several instances of alcoholics up your family tree then chances are that you're pretty close to becoming one yourself. Also, if you tend to restart to numbing yourself with a round of drinks when the stress is simply too high, or have been experiencing an emotional slump, then you are more likely to fall prey to alcoholism.
The ill-effects of long term abuse of alcohol are many. Alcohol directly impacts your liver, wherein you will find a significant loss of appetite, nausea, abdominal pain and sometimes even a fever. These are sure signs of Alcoholic Hepatitis or inflammation of the liver, which over time can deteriorate to yellowing of the skin or jaundice and finally cause irreversible scarring of the liver tissue, which is termed as Liver Cirrhosis. Alcohol can also aversely affect your stomach lining, thus interfering with the absorption of several essential nutrients, or even raise your blood pressure, eventually leading to heart failure or stroke. Alcohol abuse also causes several complications in the menstrual cycle for women and is one of the most common causes of erectile dysfunction in males. Excessive intake of alcohol has also been directly linked to an increased risk of cancer and several neurological maladies. Long term abuse also causes a number of social problems, which range from domestic abuse and violence to a marked decline in performance and productivity at the workplace.
If, in all honesty, you have even the slightest inkling of a doubt that you're alcohol consumption patterns do tend to border on the high side, or if your family or even friends seem to be a lot more concerned about your 'binges' than they were in the past, then it's time you had a heart-to-heart with your doctor. What you must remember is that when it comes to determining whether your drinking is taking its toll on you, you are not the best judge. Your doctor will refer you to appropriate counselors to deal with your habit, based on what level of treatment he deems necessary. If your drinking is just marginally higher than the recommended levels, he will simply ask you to curtail your habit. If you are indeed in the throes of addiction, a detoxification program will be prescribed which then needs to be followed up by counseling and group therapy sessions. For more excruciating withdrawal symptoms, you may also be prescribed medication to ease your process of recovery. However, it is essential that you take the initiative to avoid gathering and interactions where you might be coaxed into a drink and refrain completely from any form of alcoholic beverage until your counselor permits it.
So, the next time you reach into the refrigerator for an ice cold beer or decide to head back to the bar for the second round of drinks take a minute to consider whether you really want to go that way. It's just a single step that leads you to cross the fine line between celebrating an event with a drink, and creating an event which will celebrate the drink. As they say, it's never too late to begin. So, take that first step to a healthy and fruitful journey down life's myriad lanes and let's not raise a toast to that!
Alcoholism is defined as the compulsive need to drink, even when the practice of drinking begins to hamper your health, cause strains and tensions in the family and when you need to resort to ever increasing quantities to derive that 'high' that alcohol gives you. It also involves you worrying about not having enough alcohol to consume and obsessing about ways to wean out more sources. Similarly, if you feel the need to be intoxicated in order to function 'normally' then you might be in the category of people who are not indulgent, but dependent on alcohol.
The most worrying of all symptoms of alcoholism is that the victim is more often than not, in the state of denial. This means that he is nor only defensive about his habit, but resentful about others commenting on it, simply because he himself is trying hard to convince himself that there's nothing wrong about how much he drinks, or worse, he just doesn't find anything abnormal about it. Also, many alcoholics are deceptively natural in their appearance and interactions, thus alleviating any cause of worry about just how dependant on alcohol they are until they're overcome by their addiction.
There are several factors which determine how susceptible you are to addiction. Although many of these causes are rooted in your psychological patterns of behavior, it could also depend on how genetically pre-disposed you are to teetering on the verge of alcohol abuse. Hence, if you have had several instances of alcoholics up your family tree then chances are that you're pretty close to becoming one yourself. Also, if you tend to restart to numbing yourself with a round of drinks when the stress is simply too high, or have been experiencing an emotional slump, then you are more likely to fall prey to alcoholism.
The ill-effects of long term abuse of alcohol are many. Alcohol directly impacts your liver, wherein you will find a significant loss of appetite, nausea, abdominal pain and sometimes even a fever. These are sure signs of Alcoholic Hepatitis or inflammation of the liver, which over time can deteriorate to yellowing of the skin or jaundice and finally cause irreversible scarring of the liver tissue, which is termed as Liver Cirrhosis. Alcohol can also aversely affect your stomach lining, thus interfering with the absorption of several essential nutrients, or even raise your blood pressure, eventually leading to heart failure or stroke. Alcohol abuse also causes several complications in the menstrual cycle for women and is one of the most common causes of erectile dysfunction in males. Excessive intake of alcohol has also been directly linked to an increased risk of cancer and several neurological maladies. Long term abuse also causes a number of social problems, which range from domestic abuse and violence to a marked decline in performance and productivity at the workplace.
If, in all honesty, you have even the slightest inkling of a doubt that you're alcohol consumption patterns do tend to border on the high side, or if your family or even friends seem to be a lot more concerned about your 'binges' than they were in the past, then it's time you had a heart-to-heart with your doctor. What you must remember is that when it comes to determining whether your drinking is taking its toll on you, you are not the best judge. Your doctor will refer you to appropriate counselors to deal with your habit, based on what level of treatment he deems necessary. If your drinking is just marginally higher than the recommended levels, he will simply ask you to curtail your habit. If you are indeed in the throes of addiction, a detoxification program will be prescribed which then needs to be followed up by counseling and group therapy sessions. For more excruciating withdrawal symptoms, you may also be prescribed medication to ease your process of recovery. However, it is essential that you take the initiative to avoid gathering and interactions where you might be coaxed into a drink and refrain completely from any form of alcoholic beverage until your counselor permits it.
So, the next time you reach into the refrigerator for an ice cold beer or decide to head back to the bar for the second round of drinks take a minute to consider whether you really want to go that way. It's just a single step that leads you to cross the fine line between celebrating an event with a drink, and creating an event which will celebrate the drink. As they say, it's never too late to begin. So, take that first step to a healthy and fruitful journey down life's myriad lanes and let's not raise a toast to that!
About the Author:
Discover how to quit Alcohol Written by the Illustrious Ed Philips and Quit Alcohol Now.
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