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.
Alcoholism is a disease, characterized by the need to drink alcohol in order to maintain normal life. Alcoholism is also a progressive disease, meaning that as time goes by the effects are intensified and the body is harmed even further. Obviously, one has to consume alcohol to become an alcoholic in the first place. Most people who drink don’t binge drink every time they do drink, and if they do then they’re probably well versed in the art of nursing hangovers. When alcoholism starts, one of the first warning signs is that a person may be drinking at totally inappropriate times: while driving, while working, and other instances where it is required to stay sober.
Alcoholics may be excessive drinkers, or they may choose to drink at entirely inappropriate times and places such as before church or while driving. People who drink in these situations can be considered mild alcoholics by refusing to stay sober when sobriety is called for.
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.
Alcohol actually builds tolerance very quickly, and once a person finds themselves having to drink dangerous amounts in order to become drunk enough to satisfy themselves, then they have become chemically dependent on alcohol. Once this physical dependence is developed, it will prove very difficult to quit drinking without help.
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.
