Symptoms, Effects, and Treatment of Alcoholism

There are probably more than ten million alcoholics in the United States Alone.

Alcoholism is defined as chronic drinking that interferes with one?s personal, family or professional life. It can have serious consequences on one's health. Alcoholism is not a weakness or a sign of poor character. It is a dangerous disease that can be fatal. Alcoholism is the result of genetic factors, childhood experiences and learned behavior. Children raised around alcoholics are more likely to become alcoholics as adults. If alcoholism runs in your family, you should avoid alcohol, it is highly addictive.

Some alcoholics do not drink every day. They are known as binge drinkers. They drink to excess for a period of time, then experience two to four days of sweating, nausea, vomiting and weakness, after which they may not drink for months.

Symptoms of Alcoholism

How do you know if you or someone you love has a problem with alcohol? If someone's drinking has caused you concern made you think that that they might have a problem with alcohol, the chances are good that they do.

Symptoms of alcoholism vary from person to person but usually include a mix of the following:

Abdominal pain
Nausea
Vomiting
Weakness
Redness or puffyness in the face
Making excuses to drink
Denial of drinking problems
Driving under the influence of alcohol
Drinking when alone
Lack of control over drinking, difficulty stopping
Tolerance to the effects of alcohol
Showing anger when criticized about drinking
Hiding alcohol places such as in a drawer
Drinking first thing in the morning
Aggressive behavior while drinking
Mood swings, depression, paranoia, anxiety, thoughts of suicide
Impaired memory, blackouts
Lack of apetite, malnutrician
Trouble sleeping without drinking
Missing work

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Effects of Alcoholism

Alcohol consumed in mass quantities is toxic to the body, not only does it sometimes cause stomach, kidney, and liver cancer, it alters the digestion and metabolism of nutrients the body needs to stay healthy.

Alcoholics are prone to sever thiamine deficiency; this has an effect of muscle cramps, muscle deteriating, nausea, and appetite loss, nerve disorders and depression. Many alcoholics are prone to deficiencies of folate, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and selenium. Vitamin A deficiency can cause night blindness, the deficiency of vitamin D, which works with calcium in the body will result in bone fractures. Large doses of alcohol can raise blood pressure and cause heart problems.

Other health problems that may result from alcoholism are; cardiovascular damage, pancreatic disease, neurological disorders, clotting disorders, weak immunity to infections, low blood sugar, high blood fat content and sexual dysfunction. Liver disease -hepatic cirrhosis- may develop. The damaged liver becomes unable to remove toxins from the blood.

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can result in fetal alcohol syndrome.

The social effects of alcoholism are just as damaging. Alcolics sometimes have serious trouble with relationships with friends, family, employers. Sometimes their actions affect innocent stangers. Alcoholics are more likely to drive drunk and ininjure or kill themselves or someont else.

Alcoholism should be taken very seriously. If you suspect someone you know may be an alcoholic it is suggested that you get a concensus from others who know the person well and present them with a list of the symptoms and effects of alcoholism such as this one. Also point out the things in that person's life that fit these sypmtoms. Until an alcoholic can admit that he or she has the disease it cannot be treated.

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Treatment, Detoxification, and Rehabilitation

Very few alcoholics are able to stop drinking on their own. Most require help from Alcoholics Anonymous, or other support group, or detoxification (detox) and rehabilitation (rehab) treatment centers. There are many support groups that are essential for a recovering alcoholic. Alcoholism is a very hard and long road, but sobriety can be obtained and maintained. Alcoholism has a good recovery rate with treatment and the support of the loved ones.

Alcoholics cannot just stop drinking. Their need for alcohol is as physical as your need for food and water. When the alcohol consumption is stopped, they can have very severe withdrawal symptoms, some severe enough to require hospitalization. This, of course, is usually for the very severe alcoholics who drink a great amount of alcohol.

Many alcoholics will suffer several relapses while trying to achieve sobriety. Relapses are very common and do not mean that the person will never be sober, it just means that they have to try again, and take one day at a time.

There are several types of treatment available for alcohol abusers. The type of treatment that is best for the individual will depend on how severe the person's alcoholism is and the treatments that are available in their community. Many professionals recommend more than one type of simultaneous treatments.

There are basically only two treatments for alcoholism itself - detoxification and counseling/rehabilitation. Other treatments may be needed to treat the effects of alcholism such as liver disease.

During detox, the patient is monitored by a doctor while the alcohol leaves their system. Sometimes medications are prescribed to help with withdrawal symptoms and to help relieve the cravings for alcohol.

Individual and/or group counseling can greatly help rehabilitation of a recovering alcoholic. Hospitals and treatment centers usually offer counseling to recovering alcoholics and there are many out-patient avenues from professional counseling to peer support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous.

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12 Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous

1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.

2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority ? a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.

3. The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.

4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole.

5. Each group has but one primary purpose ? to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.

6. An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.

7. Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.

8. Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever non-professional, but our service centers may employ special workers.

9. A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.

10. Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.

11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.

12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

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12-Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

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