Alcoholism is defined as chronic drinking that interferes with one’s personal, family, or professional life. While an occasional drink is not likely to be harmful, it’s important to recognize that alcohol is easily abused.
There are many factors which can foster alcoholism. Genetic predisposition, learned behavior, and childhood experiences, including abuse, are all thought to foster alcoholism. Progression of the disease varies from one person to the other. For some, it develops as soon as they begin to drink; for most people, however, it progresses slowly from periodic social drinking to more frequent indulgence until finally the person is addicted. Some alcoholics are binge drinkers and can go for weeks or even months without alcohol. But once they have a drink,they are unable to stop until they are incapacitated or pass out. Although these drinkers have difficulty maintaining sobriety, they are unlikely to suffer severe withdrawal symptoms when they abstain. In other cases, abstinence of 12 to 24 hours will produce withdrawal symptoms, such as sweating, irritability, nausea, vomiting, and weakness. More severe symptoms develop in 2 to 4 days and may include delirium tremens (DTs), a condition marked by fever and delirium.
Chronic overuse of alcohol takes a heavy psychological and physical toll. Alcoholics often do not appear to be intoxicated, but their ability to work and go about daily activities becomes increasingly impaired. They are very susceptible to depression, mood changes , and even violent behavior. Their suicide rate is higher than that of the general population. On average, alcoholism shortens life expectancy, not only from suicide but also because it raises the risk of other life-threatening diseases, including cancer of the pancreas, liver, and esophagus. Woman who drink heavily while pregnant may have a baby with fetal alcohol syndrome, a constellation of birth defects, including mental retardation. About fetal alcohol syndrome, we will be discussing in our next post, as this problem is rising every year in majority of the countries, specially in the United States, so needs a special mention for its effects and prevention methods.
{ 0 comments… add one now }