Effects of alcohol: Alcohol dependency can have serious and deleterious effects on the individual’s health, and more importantly, on the family.

Some of the physical effects of alcohol addiction are liver cirrhosis; damage to the nervous system and pancreas, heart disease, alcoholic neuritis, and sexual dysfunction and related disorders, any of which can be a cause of death in the alcohol addict.

By far, the greatest reason for which alcohol is considered a social evil is the effect it has on the family. Children of Alcoholics (COAs) experience the effects of having an alcoholic parent or sibling from the earliest stages of their upbringing. Alcoholic parents are proven beyond doubt to be vastly inferior as caregivers.

Most alcoholic parents generally discourage their children from socializing. They are known to be unpredictable, volatile and inconsistent in dealing with children. They transmit most of the symptoms of their addiction to their children, who suffer psychosomatic ailments like depression, headache, eating disorders, stomach upsets and insomnia. COAs are almost certain to develop learning disabilities.

Worst of all, these negative influences and effects grow into their adulthood, since childhood impacts emotional development of later life greatly. Such children normally have tendencies like fretfulness, undue nervousness and maladjustment with society, and usually become unsuccessful parents themselves.

It is common to find that the education of such children gets disrupted because huge portions of the family income get spent on alcohol consumption by the addict in the family. When these children, bereft of love, try to find other avenues from which they can fill this lacuna at home, there are good chances of their ending up looking for the missing emotional comfort with the wrong people. This can lead to further family and social tensions. They could find solace in such habits as drugs or alcohol itself, or worse, crime.

Domestic violence, one of the most important products of alcoholism, costs the American economy anywhere between $ three billion and $ 10 billion a year by way of losses caused by absenteeism, healthcare costs, reduced employee turnover and so on.

Withdrawal symptoms: these can often lead to various complications. These include nausea, sweating, nausea and continuous shaking of the hands.

Addiction treatment programs: alcoholism addiction treatment programs take up long term, step-by-step methods in helping the addict deal with the addiction. A detox center first rids the body of the toxins the addiction would have brought in.

Drug and alcohol rehab centers try to inculcate coping techniques in the addict. A treatment center comes up with detailed counseling, supportive programs and encourages interaction with self help groups. Some rehabs encourage harm-reduction techniques such as group therapy, psychotherapy, medication, rationing and moderation of the drink and nutritional supplementation.

Because you recognize that you have a an issue then you are more than likely to take action. This may take a while though, it took me two decades to recognize my problem and to grow up enough to take action. If you’re reading my article then there’s a good possibility that you recognize you have a drinking problem and part of you knows that you want to do something about it. It doesn’t have to be right now or in the near future (depending on how serious your dependence on alcohol is, of course.) , but at least you’re thinking about it and that is commendable.

For the majority of people frequent social drinking doesn’t present a problem and result in long-term alcohol abuse and dependence. Alas however, there are millions of individuals around the world who either are dependent upon (or have an addiction to) alcohol. These Individuals continue to drink even though they face severe consequences in their worklife, health and their close relationships. This on its own is a typical sign of alcoholism.

People who abuse alcohol but aren’t suffering from addiction may well drink excessively but will not have the usual signs of alcohol dependence. Alcohol abusers are usually in control of their drinking habits whereas those who are dependent on alcohol display many of the signs of alcoholism and will be alcohol dependent.

What creates the alcoholic? Alcohol addiction affects individuals from every walk of life, it could be that alcoholism is a family issue has been a problem in the family, it could be the result of abuse or neglect, a death in the family, pressures at work etc, or caused by a myriad of other reasons. Alcohol addiction may not be immediately obvious to the individual with the drinking problem, but knowing the signs and symptoms of alcoholism is the first step that needs to be taken to confront the condition.

The First Signs of Alcohol addiction

It’s not hard to tell whether someone has a problem with alcohol and they are easy to spot and I have listed some typical signs:

Have you ever considered that you drink excessively and that you should cut down on your drinking?

Do you suffer from guilt because of your drinking?

Do you have a drink when you get up?

You are aware that you are drinking too much.

A day never passes without you having a drink.

You drink to make yourself feel better.

Once you start drinking it is impossible to stop.

Your tolerance to alcohol has grown

If someone confronts you about your alcoholism you say you don’t have a problem

You always drink before going to any social occasion if you know that alcohol was not going to be available.

You gulp your drinks.

You hide evidence of your drinking

Do you crave a drink and regularly think about drinking throughout the day

Are you unable to stop yourself from buying alcohol in a social situation?

Do you suffer from withdrawal symptoms when you don’t drink and get anxious or irritable, feel sick and get the shakes?

Do you need to drink large amounts to achieve the same results that used to when you first started drinking

Do you do things you later regret when drinking

Do you exhibit risky behaviour for example, driving under the influence of alcohol?

Do you put yourself at risk of getting pregnant, date rape or sexual transmitted diseases?

Do you get into trouble with the police because of your drinking?

Do you drink even though you are hurting your relationships, health and are putting your job at risk?

Do you drink because you need to relax to overcome stress or to help you to sleep?

Do you need to have a drink to be able to socialise?

Do you hide evidence of your drinking and lie about your drinking?

Do you have frequent blackouts?

Do you feel unable to give up drinking?

Do you worry about running out of alcohol if you are somewhere where alcohol is not available or hard to get?

How many of these traits apply to you? If there are more than a few then you really do have reason for concern and you simply must do something about it. If you now recognize that you do have an alcohol addiction and and feel ready to do something about it, then congratulations, because you have taken the first step towards stopping drinking and that is commendable.

What should I do Next?

Make an appointment to see your physician because they can help you, they will be able to prescribe you with drugs to make withdrawal easy. They might also be able to organise an appointment with an alcohol counsellor who can help you to quit. You may also be interested in an ebook that I have written outlining in detail all of the techniques and tools I used to beat my alcoholism.

Learn How To Stop Drinking Today

Hazards of Alcohol


It might be hazardous to neglect alcoholism symptoms because these signs warn you about the harmful consequences. Normally you can notice alcoholism symptoms in early stage and if you do not take desired steps to treat it, it can be critical. Moreover, alcoholism symptoms bear detrimental effects on your family, surroundings and even career. The consequences of alcoholism symptoms are not only physical stress but also mental. These indications recur, depending on the continuance of alcohol abuse and also it is essential to diagnose it as early as possible.

General Symptoms


Common alcoholism symptoms are as follows:

* Pain in abdomen

* Vomiting

* Nausea

* More capacity to tolerate

* Swollen face and red eyes

* Swelling of lever

alcoholism symptoms indicate the existence of a disease in the body. Generally, the capacity of body to drink alcohol increases with the passing of time. alcoholism symptoms lead to depression, sleep disorder and bad temper. With the passage of time the drinking capacity of alcoholic increases as various psychological problems become distressing and to soothe the pain drinking becomes essential. Alcoholics might deny as having alcoholism symptoms and continue surreptitious drinking. Alcoholic intake is always accompanied by sudden swings in dramatic moods and aggression.

Treatment for Prevention


For preventing these alcoholism symptoms, you are required to take proper treatment so that you could get back to your normal life. If an alcoholic is not provided sufficient treatment then he/she might isolate himself/herself from the rest of the society and even family members. Alcoholic might try to keep himself away both physically and mentally so that he could save himself from any kind of personal remark. Another general symptom of alcoholism is to drink in very odd hours. As the disease of alcoholism increases, alcoholic starts drinking even during working hours. Thus it creates adversities at work place also. The major alcoholism symptom is that the alcoholic tries his hard not to drink but even then he find himself unable to do it and ultimately resorts to the drinking.

Thus, alcoholism symptoms can be identified very easily. If it is treated at the right time, then it can be cured early.

If you are perceptive, youll pick up on changes in behaviour, mood and attitude.
Look out forr changes in behaviour for example, is the person drinking more, becoming secretive, drinking earlier in the day, spending little time doing activities that once brought them enjoyment? Did they used to spend more time with the family and involved with hobbies?

Youll discover alterations in mood with the individual perhaps displaying a defensive attitude when asked about things, especially their drinking, and they may have mood swings, be irrational and withdrawn.
Shifts in attitude by the individual you suspect of alcoholism will appear as they lose interest in things they once enjoyed, become increasingly critical and negative about life and become so different to the person they used to be..

A good rule of thumb is,”If you feel that something is wrong, then there probably is…