Almost 18 million Americans abuse alcohol, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Alcohol abuse is associated with an alarming array of social and physical problems. If you or someone you know suffers from alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency, there's hope. Various therapies, treatment programs and medications can help overcome this addictive disease and begin undoing the damage caused by overconsumption of alcohol.
Symptoms
The NIAAA identifies alcohol abuse and addiction as having four major symptoms. If you're alcoholic, you'll experience a strong urge to drink; you won't be unable to cease drinking once you start; you tolerate alcohol's effects and thereby need more alcohol to feel happy; and you experience withdrawal symptoms if you don't drink, which may include anxiety, shaking and nausea.
Increased Risk Taking
Alcohol lowers your inhibitions, and regular abuse of it may provoke an increased rate of risk taking. According to MedlinePlus, risk lifestyle choices attributed to alcoholism may include a greater chance of being in a car accident, risky sexual practices that may lead to sexually transmitted diseases or a surprise pregnancy, and homicide or suicide.
Liver Disease
Your liver acts as the main organ that processes and metabolizes alcohol. Constant consumption of alcohol, or overconsumption that overwhelms your liver's ability to handle it, can create biological imbalances that may injure your liver, reports the American Liver Foundation. This may lead to several common alcohol-induced diseases, including fatty liver, alcoholic cirrhosis---this disease affects 20 percent of heavy drinkers within 10 years of drinking---and alcoholic hepatitis, which affects 35 percent of those who abuse alcohol. These liver diseases can cause other problems like high blood pressure, coma, kidney failure, bloating and bleeding from the esophagus.
Child Abuse
Alcohol abuse is one of the chief related factors in the 1 million annual cases of child abuse in the United States, according to the NIAAA. The institute reports that alcoholism can either be a causative factor, meaning it provokes the child abuse, or may be a consequence of child abuse. Forms of child abuse may include neglect, physical abuse and sexual abuse.
Brain Damage
Those who abuse alcohol may develop serious brain changes and damage. The NIAAA attributes such damage to vitamin deficiencies caused by excessive alcohol consumption as well as other alcohol-related health maladies that may affect the brain, such as liver disease. The institute reports that 80 percent of alcohol abusers have a thiamine deficiency. Thiamine deficiencies drastically increase the risk of developing serious mental disorders, such as the Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.
References
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: FAQs for the General Public
- MedlinePlus: Alcohol Use
- American Liver Foundation: Alcohol-Induced Liver Disease
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: Alcohol Abuse as a Risk Factor for and Consequence of Child Abuse
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: Alcohol's Damaging Effects on the Brain
