Alcoholism is a devastatingly chronic and progressive disease. Manor House Recovery Center, a treatment program with locations in the United States, indicates that one of the most prominent characteristics of alcoholism as a disease is denial. Essentially, an alcoholic's brain has the ability to rationalize the problem by allowing you to convince yourself that alcohol is the solution to your problems rather than the crux.
How Alcohol Affects You
Many people who abuse alcohol believe that they're only hurting themselves. A few simple diagnostic questions clearly illustrate how alcoholism is a far-reaching, hurtful disease. Has a family member or friend ever expressed concern or complained about your drinking? Have you ever gotten a ticket for driving under the influence? Does your drinking affect your work, school or family dynamics? Answering yes to any of these questions indicates that your friends and family are concerned, you've put other people's lives at risk while you've driven under the influence, and your relationships suffer as a result of your drinking.
How Alcoholism Affects Families
Families might suffer the most when there is an alcoholic in the family. The National Association for Children of Alcoholics reports that about 45 percent of American adults have been exposed to alcoholism. "Parenting Under the Influence," an article written by addiction specialist Claudia Black, Ph.D., for the magazine "Psychology Today," explains how a parent with alcoholism damages families.
Children of an alcoholic are more likely to be late to school. They show concern about getting home on time. They do not dress properly for the weather. Some regress back to thumb sucking or other self-soothing behaviors. They miss school more often, avoid arguments and conflict, and show sudden mood swings and outbursts.
Neurological Effects
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that the effects of alcohol on your brain can begin as soon as taking one or two drinks when your vision becomes blurred, your speech slurs, reaction times are slowed and your memory is impaired. For alcohol-dependent people, the damage you inflict on your brain will persist after you've achieved sobriety.
Anxiety Disorders
Recent studies have uncovered direct links between alcohol abuse and anxiety disorders. Although social phobias tend to precede alcohol problems, generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorders begin in tandem with increased alcohol abuse or once problem drinking is underway, according to Kathleen T. Brady, MD, lead author of a 2007 study published in the "American Journal of Psychology." Further, laboratory studies with humans found that negative moods and emotions increase alcohol craving.
What to Do
If you have a drinking problem, it's likely that your disease is tricking you into believing otherwise. Common rationalizations for people who abuse alcohol are that you can stop at any time---you're just not ready to right now; your drinking is only affecting yourself; or, it's your prerogative to drink, and if it bothers anyone else, that's their problem. The first months of getting sober are not easy. But for those who successfully get treatment, the problems his drinking causes his health, his family and his social life will dissipate.
