How Does Alcohol Become an Addiction?

Family or Environment

Alcohol addiction is difficult to understand because researchers and experts continue to search for reasons why certain people become alcoholics. Many alcoholics are predisposed to the problem because of heredity. A family history of alcoholism may increase the risk for a person to become an alcoholic. Other people suffer from the addiction because of environment, which includes culture, family, friends and peer pressure. Whatever the initial reasons, heavy drinkers who continue to drink more and more eventually reach a point where the body demands a certain amount of alcohol. Like other drug addicts, alcoholics develop a need for it. In the advanced stages of alcoholism, it can be life-threatening when the person stops drinking. Sudden withdrawal can lead to serious complications including tremors, convulsions, hallucinations and even death. In such cases, detox treatment is necessary. Anyone who is addicted to alcohol should seek professional and medical help.

Compulsion

Alcoholism is defined as a compulsive need for intoxicating liquid, whether it is beer, wine or hard liquor, according to All About Life Challenges, a self-help website. Some drinkers may just decide to quit when they want to, but an alcoholic cannot stop drinking because the craving for alcohol is so great it suppresses the person's ability to do so. Long-term drinking can actually disturb the structure and function of the central nervous system, making it difficult for the alcoholic to process information and come to terms with the harm being done.

Symptoms

Alcohol dependence includes four symptoms, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAA). There is a craving--a strong need or urge to drink. Second, the alcoholic exhibits a loss of control and is not able to stop drinking once the drinking has begun. Third, physical dependence can result in withdrawal symptoms that include nausea, sweating, shakiness and anxiety after ceasing drinking. Fourth, the alcoholic builds up a tolerance to alcohol and has a need to drink grater amounts of alcohol in order to get a high. The craving the alcoholic feels becomes as strong as the need for food and water. The alcoholic will continue drinking despite the problems it causes his family, health and career. You might be on the road to alcohol addiction if you have ever felt you should cut down on your drinking, you have felt annoyed by people who criticized your drinking, you have felt bad or guilty about your drinking, or if you have needed a drink first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or get rid of a hangover.