Stopping drinking has just become easier
Long-term heavy drinking damages the liver, nervous system, heart, and brain Click here to see an illustration.. It also causes high blood pressure, stomach problems, medicine interactions, sexual problems, osteoporosis, and cancer. Alcohol abuse can also lead to violence, accidents, social isolation, jail or prison time, and difficulties at work and home. Symptoms of an alcohol problem include personality changes, blackouts, drinking more and more for the same “high,” and denial of the problem. A person with an alcohol problem may gulp or sneak drinks, drink alone or early in the morning, and suffer from the shakes. He or she may also have family, school, or work problems or get in trouble with the law because of drinking. The use of alcohol with medicines or illegal drugs may increase the effects of each.
Is alcohol a problem for me? You have a “drinking problem” when drinking causes problems in your life or health. Drinking alcohol affects your judgment, energy level, work performance and health. Even small amounts of alcohol may be a problem if you: Have any short- or long-term health problems, Are taking medicines (even over-the-counter or herbal medicines), Have people in your family who have a problem with alcohol, Have had problems in your life or health because of alcohol, Feel down or depressed.
Each fall, universities and colleges across the country welcome a new batch of first-year students. And at this time, amidst choosing between “Human Anatomy 101″ and “Introduction to Economics,” or which fraternity party to attend, college freshmen will face choices involving a substance with an arguably ubiquitous presence on college campuses nationwide: alcohol. Some students may choose to stay away from alcohol, while others may decide to dabble.
Financially these costs are estimated at more than 100 billion dollars per year. The financial costs are also high for those 1 out of 10 people who do seek help for their alcohol problem. Besides the above costs there are many others that are associated with alcohol abuse and addition. There are alcohol related automobile tickets and/or accidents. Blackouts can be a serious consequence of drinking. Depression often becomes a problem and relationships are damaged or completely ruined. People often start drinking at parties or socially from time to time and then may progress to serious and problematic drinking. There are people who are more at risk when it comes to alcoholism than others. Families who have members who are prone to having problems with alcohol should be especially careful when it comes to drinking.
Most of the time, alcoholics don’t know that alcohol has taken hold of their life. This is called the denial stage. Alcoholics feel that if they can get up and go to work everyday, even though secretly they have an excruciating headache, they don’t have a problem. But what keeps the alcoholic going throughout the workday is in knowing that after work, they’ll have those highballs or beers, which will in fact, make them feel like their old self again. The problem is, that’s not our old self, but our new old self on alcohol. You see, alcohol changes the person we are inside, not only does alcohol, with time, rot our insides, but it rots what comes from within us. What we do, how we treat others, and our spirituality. The potential to be a whole person has been put on hold because of alcohol. The booze stunts the mental capacities and impairs the ability to see the world clearly enough to get passed the weakness and mistakes we make in life.
The falling-down phase of being drunk. It is about the alcohol level of 0,15 g/100ml the cerebellum becomes affected and keeping your balance could become difficult. With a bit of luck, your friends would by this time have lain you on the ground somewhere safe. The down-and-out phase of being drunk. We hope you are lying down in a safe place, because at this stage the wave is crashing at 0,25 g/100ml over your diencephalon and the mesencephalon (midbrain). You become tired and very unsteady - you are now probably out for the count. You start shaking and you vomit. Maybe your reflexes will not be so badly suppressed that you cannot protect your airways, otherwise you could inhale your own vomit and die. Your consciousness is now suppressed, and you may be comatose.
Craving alcohol is a complicated process that involves several different factors. We are usually first introduced to alcohol at a young age (in our teens). Since no-one under the age of 21 (in the US) is allowed to purchase alcohol, it becomes “cool” and desirable for young adults under 21 to give drinking a try. Later on people grab a bottle of booze to feel better, gain more confidence in a social setting or to forget about their problems. Since the alcohol makes them feel better, at least temporarily, they start to crave it.
