Alcoholism: these are the effects of dependence on drink

It is one of the most common and dangerous addictions, but, in part, it is socially accepted.

Alcoholism is a health problem caused by the compulsive consumption of alcohol, which is capable of generating physical and psychological dependence. of alcohol, which is capable of generating physical and psychological dependence.

It is an excessive, problematic intake that is difficult to control by one's own will. In turn, this behavior is caused by multiple and varied factors: physical predisposition, psychological vulnerabilities and social factors that facilitate consumption.

But one of the most striking aspects of alcoholism is that many times, in its early stages, it is socially accepted. This shows another of the most important dimensions of the problem of alcoholism: its psychological and social facet.

What do we mean by alcoholism?

Alcoholism is a pathology based on addiction to alcoholic beverages, i.e., those containing a significant amount of ethanol.. It is also one of the most widespread types of addiction throughout the world and one of the oldest, since the products on which it is based have existed for thousands of years, and have appeared in several cultures in parallel.

Alcoholism is also a very harmful addiction not only for the person who develops a dependence on these drinks, but also for the rest of the people, since it leads to accidents with a high risk of death.It is also a very harmful addiction not only for the person who develops a dependence on these drinks, but also for other people, since it leads to accidents very often.

On the other hand, alcohol is a drug that is massively consumed even by minors in many countries, a situation that leads many young people to develop alcoholism at a very early age, without even having had the opportunity to have the ability to establish their own way of life.

Naturalization of a health problem

Excessive alcohol consumption tends to be naturalized and socially accepted. In the social imaginary, people are considered alcoholics when they are seen drinking alcohol during the day, in the street, starting to drink in the morning or drinking every day of the week. In this way, other forms of alcoholism are made invisible.

Alcoholism is not determined by the amount of alcohol a person consumes per day, but by how that person relates to alcohol: with dependence, need, compulsion and difficulties in not consuming.

In other words, a person is an alcoholic because of how he/she drinks, regardless of whether he/she drinks every day, one day a week or more sporadically. However, not every person who consumes alcohol is an alcoholic, since there can be consumption without establishing a link of dependence and addiction. without establishing a link of dependence and addiction with it.. But... what happens in the human body where there is dependence?

The health effects of this addiction.

Once ingested in the body, alcohol produces two opposing actions, a disinhibitory effect and a depressant effect.. The former blocks parts of the brain responsible for thinking, the ability to reflect, moral conscience, ethical values, and over-stimulates impulses and emotions. This allows us to understand that an alcoholic person can behave differently than when sober and even commit crimes without the possibility of control, which, without consumption, he/she would not do.

The depressant effect inhibits the central nervous system, causing a decrease in its functions. causing a decrease in its functions: less attention, less psychomotor coordination, drowsiness, feeling of exhaustion, among others, reaching in extreme cases the Respiratory arrest and death. This explains why, although alcohol is often consumed in the hope that it will make us more sociable, after the first wave of effects, it produces a tendency to isolation, favoring the appearance of a low or aggressive mood.

The onset of tolerance to drinking

Why are the quantities consumed of alcoholic beverages increasing? Because the body generates tolerance to the substanceAs it does not produce the expected effect, it becomes necessary to drink more alcohol or stronger alcoholic beverages to achieve the desired effects.

Why can't the alcoholic person stop drinking?

Another conception to denaturalize refers to the reasons for the difficulty, in some cases, and the impossibility, in others, to stop drinking. It is not because of taste, caprice or vice, it is because of the strong compulsion to drink that the alcoholic feels, that becomes irrepressible and beyond his or her voluntary control, because he or she is in a situation of physical and psychological dependence.The body asks for alcohol and the head needs it to keep going.

The body asks for alcohol and the head needs it to continue. In addition, without consumption, withdrawal symptoms develop, which present themselves with unpleasant sensations, physical manifestations, anxiety, irritability, anguish and strong desire (need) to consume.

How to act when you suspect that someone close to you is addicted?

A first step involves denaturalizing problematic alcohol consumption. In doing so, doubts and the need to ask for help begin to emerge..

Here we can find a second step: to find a space for listening, for asking questions, for guidance on alcoholism, to learn to observe the person's relationship with consumption and with alcohol: can he/she control his/her intake without depending on alcohol; does he/she find it difficult to stop drinking; does he/she look for excuses to drink; does he/she look for excuses to drink?

It is important to be aware of problematic alcohol consumption in time, due to the risks it can cause, since alcoholism alcoholism causes a higher probability of suffering accidents, illnesses and death, as well as having behavioral effects.It also has behavioral, emotional, relational, social, labor and legal effects.

Guidance and support to families is essential to understand that alcoholism is a serious disease. to understand that alcoholism is a disease that can be recovered from and for which specialized treatment is essential for both the alcoholic family member and the rest of the family. This will allow families to redefine consumption and its consequences, generate changes in attitude and build spaces for dialogue and family communication.

It is also important that the family can work on difficult and traumatic situations caused by alcoholism that affect the whole family, such as anguish, helplessness, fears, anger, psychosomatic symptoms, feelings of guilt, etc., in specialized spaces for alcoholism. to begin to have themselves new habits of healthy life, strengthening of self-esteem, elaboration of new projects of personal realization to learn to live better and to build a healthier life.

Bibliographic references:

• Dunn, N.; Cook, C.C. (March 1999). "Psychiatric aspects of alcohol misuse". Hospital Medicine. 60(3): pp. 169 - 172.
• Elzo, J. (dir) et al (2009): Las culturas de las drogas en los jóvenes y fiestas. Vitoria, Servicio Central de Publicaciones del Gobierno Vasco.
• McGovern, T.F.; White, W.L. (2003). Alcohol Problems in the United States: Twenty Years of Treatment Perspective. Nueva York: Routledge.
• Zimmerman, H.E.; Burkhart, K.K.; Donovan, J.W. (1999). Ethylene glycol and methanol poisoning: diagnosis and treatment. Journal of Emergency Nursing. 25(2): pp. 116 - 120.