Learn more about stopping your drinking problem

By: David Peters

When a person has unhealthy drinking habits, like drinking too much in one sitting or drinking every day, this can be qualified as alcohol abuse. It can affect many aspects of people's lives, leading to dependance. Dependence on alcohol is also termed alcoholism. This is when a person cannot control the amount they drink and can't quit, even if they try. They have become completely addicted to alcohol, and feel they cannot live without it. It is extremely unhealthy, physically and mentally, as once people became addicted to alcohol, it is very difficult to stop.

There are numerous signs of alcohol abuse or addiction. They include having problems are work or school, drinking in situations where you will be driving, having blackouts, legal problems, and getting hurt or hurting others while drinking. Also, you might crave alcohol and get withdrawal symptoms from not drinking. These could include sweating, nausea, or anxiety. Also, oftentimes, a person dependent on alcohol must drink more and more in order to feel the same way when drinking. Alcohol addicts rarely believe they have a problem as well, even if others express concern about their drinking.

Alcoholism has attracted much attention as an inherited disease, inherent in family genes. Research shows that there is, indeed, a risk of developing alcoholism in some families and not others. Research studies are underway to determine the actual genes that lead to the risk of alcoholism. However, lifestyle is also a key factor, since the activities of friends, the amount of stress in someone's life, and the availability of alcohol can also play a significant role in determining one's risk for alcoholism. Experts say that even though alcoholism may run in specific families, it doesn't mean that the child of an alcoholic parent will automatically become an alcoholic. The opposite is true, as well - there are people who become alcoholics even though no one in their family has or had a drinking problem.

Teens are often very susceptible to the lure of alcohol. According to a 2004 survey of high school students by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 75% of high school students have at least tried alchohol. Many of them have had episodes of heavy drinking. It is a known fact that a leading death factor in teen-related car accidents is alcohol. Alcohol can affect the way the brain fuctions, especially the areas controlling decision-making and emotions, meaning that growth and development can be greatly hindered in teens if they drink alcohol. Memory and learning abilities can be affected, harming a teen's performance in school. The worst danger is that use of alchol in a teen can progress to abuse, and perhaps to addiction.

Family risk factors for teenagers developing drinking problems include low parent supervision or communication, family conflicts, inconsistent or severe parental discipline, and a family history of alcohol or drug abuse. Individual risk factors include problems managing impulses, emotional instability, thrill-seeking behaviors, and perceiving the risk of using alcohol to be low. Girls who drink, as well as teens who begin drinking prior to the age of 14 years and those whose mothers have drinking problems, are more likely to develop alcoholism. Teen risk factors for alcoholism differ a bit between the 14- to 16-year-old and 16- to 18-year-old age groups, in that the latter tend to be less likely to drink in excess when they have a close relationship with their mothers.

Many substances can bring on withdrawal-an effect caused by cessation or reduction in the amount of the substance used. Withdrawal can range from mild anxiety to seizures and hallucinations. Withdrawal from alcohol can cause anxiety, irregular heartbeat, tremor, seizures, and hallucinations. In its severest form, withdrawal combined with malnutrition can lead to a life-threatening condition called delirium tremens (DTs). Alcohol is the most common cause of liver failure in the US. The drug can cause heart enlargement and cancer of the esophagus, pancreas, and stomach. In addition to its direct health effects, officials associate alcohol abuse with nearly half of all fatal motor vehicle accidents. In 1992, the total economic cost of alcohol abuse was estimated at $150 billion.

The most appropriate decisions related to alcohol abuse treatment can only occur by matching individuals with their treatment needs. The individual's screening results should differentiate between mild and more severe levels of physical dependence to determine whether detoxification should be part of an individual's early alcohol abuse treatment. If their withdrawal risk is low, it may be appropriate to refer them to an outpatient treatment setting. If the risk for withdrawal is moderate to high, outpatient or inpatient detoxification may be indicated as an absolute imperative for effective alcohol abuse treatment. There are a large number of life-threatening factors that must be considered in order to determine if alcoholics are at increased risk. Any of the following factors may warrant immediate attention: acute alcohol withdrawal (with the potential for seizures and delirium tremens), serious psychiatric illness (e.g. psychosis, suicidal intentions or behavior), serious medical or surgical disease ( e.g. acute pancreatitis, bleeding esophageal varices). The matching of individuals with optimum alcohol abuse treatment continues to attract significant attention, and there appears to be some evidence suggesting that alcoholics with certain characteristics (e.g. severe dependence, high levels of anger, social networks that support drinking) may respond slightly better to certain types of specific therapy. Finally, the importance of continuing care through aftercare groups and other mutual support organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) cannot be overestimated for individuals in need of alcohol abuse treatment.

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