Stop Drinking Alcohol…Alcoholism Kills
July 2, 2008 – 2:58 amOne of the most notorious villains which is deeply embedded in today’s society, Alcoholism is now recognized as not only a physical dependency, but also a psychological disorder which affects not only the alcoholic as a person, but also negatively impacts his social and interpersonal relationships. Alcohol enjoys a long history of being associated with celebrations, some of which it forms an integral part. Also, many individuals see no harm in simply pouring themselves out a measure or two of their finest scotch to relax and unwind after a long day. But it is when these situations begin to crop up with an uncanny regularity, or when you find yourself making excuses to explain your drinking habit that you need to pay heed. For these are the telltale signs of your occasional habit, transforming itself into an addiction.
The most widely known and accepted definition of alcoholism is the continued consumption of alcohol even after it impedes your social and personal interactions and causes a significant number of health issues. Simply put, if your friends and family have been talking about your drinking habit a lot more than they used to, or if you have been putting off that visit to the doctor, only because you don’t want him to launch into a minute speculation about your drinking routine, you are well on your way to alcohol addiction.
The most worrying of all symptoms of alcoholism is that the victim is more often than not, in the state of denial. This means that he is nor only defensive about his habit, but resentful about others commenting on it, simply because he himself is trying hard to convince himself that there’s nothing wrong about how much he drinks, or worse, he just doesn’t find anything abnormal about it. Also, many alcoholics are deceptively natural in their appearance and interactions, thus alleviating any cause of worry about just how dependant on alcohol they are until they’re overcome by their addiction.
The most prevalent causes of alcoholism are as physical as they are psychological. An individual who has a family history of alcoholism is genetically more susceptible to addiction. Also, if he is known to suffer from bouts of severe depression, or if his stress-coping mechanisms are poorly developed, he may recourse to alcohol to blot out his despair. Also, if you drink as a means to simply while away your time, you are already reeling on the verge of plunging into the deep, dark void that is alcoholism.
The physical manifestations of alcohol addiction can be severe to the point of being life threatening. By itself, alcohol is deemed responsible for a majority of deaths around the world, be they through diseases stem out of excessive consumption, or mishaps that take place under the influence of alcohol. Alcohol abuse can single-handedly lead to liver cirrhosis, renal failure and several gastrointestinal complications. Alcohol also makes your blood pressure shoot up, which puts your heart at a greater risk of failure or stroke. Alcoholics may find themselves to be hypoglycemic, as alcohol disrupts the release of glucose to the blood stream. Over time, alcohol can even cause severe neurological impairments like distorted thinking and even dementia. Psychologically, alcohol abuse also leads to the individual becoming estranged from his family and even resorting to domestic violence or even pathological patterns of behavior, either to fund their consumption of alcohol, or under the effects of its intoxication.
If, in all honesty, you have even the slightest inkling of a doubt that you’re alcohol consumption patterns do tend to border on the high side, or if your family or even friends seem to be a lot more concerned about your ‘binges’ than they were in the past, then it’s time you had a heart-to-heart with your doctor. What you must remember is that when it comes to determining whether your drinking is taking its toll on you, you are not the best judge. Your doctor will refer you to appropriate counselors to deal with your habit, based on what level of treatment he deems necessary. If your drinking is just marginally higher than the recommended levels, he will simply ask you to curtail your habit. If you are indeed in the throes of addiction, a detoxification program will be prescribed which then needs to be followed up by counseling and group therapy sessions. For more excruciating withdrawal symptoms, you may also be prescribed medication to ease your process of recovery. However, it is essential that you take the initiative to avoid gathering and interactions where you might be coaxed into a drink and refrain completely from any form of alcoholic beverage until your counselor permits it.
So, the next time you reach into the refrigerator for an ice cold beer or decide to head back to the bar for the second round of drinks take a minute to consider whether you really want to go that way. It’s just a single step that leads you to cross the fine line between celebrating an event with a drink, and creating an event which will celebrate the drink. As they say, it’s never too late to begin. So, take that first step to a healthy and fruitful journey down life’s myriad lanes and let’s not raise a toast to that!
Tags: Health and Fitness
Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 33554432 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 393716 bytes) in /mounted-storage/home80a/sub005/sc44548-EOFR/tampola.com/wp-content/plugins/WP23RP/wp23_related_posts.php on line 115