Alcoholism Effects and Treatments – Loosid
Whether
it is a friend, a family member, or even you who is suffering from alcoholism,
chances are there is something about getting sober help that has brought you to this article.
It isn’t a simple answer or a quick fix to living a sober lifestyle, but learning more about addiction
opens the door of the opportunity to overcome it.
While society shrugs it off as a lack of willpower, it is far more
complex than a simple answer of yes or no. We see heavy drinking lifestyles
nearly everywhere we look. We see it in the shows we watch, in our communities
at the local bar, in our families at gatherings, or parties with friends, but
when alcohol becomes an issue in our own lives it starts taking away more than
we expect.
Alcoholism is a common term many are familiar with, but it is also
known as alcohol use disorder (AUD). With over 14.4 million Americans diagnosed
with alcohol use disorder, it can be hard to spot
initial triggers.
Recognizing Alcohol Use Disorder
AUD is defined as “chronic relapsing brain disease characterized
by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social,
occupational, or health consequences.”
While some social norms view alcohol use disorder as a choice,
addiction is far more complicated than that. Millions of Americans struggle
with AUD ranging from mild to moderate, and severe use. According to the Addiction Center, nearly 21 million Americans
have at least one addiction, but only 10% of those people recover and learn how to live a
sober life.
Founding director of the Bowles Center For Alcohol Studies, Dr.
John Ewing, was the first to develop what is now referred to as the CAGE
Questions. The questions were designed to quickly assess whether someone is
suffering from an alcohol-related addiction. The acronym letters represent
cut-annoyed-guilty-eye opener. It has also been expanded to include drug use.
Recognizing that you may have AUD may come with a cloud of
uncertainty, but here are a few ways to determine whether you may suffer from
an alcohol-related
addiction, and how it can help you get sober help.
CAGE QUESTIONS
1.
Have you
ever felt you should cut down on your drinking?
2.
Have
people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
3.
Have you
ever felt bad or guilty about your drinking?
4.
Have you
ever had a drink first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or get over a
hangover (eye-opener)?
If you answer yes to two or more of the questions, seeking
professional medical help should be your next step. If you’re worried about a
friend and believe they would answer yes to these questions, talk with them
about it and look for treatment options that you can talk through together.
Whether it is you or someone else who is suffering from AUD, you
are not alone. If you read these questions and need help, contact us here
through our recovery app.
The Effects of Alcoholism
Long-term heavy drinking will start to severely affect different
functions of the body. From your brain, to your liver, to your bones, it begins
to affect every part of the body. The more that alcohol is in control of your
life, the more it takes control over your body too.
The Liver
The liver is responsible for nearly 500 functions and is
recognized as the largest organ in the human body. It takes on several roles
that include detoxification and producing chemicals that aid digestion and
stimulate protein synthesis.
It leaves the body in a state of disrepair with little to no
options to return back to its original state. With early detection and
treatment of alcohol abuse, further damage can be
avoided.
The Heart
The heart is literally the lifeblood to your entire system. When
alcohol use disorder takes control, it can lead to issues such as high blood
pressure, blood clots, stroke, cardiomyopathy, and heart attacks causing
irreversible damage, and even death.
In turn, the issues starting in the heart can cause other
functions within the body to start to deteriorate at a faster rate.
The Stomach
Your stomach is responsible for looking after the digestive system
that aids the breakdown of food to nourish your body. AUD can affect this
system in multiple ways, from alcohol impairing blood sugar levels to it fully
disrupting the breakdown, storage, and passage of nutrition.
Over time it will take a serious toll on your body’s ability to
replenish nutrients in the way it needs. Learning how to quit drinking can break the negative cycle in your body and
replace it with habits that allow for proper nutrition to flow through your
body.
The Pancreas
The pancreas often is overlooked in bodily functions, but it is
vital to aiding digestion and releasing hormones such as insulin and glucagon
into the bloodstream. These hormones help control blood sugar levels. Excessive
alcohol use severely disrupts this process and causes inflammation.
The Bones
Healthy bones are the very structure to your body that hold it
upright and keep it steady. Prolonged heavy drinking will begin to break the
structure of your body down and affect vitamin D production. This disrupts
calcium absorption that maintains bone strength. In turn, it causes brittle
bones that lead to fractures, pain issues, osteoporosis, or even a disability.
The Nervous System
The nervous system is all the nerves in your body that control
movement and response. Nerves process your senses and pass information to your
body to move, or even give the sensation of pain. Alcohol can hinder this
process by impairing response, leading to memory issues, confusion, lack of
coordination, and trouble sleeping.
The Reproductive System
Alcohol can affect both the male and female reproductive systems.
For men, it can cause impotence, infertility issues, and impacts the production
of testosterone. For women, it can disrupt puberty, cause hormonal imbalances,
and severely affect menstrual cycling.
The Brain
It isn’t just the physical effects that take a toll, but also the
impact on mental health. Alcohol
abuse leads to brain function deficits, which means that cognitive problems
persist long after a person has been actively in recovery or has made the
decision to live a sober lifestyle.
Social Pressure and Alcohol Culture
Drinking is in nearly every aspect of our culture, and it often
starts at an early age. It seems to be everywhere you turn, but learning how to quit
drinking and
going against the norm can lead to a life of clarity and truth. In recent
decades, there has been an increase in adolescent heavy drinking. At an age
where the brain is still developing, it can affect a person long into their
adulthood.
Social Pressures
You might have been in a similar situation as someone who is
young, at a party, and simply trying to fit in. Alcohol is often used as a way
to ease the nerves about meeting new people and developing new relationships.
Particularly at a young age when teenagers are trying to find themselves
amongst the crowd, this is where the pressure to drink, and drink heavily,
often begins.
While there are many factors as to why people begin and continue
to drink, there are a few recurring reasons why people binge drink.
To
Cope With Stress
Whether someone is trying to escape their family problems,
struggles at work, or a bad relationship, binge drinking can start to take over
as a way to cope with stress.
Those who struggle with AUD, it can feel like a blackout with
little control over the consumption of alcohol. When they emerge from a binge,
it is only then that they realize the caliber of drinking they did the day
before.
Using alcohol as a way to cope with stress is one of the leading
causes for individuals with alcoholism, but even researchers agree that there
needs to be more studies about the complexities of alcoholism and the road to
recovery on how
to live a sober life.
Alcohol
Culture
People consuming alcohol is everywhere in our media. It is
ingrained in the culture and in nearly every social activity, but it doesn’t
have to be.
While it may feel like it is expected, you do have a choice to
live a sober lifestyle beyond just experimenting with friends. For many, it can
go too far, for too long, which develops into a habit that is diagnosed as
alcohol use disorder.
Binge
Drinking
Binge drinking often affects more than just the individual. It can
nearly become unrecognizable to the person drinking 4-5 glasses a night because
it becomes normal behaviour. Whether it is from prolonged stress, the
experience of loss, or the pressure of social norms, it can be a recurring
activity that becomes hard to break over time.
Treatment and Living a Sober Lifestyle
Treatment and choosing to live a sober lifestyle is always an
option. With the advancement in treatment options and more support
availability, you don’t have to feel alone in finding an answer to living life alcohol-free.
Behavioural
Therapy
Behavioural therapy is talking with a mental health professional
that works with the individual to change their everyday behavior around
drinking. With continual support, it is a treatment option that is beneficial
for many people struggling with addiction.
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the types of Behavioural
Treatments include,
·
Cognitive Behavioural
Therapy
·
This type
of therapy looks at “cues” or triggers that lead to heavy binge drinking and
relapse due to stress coping mechanisms. The intention behind the therapy is to
change the thought process behind the behaviour to develop healthier responses
to stress for a sober life.
·
Motivational
Enhancement Therapy
·
This type
of therapy looks at building confidence and developing a plan that makes
sobriety feel achievable. Through identifying the pros and cons of drinking, an
individual works alongside a mental health professional who can guide them through
the process of developing skills to stay motivated towards how to get sober.
·
Marital
and Family Counselling
·
This type
of counselling involves the family, which offers support throughout the
treatment process by repairing family relationships and improving behaviour
that supports life beyond alcohol consumption.
·
Brief
Interventions
·
This type
of approach is short and is often one-on-one to assess behaviour around
drinking and develop a plan moving forward to help make a change in an
individual’s life.
Medication Options
In combination with counselling, many people also choose to seek
medication options to overcome the urge to drink and curve their habits. Talk
with your primary care doctor about potential medication treatments.
Developing
a Plan and Sober Lifestyle
Developing a plan of action may seem like an easy step in creating
achievable goals, but it can be hard to initially start a sober lifestyle. With
support from people walking the same path, it helps to know that you are not
alone in trying to find a healthier and sober life.
Finding Support
There are thousands of people across America suffering from
alcoholism and it starts with you making a change for yourself that has the
power to impact those around you.
At Loosid, we’re a recovery app that is here to shift the
culture of drinking into a sober lifestyle. Drinking doesn’t have to be a part
of your life, and it starts with finding people like you who are looking for
safe environments for support during recovery.
Discover what life can look like when you’re able to set aside
drinking and walk into a lifestyle that supports a healthier, sober you.
To find support, come join our growing sober dating community here, or
reach out to a medical professional that can help support and guide your road
to recovery.
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