Alcoholism Causes and Stages of Development

The way to alcohol abuse

Alcoholism or alcohol abuse is a morbid craving for alcoholic beverages, which occasionally leads to the use of such quantities of alcoholic beverages, which provoke intoxication. Many centuries’ people know that almost every substance, if taken in certain quantities, can be both beneficial to the body, and very harmful. This statement also applies to alcohol. Ethanol is used by doctors as a nutrient, for disinfection, as well as to dissolve certain substances. But the use of ethanol in increased amounts into the body acts as a poison.

Virtually there is no one who would not have tried alcohol, but not everyone at the same time became an alcoholic. Why is this happening? Most scientists believe that the occurrence of alcohol dependence is more characteristic to people with such traits as helpless as conditions change, shyness, lack of defined objectives, inability to solve serious problems and lack of interest in reality. Also an important role in the occurrence of alcohol abuse plays a complex and emotional situation and also a received human trauma. On the problem referring to the extent of affecting the appearance depending on genetic predisposition, scientists have not yet come to a conclusion.

 How Alcoholism Works?

Alcoholism or alcohol abuse – is a combination of disturbances in the body, affecting both the psyche as physical health, appearing under the influence of systematic long-term drinking of alcoholic beverages. Ethanol, as well as substances released during its processing, have a devastating effect on the body in general, not leaving any system untouched. The chronic form of the disease hits the heart, liver, kidneys and blood vessels. Next it will be considered the way of alcohol in the human body and its effect on the organs and tissues.

Ethanol enters the bloodstream from the stomach wall and small intestine. This substance freely passes through cell membranes and immediately enters the blood, distributed to all systems. First of all, alcohol enters the liver. The authority allocates a number of substances, separating alcohol to acetaldehyde, then to acetic acid and then into carbon dioxide and water. Liver function is very effective. If the alcohol in the blood is not too much, this body needs only a couple of minutes to separate alcohol from the blood. But if the body has got a lot of ethanol, the capacity of the liver is not enough; the body accumulates unprocessed substances which very hard affect the nervous system.

Ethanol provokes euphoria, narcotic effect, increases the ability to communicate and reduces a person’s ability to self-criticism, creates a psychological comfort. It’s a substance that affects the nervous system by suppressing the opiate of the brain structures responsible for pain perception, so after drinking a lot of it people feel less pain. The more acetaldehyde there is in human blood, the more overwhelming is the influence of a substance has on the brain, until the development of alcoholic coma (falling into unconsciousness, with loss of sensitivity and decreased reflexes). If a man constantly drinks alcohol, the body gradually adapts to the initial amount of ethanol and do not lead to expected result – the body produces immunity to alcohol. The man becomes an alcoholic.

The first step in becoming an alcoholic

The first stage in the development of alcohol abuse occurs when the alcohol does not cause a gag reflex. In the morning, after a large drink the day before, a man has no aversion to alcohol, and he starts drinking again. Intoxication in humans causes favorable memories, and he begins to invent new reasons for drinking. The man has no control over how many drinks he has and wants to drink more and more. Pleasure he gets is only from drinking alcohol. Drinks such person has two – three times a week. This stage of the disease occurs in approximately one – two years.

The second step to alcohol dependence

The second stage is characterized by a later addiction to alcohol, the amount of alcohol consumed increases. A person can drink in completely inappropriate places. In some cases, people can work productively only after drinking. At this stage of the disease the patient may drink five – ten times more than a healthy man before he gets drunk. At this stage, there are already observed manifestations of vascular and heart disease (tachycardia, increased blood pressure), gastrointestinal tract disorders (diarrhea, epigastria pain, constipation, and nausea), metabolic disorders (flushing, activates sweat glands) tremor of the extremities (dehydration). When the patient was sober, he had a bad mood, he was nervous, dissatisfied with everything. The man developed memory impairment. And most people forget unpleasant and embarrassing moments that occur during the period of intoxication. Possible is the emergence of psychosis with visions, fits of aggression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. This stage takes place over five – fifteen years.

Alcohol dependence, the last chance…

The third stage of alcoholism is characterized by a decrease in resistance of the organism in relation to alcohol, organs and systems are depleted. For getting drunk are sufficient quite small amounts of alcohol and it does not cause the patient positive feelings. It is very clearly expressed the intellectual expansion. He pays no attention on the external conditions and then with whom he drinks. The alcoholic does not enter into a quarrel, he cannot sleep without alcohol. At this stage it is developing the disruption of important internal organs: brain, liver, heart, kidney, which often causes death.

Beer drinking

Today, many media uses a term such as “beer drinking”. Some experts do not support the selection of this form of the disease as separate species. In the professional environment are more inclined to believe that this is only a stage in the development of alcohol dependence, necessarily entailing the offensive phase of the true disease.

Alcoholism Treatment

There are quite a number of schemes of therapy for this disease, but none of them gives a one hundred percent result. Often it is spoken of “coding”, the use of certain medications that reduce cravings for alcohol. However, all these methods work exclusively with the suggestion to the patient the idea of lethal outcome in the use of alcohol along with drugs. Therefore the action of such methods is limited. And then, when the patient completes a course of therapy, most often it is again dipped in booze with no less enthusiasm.

In the treatment of alcoholism it should be considered the cause of this painful thrust. Sometimes it is effective special training, consulting therapists as together with other family members, as well as personally. Such consultations provide an opportunity to detect problems within the family. Visiting the group activities is effectively due to the fact that patients receive a common goal to recover from the craving for alcohol. The main point in the treatment of alcohol dependence is to make the patient understand that this is a disease, rather than a vice. You should know that the patient alone cannot fight the disease, is strictly forbidden to put him in the guilt of the presence of disease, because such accusations can only exacerbate the psychological isolation of the patient.