Facts about Alcohol
- Written by Sally Vincent
Facts about alcohol - Alcohol is a drug that relieves anxiety, lifts inhibitions and is pleasantly, mildly euphoric, but when used to excess it is dangerous and causes misery, illness and death. It destroys lives, relationships, families and jobs.
Is it friend or foe? Surprisingly alcohol is not particularly addictive unlike, for example cocaine or heroin, and for the vast majority of people who drink it does not become a problem.
However, alcohol dependency is a real issue for about 8% of the adult population with significant consequences for themselves and their families and society as a whole.
Safe Drinking
About 20% of the adult population abuse alcohol. A proportion will go on to drink more and become dependant. The UK Government has produced guidelines on sensible drinking and the recent trend in the UK towards binge drinking by young men and women is a worrying new direction.
The unit system introduced by the British government gives a fair estimation of how much can be drunk safely. Although other countries have different limits for safe drinking they are close to the British system. The limits are 28 units per week for men and 21 units per week for women. These unit limits are based on sound medical research which has shown that the risk of death through cirrhosis are low for men who drink less than 28 units, 21 for women, medium risk between 28 and 50 units for men (21 to 35 for women) and high risk above 50 units (35 for women). It is important to note here that there is a fundamental difference between the male and female body that warrants different recommended limits. A lower proportion of the female body is made up of water compared to men so women are therefore at greater risk from the effects of alcohol on their bodies.
What are ‘units’ of alcohol?
Calculating the amount of units you are drinking is easy. A fairly accurate guide is one litre of the alcoholic beverage is equal in units to the percentage alcohol of the drink. One litre of beer at 5% alcohol is 5 units. One litre of Gin at 40% alcohol is 40 units. One litre of wine at 13% is 13 units. A word of caution: These drinks should be spread evenly across the week and there should be at least one alcohol free day per week.
The unit system is only a guide and does not represent a definition of when drinking is acceptable on health. For some people just a couple of drinks triggers a change in personality affecting relationships and to drink before driving always impairs performance and judgement. For these people avoiding alcohol altogether is probably the best policy.
Although alcohol is not a particularly addictive drug it does in time lead to dependency. The average time is usually between 5 and 7 years for someone who is abusing alcohol. The route to alcohol dependency is not a predictable one; the drinker often cannot foresee it. Damage to relationships, poor work performance and a bad health record are a few of the signs of addictive behaviours. If you have lost the ability to say ‘no’ to a drink and you can’t stop when you start, you have s serious problem that needs to be addressed.
Alcohol Dependence (Addiction)
Any drug which causes changes to the mind can cause a dependence syndrome. This means there are symptoms and behavioural patterns which form a recognised illness:
There is a strong desire or compulsion to drink, which overrides other everyday activities; family, friends, work and hobbies are neglected. They neglect the alternative pleasures of life as the alcohol drinking becomes the major force for the individual.
Alcohol normally has a physical withdrawal state when the drinking stops. Nausea, sweating, shakiness and anxiety are typical symptoms.
There is a degree of tolerance requiring higher doses to have the same psychological effect. There are difficulties in controlling the amount of use so consumption escalates.
The user continues to consume alcohol despite evidence of harm such as ill health, debts, relationship difficulties or psychological problems.
The people most at risk of alcohol dependency are those who have difficulty dealing with their emotions and who have trouble in facing everyday life. Alcohol is used as an “escape mechanism” for life’s problems rather than confronting them. There is an increased risk for those who are shy, with low self-esteem and have problems with family or work. There are genetic risks for susceptibility to addiction. Research shows that the risk for developing alcohol addiction does run in families. The genes a person inherits partially explain this pattern but lifestyle and psychological environment are also factors. However a genetic predisposition to alcohol addiction does not mean it is inevitable; just because alcohol addiction tends to run in families it does not mean that a child of an alcoholic parent will automatically become an alcoholic too. Some people develop alcoholism even though no one in their family has a drinking problem.
Effects on the Body and Brain
Alcohol causes Liver disease, Pancreatitis, seizures, impotence, severe short term memory loss, hypertension (which can lead to a stroke), enlarged heart, cancer and many other physical and psychological problems. Alcohol suppresses the part of the brain that controls judgement, resulting in a loss of inhibitions. It affects physical co-ordination, causing blurred vision, slurred speech and loss of balance. Drinking a very large amount atone time can lead to unconsciousness, coma and even death. Vomiting while unconscious can lead to death by asphyxiation (suffocation). Alcohol is implicated in a large number of fatal road accidents, assaults and incidents of domestic violence. Drinking too much too often will cause physical damage, increase the risk of getting some diseases and make other diseases worse. It is dangerous stuff.
Treatment of Alcohol Abuse
If it is addressed in the early stages alcohol abuse can be treated and the drinker helped back to a controlled drinking pattern that removes the harmful effects from their lives. Often some individual sessions with a qualified addictions specialist will help people control their drinking by helping to identify the situations that need to be avoided and addressing the issues that trigger the drinking. Once dependency has been established in-patient treatment will, almost certainly be required.
Treatment of Alcohol Dependence
For those with dependence (addiction) there is usually a repeated pattern of failed attempts to give up without seeking help. There will be a need to be admitted into a treatment centre in order to address the underlying personal issues which have promoted the dependency and to counteract the effects of the illness itself. Invariably once this stage of dependency is reached, the user will never be able to control alcohol use again and life long abstinence is the only way forward. A return to drinking will cause a return to the original patterns of use and the vicious circle continues. In-patient treatment looks at all the factors hidden behind the dependency such as relationship problems, previous psychological trauma or self-esteem issues. Some dependency is in conjunction with other psychiatric disorders such as depression. Often the user does not recognise the harm that alcohol is doing to themselves or others (denial) or the social isolation that it is causing. The illness is accompanied by guilt and shame so there is a reluctance to accept help. The therapeutic environment enables the return to previous attributes and the ability to ask for help when there is trouble so that they can view the future with confidence without returning to mind-altering substances. Family relationships, which are also damaged by the illness, can be repaired with the help of treatment.
For more information or help with an alcohol problem please call Nova Vida Recovery Centre on 919 357 186.
