Alcoholism is a social disease that affects millions of people across the globe. It is a destructive pattern of alcohol use that can lead to physical, psychological as well as social distress.
Despite this, alcohol is one of the most socially and legally accepted worldwide and is served in all social gatherings from marriage parties to festivals, business events and other gatherings. In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to state that alcohol today has, to some extent, become a social crutch and a glamour statement. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons as to why alcohol addiction is on the rise. However, one should understand that consuming alcohol in excess can not only cause harm to you but also to your friends and family. Read on to know more about the hazardous impacts of alcoholism and its associated problems.
What Is Alcoholism?
Alcoholism, also known as alcohol dependence syndrome, is a broad term of problems faced by chronic alcohol drinkers. Medically it is considered to be a neurological disorder and is characterised by the following elements:
Impaired control over drinking that includes a strong need or compulsion to drink, even after knowing its adverse consequences
- Distorted thinking, especially denial.
- The need for increasing amounts of alcohol in order to get “high.”
- The frequent inability to stop drinking once a person has begun.
- The occurrence of withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking.
Effects of Alcoholism
Consuming excess of alcohol can destroy four prime sectors of your life, i.e., Social life, family life, marriage life and your physical and mental health.
Social life: As mentioned above, alcohol is a socially accepted drink in most parts of the world but having too much of drink at the wrong place or time may completely ruin your social life. Very often, alcoholics tend to embarrass themselves and other people around them. Eventually, all your friends will start ignoring you for fear of handling you when you are drunk. Hence, alcoholism is regarded as a great threat to social life.
Family life: Alcoholism can make you irritable and even small, silly things can upset you easily. Mood swings are common and you may even become violent sometimes. Apart from this, alcoholism can also make a person so uncontrollable that you stop listening to anyone even if it’s for your own good. Many people also start to skip job and eventually this affects their family and personal life.
Marriage life: Alcoholism tends to make you irresponsible. You become incapable of taking care of your wife and family. Besides this, many people who imbibe alcohol on a regular basis can find themselves suffering from impotence. Heavy alcohol use can wreak havoc on the various systems in a man including those connected with sexual reproduction. In the end, a man may find himself suffering from irreversible alcohol impotence. Additionally, alcoholism can also cause impotency and infertility in both males and females.
Physical and mental health: Excessive consumption of alcohol has got as much negative effect on your mental health as it has on your physical health. Alcohol consumption can lead to various health problems like gastritis, vomiting, bad hangover, unconsciousness and even death in case of over dose. If consumed excessively for years, alcohol can cause liver cirrhosis, pancreatitis, diabetes and also certain types of cancer. The effect of alcoholism on mental health is also significant. It can cause depression, irritability, anxiety, aggression, fear, and insomniac and psychosis, a serious mental illness involving confusion, hallucinations and delusions.
Alcoholism is a social disease that affects millions of people across the globe. It is a destructive pattern of alcohol use that can lead to physical, psychological as well as social distress.
Despite this, alcohol is one of the most socially and legally accepted worldwide and is served in all social gatherings from marriage parties to festivals, business events and other gatherings. In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to state that alcohol today has, to some extent, become a social crutch and a glamour statement. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons as to why alcohol addiction is on the rise. However, one should understand that consuming alcohol in excess can not only cause harm to you but also to your friends and family. Read on to know more about the hazardous impacts of alcoholism and its associated problems.
What Is Alcoholism?
Alcoholism, also known as alcohol dependence syndrome, is a broad term of problems faced by chronic alcohol drinkers. Medically it is considered to be a neurological disorder and is characterised by the following elements:
Impaired control over drinking that includes a strong need or compulsion to drink, even after knowing its adverse consequences
- Distorted thinking, especially denial.
- The need for increasing amounts of alcohol in order to get “high.”
- The frequent inability to stop drinking once a person has begun.
- The occurrence of withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking.
Effects of Alcoholism
Consuming excess of alcohol can destroy four prime sectors of your life, i.e., Social life, family life, marriage life and your physical and mental health.
Social life: As mentioned above, alcohol is a socially accepted drink in most parts of the world but having too much of drink at the wrong place or time may completely ruin your social life. Very often, alcoholics tend to embarrass themselves and other people around them. Eventually, all your friends will start ignoring you for fear of handling you when you are drunk. Hence, alcoholism is regarded as a great threat to social life.
Family life: Alcoholism can make you irritable and even small, silly things can upset you easily. Mood swings are common and you may even become violent sometimes. Apart from this, alcoholism can also make a person so uncontrollable that you stop listening to anyone even if it’s for your own good. Many people also start to skip job and eventually this affects their family and personal life.
Marriage life: Alcoholism tends to make you irresponsible. You become incapable of taking care of your wife and family. Besides this, many people who imbibe alcohol on a regular basis can find themselves suffering from impotence. Heavy alcohol use can wreak havoc on the various systems in a man including those connected with sexual reproduction. In the end, a man may find himself suffering from irreversible alcohol impotence. Additionally, alcoholism can also cause impotency and infertility in both males and females.
Physical and mental health: Excessive consumption of alcohol has got as much negative effect on your mental health as it has on your physical health. Alcohol consumption can lead to various health problems like gastritis, vomiting, bad hangover, unconsciousness and even death in case of over dose. If consumed excessively for years, alcohol can cause liver cirrhosis, pancreatitis, diabetes and also certain types of cancer. The effect of alcoholism on mental health is also significant. It can cause depression, irritability, anxiety, aggression, fear, and insomniac and psychosis, a serious mental illness involving confusion, hallucinations and delusions.
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