Alcohol Addiction

Everyone at one point or another in life will try alcohol and there is nothing wrong with that. A few glasses of wine with a meal or a few beers watching your favorite sport can be part of a healthy social lifestyle.

However, alcohol is very addictive, in fact alcohol addiction or alcoholism as it is sometimes known is classified as a real disease that can affect anyone giving the right circumstances.

Alcohol addiction also cannot be tracked back to any single cause people from all races, sex and background are susceptible to developing alcoholism.

Of course, there are multiple factors that can contribute to someone contracting the disease such as someone’s psychological condition, genetic make up and behavioral patterns.

As alcohol is a recognized disease those suffering from it can suffer from changes in their neuro-chemistry meaning that they lack the ability to control their actions surrounding alcohol.

Alcoholism can surface in many ways we tend to associate alcoholism with people who drink excessively everyday however people who suffer from alcohol addiction can also be individuals who abstain from drinking in the week then drink excessively at the weekend every weekend.

Symptoms of alcohol addiction

Unlike drug addiction alcohol addiction can be a lot harder to spot. The reason being illegal drugs are not necessarily readily available whereas alcohol is everywhere and also socially accepted. For example, if you attend a social function be it a birthday, wedding or work event chance are alcohol will be present as it is associated with celebrations.

Because drinking is such a common occurrence spotting someone who is suffering from an alcohol addiction can be difficult however these are the common things to look out for:

Frequency of drinking

When someone drinks can tell you a lot about their relationship with alcohol for example if someone is drinking first thing in the morning or in places that they shouldn’t like work for example then this could be a very strong sign that they have developed an addiction to alcohol.

Of course, we all enjoy a drink from time to time but when it starts finding its way in to our day to day life and work routine then this can be a very worrying sign.

Avoidance

This is a common symptom with lots of addictions not just alcohol addiction. But with alcohol addiction it does vary slightly.

Those who are addicted to alcohol may begin to avoid social events where alcohol Is not present, they may also change their social circle to include those who drink more so they can continue to drink alcohol whilst hiding their dependence for it.

And to tie in with the earlier point they may go as far as to hide their drinking all together resulting in them drinking alone throughout points in the day.

Dependency

If someone reaches this stage it will become easier to spot. As we discussed in the beginning alcoholism is a disease that effects the brain of the user and creates a craving for alcohol. When an alcoholic doesn’t receive alcohol, they will suffer from physical withdrawals like sweating and could become aggressive.

This signals that their body is dependent on alcohol and they physically require it to function if someone reaches this stage then it is safe to assume that they are deep into alcohol addiction and require immediate help.

What can we do to help?

With alcoholism being a very real disease there is no quick fix for someone. The first thing we can do is highlight the issue to the user as maybe they haven’t even realized that they are drinking excessively. After you have done this you can then monitor the users drinking this may be easier said than done as one of the symptoms of alcohol addiction is hiding their need for alcohol.

If the user continues to drink alcohol or the frequency increases, then you will be left with no choice but to seek out professional help for them.

Ask any recovered alcoholic and they will tell you that breaking free from alcohol addiction is far from easy and requires lots of professional help. As alcoholism is both physical and mental, they will require medication to assist with withdrawals as well as psychological help to retrain their brain to realize that they do not require alcohol to function.

This is very important as relapses in people suffering with alcohol addiction is particularly high, so they need to be equipped with the correct mental tools to reduce the chances of this happening.