When Abusive And Irresponsible Drinking Results In Serious Health Problems And Relationship And Friendship Difficulties
For more than a few years alcoholism research has demonstrated the fact that there is strong linkage between alcohol addiction and serious health conditions and mental health issues such as depression.
As an illustration, in 2005, scientific research and alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics revealed that alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency cost the United States an estimated $220 billion on an annual basis. It may be noted that this immense alcohol-related cash disbursement was substantially more than the cost linked with cancer ($196 billion) or with obesity ($133 billion). While it is important to accentuate these facts, it is also important to point out that an interrelationship exists between all three of these health problems.
To be more precise, chronic alcohol abuse and alcoholism are also highly correlated with obesity and with cancer.
Definitely, substance abuse research has revealed that alcohol addiction can increase the risk for different kinds of cancer, particularly cancer of the esophagus, kidneys, throat, rectum, liver, voice box (larynx), and the colon. Heavy and recurring drinking can also result in immune system difficulties and abnormality to the fetus during pregnancy.
Heavy and Hazardous Drinking Breaks Down the Problem Drinker’s Organs and Systems
What is more, if alcoholism continues over a period of years, the individual’s body organs will more likely than not be affected in a harmful manner. As an illustration, chronic, excessive drinking is particularly harmful to the liver due to the fact that the liver does most of the work of processing the alcohol that has been consumed. Excessive amounts of alcohol kills liver cells and obliterates the ability of liver cells to regenerate. This condition results in a progressive inflammatory injury to the liver that can in the long run lead to cirrhosis of the liver, an acute and potentially deadly medical problem. Abusive, long-term drinking not only can result in critical liver damage, but it can also result in damage to the heart and to the brain. Physical damage this dangerous may be irreversible and may, in turn, result in severe disease or an untimely death.
The Significance of Alcohol Counseling
It is vital, consequently, to know how to identify the different alcoholism symptoms and the “alcohol signs” so that the alcohol addicted individual can be given the opportunity to seek the professional alcohol counseling he or she requires.
Alcoholism and Sophisticated Brain Research
Fortunately, scientific exploration is continuously unearthing novel and significant information. Recent alcoholism research offers an excellent illustration. Stated differently, for approximately the past ten years, complex brain-imaging scanning instruments have verified that repetitive and long-term irresponsible drinking alters the configuration of the brain to a significant extent, therefore resulting in brain disease that can last months, years, or possibly as long as the individual lives.
More precisely, medical investigation has revealed that individuals who have been drinking in a hazardous manner for an extensive length of time increase their risk for developing lasting and substantial transformations in the brain.
This type of damage may be indirectly associated with the drinker’s poor overall health or directly related to the alcohol’s effects on the brain or to severe liver disease.
Malnutrition, Abusive Drinking, and Mental Disorders
As a final example of various medical conditions that are substantially associated with alcohol addiction, consider that in accordance with scientific exploration, the abusive and repeated abuse of alcohol can lead to erosive gastritis, a health problem that reduces the absorption of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
This form of organ failure is related to malnutrition and to an assortment of serious neurological and mental maladies including memory loss, sleep disturbances, and psychosis such as Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome. This latter medical problem is an enduring incapacitating medical condition that is typified by recurring memory and learning complications.
Irresponsible and Abusive Drinking Also Leads to in Relationship and Friendship Difficulties
In addition to serious health issues, hazardous drinking also leads to friendship and relationship problems. As an illustration, people who involve themselves in hazardous drinking typically experience divorce, marital difficulties, sexuality problems, and affairs.
Conclusion: The Importance of Education
It is apparent that repetitive, excessive drinking is directly or indirectly associated with numerous dangerous medical problems that can and do lead to dangerous illness and premature death. Such information needs to be highlighted and presented to everyone in our society, especially to all students, so that a large number of individuals will be able to abstain from abusive drinking while other people who have a drinking problem will get the quality treatment they need.
Let us look at this rationally. Yes, alcohol counseling is important, but alcohol therapy is something that is typically done AFTER the fact. Education, to the contrary, is something that is done BEFORE the problem arises. Stated another way, whereas alcohol counseling is “reactive,” education is “proactive.” It is asserted that both approaches are needed when discussing alcohol problems.