Alcohol Treatment

As we know alcoholism is the stage where the consumption of alcohol is so great that it starts interfering with the physical as well as the mental health of the individual drinking it. It affects the personal and the social life of the person in an adverse way. Typically all alcoholics are not equals in that they all can be different according to the stages of alcoholism they are in. There are three stages of alcoholism. First is early stage, second is middle stage, and last one is late stage of alcoholism. However, it can take years for a person to progress through the different stages.

If a healthy man or woman is having one or two drinks per day it is not considered to be alcoholism. But when the frequency increases from one or two drinks to more, early stages start growing.

The Early Or Adaptive Stage Of Alcoholism

In the early stage of alcoholism a person starts drinking alcohol just to change his or her mood, to get relief from some type of problem. The person affected along with friends and family members are not aware that they are in the early stage of alcoholism. Their eagerness for alcohol continues to increase, which means they have to increase the amount of alcohol consumption to achieve the desired type of mood. In early stages of alcoholism the body begins to adapt itself to the increased amount of alcohol. At this stage of alcoholism, the body does not loose its’ controls, which means the person can still walk in a straight line without loosing their controls from the body but if they continue to drink alcohol the level in their body starts increasing.

The Middle Stage Of Alcoholism

In the second stage of alcoholism they start drinking in larger volume and with more frequency. The alcoholic simply loses his or her ability to limit his or her drinking to socially acceptable times, patterns, and places. They start drinking for any problem and continue to think about drinking more and more. In this stage the body starts losing its controls as it maintained in early stages of alcoholism which starts creating problems with their family and friends which also means they begin to create unwanted trouble with their change in attitude. This is the level of alcoholism where the person knows within their self that they are in some sort of noticeable stage of alcoholism but still they continue to deny that they have an alcohol problem.

The Late Stage Of Alcoholism

The final stage alcoholism is the most terrifying stage for the alcoholic’s family and friends. This is also known as the deteriorative stage of alcoholism. It is at this stage the over consumption of alcohol is damaging the body. It will be evident to family and friends as the alcoholic is drinking almost all the time. They start becoming ill, mentally confused, and have a host of other mental and physical problems. This is due to the damage to the vital organs. This damage often results in one or more serious medical conditions. For example cirrhosis of the liver, heart failure, hepatitis, etc. are possible health problems associated with this damage to the body. These physical and psychological changes are almost unavoidable and some are irreversible. The alcoholic is also facing the denial that he or she has a problem. Denial makes it very hard for the alcoholic handle everyday problems or to seek help for the problems, which in most cases are a direct result of the drinking alcohol.

The effects that alcoholism has on the body are well documented. Everyone knows how heavy, problem drinking can lead to rapid deterioration of a personal health and internal organs. What is discussed less frequently, but in many ways equally damaging, is the toll alcohol abuse takes on the mind. The following are some of the most significant mental effects of alcoholism and how they negatively impact the individual.

A diminished self-esteem. The behavior of the alcoholic leads them to be looked down upon by family and friends. This often leads to lower self-esteem, which can perpetuate the cycle of problem drinking. Simply put, the worse a person feels about themselves, the more likely they are to go looking for escape in a bottle. This loss of self-esteem can lead to other problems as well, including: poor performance at work and withdrawal in common social situations.

Poor judgment. The alcoholic makes bad decisions. During their impaired state under the influence, they are likely to lie to the people they care about, steal, or engage in other destructive mental behavior. The alcoholic becomes a person that nobody wants to be around.

Reduced inhibitions. Problem drinking causes many people to temporarily lose their inhibitions. This can lead to a multitude of problems – all associated with unprotected sex with multiple partners. These serious issues include sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted or unplanned pregnancy and rape.

Loss of sexual interest. On the flip-side of the reduced inhibitions “coin”, is the lack of sexual interest brought on by alcoholism. Many alcoholics replace the love and affection of their partners with the solace they find in their drinking. Also, erectile dysfunction becomes more prevalent in heavy drinkers-leading to abstinent behavior with the alcoholic’s spouse or significant other.

Exaggerated emotions. Alcoholics are prone to extreme moods and mood swings. Unable to cope with problems on a rational level, the alcoholic will grow deeply depressed at the smallest things, and have a hard time bouncing back from the curveballs life throws at us all. Conversely, the problem drinker may get extremely happy and excitable during a drinking binge, only to “crash and burn” when that high period ends.

Memory loss. An alcoholic is likely to drink so much that they experience blackouts – periods where they cannot remember anything about their actions. Memory loss due to alcohol abuse is psychologically damaging and highly self-destructive in nature. Although he personally has no memory of it, the alcoholic may say or do things to friends and family, that leave emotional scars that take a great deal of time to heal.

Increased aggression. Violent, aggressive behavior is common among male (and may times female) alcoholics. The loss of inhibitions, coupled with the destruction of brain cells caused by drinking can create abusive behavior in alcohol abusers. Spousal abuse and street fighting are often the result of alcoholism and binge drinking.

Effects on children. Alcohol abuse doesn’t only effect the drinker. Children can be negatively impacted as well. With a parent who is experiencing significant mental issues associated with alcoholism, the child’s development may be stunted – they have a good chance growing up with significant learning and anger management issues. Without a reliable parent, the child is liable to grow up lacking the trust and self-confidence necessary to succeed.

It’s obvious that alcoholism affects behavior as much as it does our physical capacities. The psychological impact of alcoholism, however, is in many ways worse than the physical counterpart, because it not only affects the drinker himself, but those around him as well.