Synonym
alcoholism, alcohol disease, alcohol addiction, drunkenness, ethylism, dipsomania, potomania
Introduction
Alcohol addiction is considered a widespread phenomenon within Germany and the western world. Meanwhile, the pathological consumption of alcoholic beverages is even recognized as an independent disease and a therapy for this reason is fully covered by health insurance companies. The effects of alcohol addiction on the human organism are among the most frequent causes of death, along with the consumption of tobacco products and diseases of the cardiovascular system. Alcohol addiction itself is defined in medicine as: uncontrolled, excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, resulting in physical and psychological dependence.
Symptoms
In general, most symptoms of alcohol addiction can vary in nature and intensity from one person to another. However, there are some signs of alcohol addiction that can be detected quite quickly. Firstly, people who suffer from alcohol addiction consume large quantities of alcoholic drinks or foods containing spirits every day.
For these people, alcohol is no longer regarded as a luxury and social enjoyment takes a back seat. Patients suffering from alcohol addiction often consume alcohol on their own, in a quiet little room or in front of the television. Alcohol no longer serves as a pure luxury food, the distortion occurs because the organism of the affected person demands ethanol, an ingredient of alcoholic beverages, as an addictive substance.
Furthermore, the alcoholic’s life is increasingly restricted. The affected person increasingly adapts his daily routine almost exclusively to the procurement and consumption of the addictive substance. In addition, people suffering from alcohol addiction are witnessing a progressive loss of control over their own drinking behaviour and, above all, the amount of alcohol they drink every day.
The alcoholic himself is usually not aware of how much alcohol he is distorted and how the daily intoxication affects him and his environment. A classic symptom of alcohol addiction is the trivialisation or denial of one’s own drinking behaviour. As a result, those affected lose themselves in compulsive consumption, which also means that social obligations are increasingly neglected.
Interest in other people and previous hobbies is also increasingly lost. Relatives of alcoholics also report an increased, sometimes uncontrollable aggressiveness that occurs in the course of alcohol consumption. According to some relatives, the once controlled, cheerful person increasingly seems to have changed in character and seems strange.
Since alcohol addiction is a classic addiction disease, the patients affected may experience typical withdrawal symptoms after reducing or suspending alcohol consumption. In the course of this withdrawal symptomatology, those affected usually complain of increased secretion of cold sweat. In addition, the following symptoms belong to the classic withdrawal symptoms:
- Tachycardia
- Shaking and
- The occurrence of nausea and vomiting
Risks
Even the frequent consumption of alcohol without alcohol addiction can have a negative influence on the human body. As patients suffering from manifested alcohol addiction consume considerable amounts of alcohol, these negative influences are particularly pronounced. Typical risks associated with alcohol addiction range from withdrawal syndromes and significant changes in character to permanent damage to various organs and organ systems.
Many relatives of alcoholic patients describe the so-called alcohol-toxic changes in character as enormously stressful for the person affected and his or her immediate environment. The change of character is triggered by a poisoning syndrome provoked by the long-term excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages. In most cases, the alcohol-toxic change of character brings about conspicuous features such as a “sensation” or “feeling” of being a “sensation”.
Furthermore, many affected persons say that their own drive and attention is also restricted by the toxic influence of ethanol. In the course of alcohol addiction, typical concomitant diseases occur in almost all cases without exception, which in turn can lead to the alcoholic increasing the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Before all depressions, the main number of long-term alcohol addicts can be diagnostically proven.
From a psychological point of view, the person suffering from alcohol addiction finds himself in a vicious circle that can hardly be broken by his own efforts. The negative effects of daily, uncontrolled alcohol consumption do not only affect the body and psyche of the person affected. The social environment, especially the family, also suffers increasingly from the drinking behaviour.
Alcohol addiction does not only affect the wellbeing of the dependent person, as this illness usually has to be borne by the life partner, the children and other relatives. On average, it can be assumed that in about 35 percent of the cases, in families with alcoholics, sooner or later there is an increase in disputes or even domestic violence. This phenomenon is related to the fact that a person suffering from alcohol addiction is permanently influenced by strong external stimuli and in the course of which an increase in aggressiveness with loss of control can occur.
On an organic level, the long-term consumption of large quantities of alcohol can cause damage to the liver. The performance of the kidneys, pancreas and gastrointestinal tract can also be negatively affected by the ethanol contained in alcohol. In addition, people suffering from alcohol addiction have been shown to have reduced blood flow to the brain, which in the long term leads to tissue damage. The occurrence of potency problems is also not uncommon in people with alcohol addiction. – significant reduction in performance
- Impairments in memory performance and
- Strong concentration deficits with themselves.
