You took the first drink ever for fun or to relieve your stress. It became a ritual to drink. Now you have a craving and feel can’t do without it. The fun is gone and drinking itself is giving you stress. You feel like quitting to drink. But can’t! It may sound really difficult or even impossible. You may have taken several solemn pledges or switched brands but nothing works. You are confused and want to know more. Learn more about alcohol and how to befriend it.
Alcohol- When it is a problem
Alcohol is or may be becoming a grave problem to you, if you constantly have a craving for it. There is a persistent, strong and irresistible need to drink. You go ahead and drink. Once you begin, you are not able to decide how much is actually enough and cannot stop drinking. If you have to consume more amounts than you earlier did to experience the ‘high’, you are getting tolerant to alcohol. Lastly, you may have a physical dependence on alcohol. If you transiently discontinue drinking, you get a feeling to vomit, develop tremors in hands and start sweating. You need help if any of these occur to you.
Besides the above mentioned major signs, you may have one or more grave or subtle signs that can imply that alcohol is a problem for you. You may slowly begin to remain preoccupied with drinking and even plan social activities for the same. You may not like to disclose to your friends or family how often and how much you drink. You may develop a poor memory and concentration span. You may not be able to remember events in daily routine. There may be a blackout! You may faint, collapse or become unconscious. You may have frequent conflicts with family and may not like to admit that drinking is actually getting grave for you. You may increasingly be able to stay well without alcohol for only short durations. You may be getting tremors much earlier than ever before. Sometimes, even as first thing in the morning and everything is relieved after you have had your first drink of the day.
Causes of alcoholism
You may develop alcoholism if you have peers or family members who drink. You may get to drinking to meet the stress of any untoward situation in life or if you have broken home or a strained relationship. Alcoholism may be in your genes but solely cannot explain the habit. Once you start drinking beyond a limit, the balance of chemical messengers in the brain changes. You gradually experience pleasure with alcohol and crave for more to avoid negativism.
Effect of alcohol on health
Alcohol can adversely affect your health in many ways. Besides behavior, it can affect many of your vital organs. Your liver, brain, heart, pancreas, intestines, and sexual organs stand a risk of damage. It can cloud your judgment and lead you to develop a poor memory, forgetfulness, lack of concentration, incoordination, and even depression. Alcohol is high in calories and you may gain weight, develop a high blood pressure, and blood sugar. Worst of all, alcohol is a risk factor for development of many cancers like those of the mouth, throat, breast, liver, etc. You may lose shine in your skin and develop brittle nails. Alcohol may even drive you to thinking of suicide.
Quitting alcohol
You should better quit alcohol if you are experiencing any signs of dependence or addiction. You should be warned to quit if alcohol is adversely affecting you health, family life, relationships, or your employment. You may need to discontinue drinking if your doctor has advised you some medications that alcohol can interact with. You should rethink before you can drink any further if you have had accidents and physical injuries after your previous attempts of consumption of alcohol. Above all, if you are planning to conceive or are pregnant, you should resolve to give up on drinking. Alcohol can adversely affect the developing baby to cause ‘fetal alcohol syndrome’, characterized by irreversible physical and mental damage.
The first step to stop is to resolve to do so. Determine and be firm. Set a goal and seek support of friends and family. See k professional help and adopt one of the behavior modification techniques, counseling, self-help manuals, and lifestyle modifications. You may require some oral medicines to be able to quit smoothly. These medicines restore the normal balance of chemical mediators in the brain and help to recover from cravings for alcohol. Join a support group or a community program that can offer you support. You may get a chance to meet more people who have quit! You may try meditation and alternate therapies like herbal drugs, acupuncture or homeopathy.
Withdrawal symptoms
Quitting is not going to be easy. You may experience physical and psychological symptoms. Persevere and do not give up. These will ultimately resolve. You may get anxious, depressed, irritable and agitated, confused, and may even get nightmares. You may see many bizarre scenes or hear voices. You will develop fever, fast heart beat, sweating, headaches, and tremors of hands or other body parts. You may even develop seizures. An extreme stage of confusion, seizures, disorientation and shakiness is called delirium tremens.
Quit alcohol before it drinks you!
Alcoholism can leave you with serious health, family and other problems. You may lose money, family, friends, and your job too. You may be drinking alcohol, but slowly, the alcohol starts drinking you. It can drive you to dark despair. It is never too late to quit. Resolve now!
