Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive, and often fatal disease. It is a primary disorder and not a symptom of other diseases or emotional problems. The chemistry of alcohol allows it to affect nearly every type of cell in the body, including those in the central nervous system. After prolonged exposure to alcohol, the brain adapts to the changes alcohol makes and becomes dependent on it. The severity of this disease is influenced by factors such as genetics, psychology, culture, and response to physical pain.

Signs of this disease include making excuses to drink, a lack of control over drinking, an alcoholic may not drink for months or years, but when they do, they have difficulty stopping. Also a denial of drinking problems. Tolerance to the effects of alcohol, an alcoholic person is able to consume a great amount of alcohol, before showing any signs of drinking. Feeling annoyed when criticized about drinking, keeping and hiding alcohol in unlikely places, drinking first think in the morning to avoid a hangover, showing aggressive behavior while drinking, drinking when alone, unexplained mood swings, missing work, looking interest in social activities, neglect of physical appearance, may experience paranoia, unnatural fears or contemplate suicide, and they will most likely have an impaired memory, forgetting what happened.

There are long term effects of this disease. Some are Liver disease, Heart disease, Cancer and Pancreatitis.

Alcoholism can be treated. Alcoholism treatment programs use both counseling and medications to help a person stop drinking. Most alcoholics need help to recover from this disease. Alcoholism cannot be cured, as of now. Even if an alcoholic hasn't been drinking for a long time, he or she can still suffer a relapse. To prevent this from happening an alcoholic must avoid all alcoholic beverages. Alcoholism treatment works for many people but just like any chronic disease there are many levels of success when it comes to treatment. Some people stop drinking and remain sober, others have long periods where they don't drink at all but then start drinking regularly again.

Alcoholism effects the lives of many people. Nearly fourteen million people in the United States suffer from this disease. One in every thirteen adults abuse alcohol or are an alcoholic. In general, this disease effects more men than it does women. Alcohol problems are the