Alcoholism: Causes, Risk Factors, and Symptoms

So, heavy drinking can eventually cause changes to the brain that result in dependence on alcohol. Physical dependence, triggers, social pressure, and withdrawal symptoms then make why is alcohol so addictive it challenging to stop drinking, even for people who truly want to quit. When people who are dependent on alcohol try to stop drinking, they often experience withdrawal symptoms.

Lack of Control Over Drinking

Asking for help can be very difficult, especially because alcohol is usually one part of a complex coping mechanism, and it can feel very difficult, even scary, to think about living without this coping method. Alcohol use disorder doesn’t need to be severe to seriously affect your life, work, relationships, and health. However, there are a few key symptoms and warning signs to look out for. Alcohol use disorder is a complex disorder that affects several brain systems, including the mesolimbic dopaminergic system of the brain, among other areas.

Wegovy linked to lower risk of alcohol use disorder in real-world study

These interactive effects could cause medications to become less or more effective. Or, they could create additive side effects such as heightened drowsiness or an increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, says Moore. If you’re taking any https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/5-alcoholic-types-in-alcoholism/ medication, be sure to read the package label and insert carefully—and/or talk to your doctor—to see if you should abstain from drinking alcohol altogether. It’s estimated 11% of the U.S. population has a diagnosable alcohol use disorder.

The Effect of Alcohol on the Brain and the Body

While your drinking habits play an important role in the development of alcoholism, other factors matter too. The reward pathway is located in the reward center and is responsible for responding to the body as a result of good or bad behaviors by releasing dopamine and serotonin into the body. When alcohol is present, it stimulates these neurotransmitters, causing feelings of euphoria and affecting the individual’s inhibition.

Reward Center

• In theory, these stages of addiction can happen so gradually that people don’t realize how out of control their drinking has become until they’ve reached the middle or late stage.
• According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, women shouldn’t drink more than one drink per day, and men shouldn’t drink more than two drinks per day.
• These symptoms can be both physical and psychological and can include tremors, sweating, seizures, or severe anxiety.
• While your drinking habits play an important role in the development of alcoholism, other factors matter too.
• However, according to research from 2018, even drinking within governmental “safe” limits, scientifically, still results in harm.

At this point, many people are dependent on alcohol not just to feel good but to not feel bad and to avoid withdrawal. The final stage of alcoholism is when the person must drink regularly in order to avoid severe withdrawal symptoms. By the time a person reaches this stage, they are experiencing both physical and mental health deterioration—the outlook is bleak if they don’t get help. Malnutrition, cancer, and liver disease are long-term effects of alcohol abuse.

How Does Alcoholism Affect the Brain?

It was once believed that alcohol affected the entire brain because it was simply a membrane disruptor. Alcoholism has been known by a variety of terms, including alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence. During acute and protracted withdrawal, a profound negative emotional state evolves, termed hyperkatifeia (hyper-kuh-TEE-fee-uh). These brain changes related to excessive alcohol use underlie many AUD symptoms. Still, there are some widely agreed-upon guidelines — drinking thresholds above which a person’s risk of developing a disease or shaving time off their life significantly increases, according to the data. In this type of treatment, you live at an addiction treatment center, attend programming during the day, and participate in recovery activities in the evenings.

If you or a loved one is addicted to alcohol, learn as much as you can about alcohol use disorder. Explore treatment options to determine which makes the most sense for your personality, preferences, level of addiction, and budget. And alcohol’s long-term impact on the brain doesn’t end there. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant that unbalances GABA (which calms the central nervous system) and glutamate (which ramps it up). Eventually, people who drink heavily can begin to rely on alcohol to keep their nervous system in check.

By Courtney Cosby “I drank too much last night, and the night before that. While I am consuming it, it is consuming me.” These are words that sadly come out of the mouths of too many people. Alcoholism is painful both for the individual who can’t stay away from the drink and for the people who love them, as they watch them move through life in a haze. This debilitating disorder leaves individuals and families frustrated while they try to figure out how to solve the problem of alcoholism in their lives. What makes it so indispensable to the person who seems to be so ruled by drink? Alcoholism has many causes, with roots in social, genetic, psychological and physiological factors.

• Treating alcohol addiction with evidence-based and holistic therapies and building a sober support system are key components of alcohol rehab.
• Rates of alcohol use generally go up with income and educational attainment.
• That’s where professional treatment comes in, offering the structure and support needed for recovery.
• Your brain starts relying on alcohol to do the work of releasing and regulating these chemicals.
• The truth is that any of us who drink to excess may cause problems for ourselves and others, and may need help to overcome those problems – whatever words we chose to use to describe ourselves.

What your biological age can reveal about your health

All of the above symptoms and signs of alcoholism are negative effects of drinking. If you’re drinking despite these warning signs, you have a problem. You can promote healthy changes in the brains and behaviors of patients with AUD by encouraging them to take a long-term, science-based approach to getting better.