For several years alcohol addiction exploration has revealed the fact that there is strong correlation between alcohol addiction and serious health conditions and mental health issues such as depression.
For example, in 2005, medical research and alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics showed that alcohol abuse and alcoholism cost the United States an estimated $220 billion on an annual basis. It can be emphasized that this huge alcohol-related expenditure was significantly more than the cost linked with cancer ($196 billion) or with obesity ($133 billion). While it is pertinent to emphasize these facts, it is also noteworthy to point to the fact that an interrelationship exists between all three of these health problems.
Stated another way, chronic alcohol abuse and alcoholism are also highly associated with obesity and with cancer.
To be sure, substance abuse investigation has revealed that alcohol dependency can increase the risk for various types of cancer, particularly cancer of the colon, voice box (larynx), liver, rectum, throat, kidneys, and the esophagus. Abusive and recurring drinking can also lead to immune system problems and deformity to the fetus during pregnancy.
Hazardous and Abusive Drinking Enfeebles the Individual’s Organs and Systems
Additionally, if alcoholism continues over a period of years, the individual’s body organs will probably be affected in a negative manner. For instance, chronic, hazardous drinking is particularly dangerous to the liver due to the fact that the liver does most of the work of processing the alcohol that has been consumed. Excessive amounts of alcohol kills liver cells and obliterates the ability of liver cells to regenerate. This medical condition leads to a progressive inflammatory injury to the liver that can in the end lead to cirrhosis of the liver, a serious and potentially terminal medical problem. Excessive, long-term drinking not only can result in acute liver damage, but it can also lead to damage to the heart and to the brain. Physical damage this critical may be irreparable and may, in turn, result in serious ill health or premature death.
The Importance of Alcohol Treatment
It is vital, as a result, to know how to identify the different alcoholism symptoms and the “alcohol signs” so that the alcohol dependent individual can be given the opportunity to seek the professional alcohol therapy he or she needs.
Alcohol Addiction and Technologically Advanced Brain Exploration
Fortunately, medical examination is relentlessly discovering innovative and significant information. Recent alcoholism research offers a good example. Stated differently, for roughly the last ten years, complex brain-imaging scanning devices have confirmed that repetitive and long-term hazardous drinking modifies the functionality of the brain to a significant extent, therefore resulting in brain disease that can last months, years, or conceivably as long as the person exists.
More correctly, medical exploration has shown that people who have been drinking excessively for a considerable length of time increase their risk for developing long lasting and serious alterations in the brain.
This type of damage may be directly related to the alcohol’s effects on the brain, to severe liver disease, or might be indirectly associated with the drinker’s poor overall health.
Mental Disorders, Malnutrition, and Excessive Drinking
As a final illustration of diverse medical problems that are largely related to alcohol dependency, consider that in accordance with scientific exploration, the excessive and repeated abuse of alcohol can result in erosive gastritis, a medical condition that limits the absorption of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.
This form of organ malfunctioning is associated with malnutrition and to an assortment of severe neurological and mental problems including sleep disturbances, memory loss, and psychosis such as Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome. This latter medical condition is an enduring debilitating condition that is typified by incessant memory and learning problems.
Irresponsible and Hazardous Drinking Also Leads to Relationship and Friendship Conflicts and Problems and Time, Anger, and Stress Management Predicaments
In addition to critical health problems, excessive drinking also leads to relationship and friendship issues. As an illustration, people who engage in heavy drinking typically experience marital difficulties, affairs, sexuality problems, and divorce, and they many times go through stress, anger, and time management difficulties.
Conclusion: The Relevance of Education
It is clear that continued, hazardous drinking is directly or indirectly linked to numerous critical medical problems that can and do result in serious illness and premature death. Such information needs to be highlighted and presented to everyone in our society, especially to all students, so that most people will be able to abstain from irresponsible drinking while other individuals who have a drinking problem will get the quality treatment they require.
Let us look at this with a common sense perspective. Yes, alcohol treatment is important, but alcohol counseling is something that is usually done AFTER the fact. Education, then again, is something that is done BEFORE the problem materializes. Stated differently, whereas alcohol rehab is “reactive,” education is “proactive.” It is declared that both approaches are required when discussing alcohol abuse and alcoholism.
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