For more than a few years alcohol addiction exploration has revealed the fact that there is strong linkage between alcohol addiction and critical health conditions and mental health issues such as depression.
For instance, in 2005, medical examination and alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics revealed that alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency cost the United States an estimated $220 billion on an annual basis. It can be stressed that this very large alcohol-related cash disbursement was substantially more than the cost linked with cancer ($196 billion) or with obesity ($133 billion). While it is important to put emphasis on these facts, it is also noteworthy to point out that an interrelationship exists between all three of these health issues.
More precisely, chronic alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction are also highly interrelated with obesity and with cancer.
Indeed, substance abuse examination has demonstrated the fact that alcohol dependency can increase the risk for different kinds of cancer, particularly cancer of the voice box (larynx), esophagus, liver, rectum, colon, kidneys, and throat. Hazardous and recurring drinking can also result in immune system difficulties and injury to the fetus during pregnancy.
Abusive and Irresponsible Drinking Weakens the Problem Drinker’s Organs and Systems
What is more, if alcohol addiction continues over a period of years, the individual’s body organs will probably be affected in a harmful manner. As an illustration, chronic, hazardous drinking is especially detrimental to the liver since the liver does most of the work of processing the alcohol that has been ingested. Unwarranted amounts of alcohol kills liver cells and obliterates the ability of liver cells to regenerate. This medical circumstance leads to a progressive inflammatory disease of the liver that can in the end lead to cirrhosis of the liver, an acute and potentially deadly disease. 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 dangerous may be irreparable and may, in turn, result in severe ill health or premature death.
The Importance of Alcohol Counseling
It is essential, as a result, to know how to identify the various alcoholism symptoms and the “alcohol signs” so that the alcoholic can be given the opportunity to seek the quality alcohol therapy he or she needs.
Alcohol Addiction and Technologically Advanced Brain Exploration
Fortunately, scientific exploration is constantly unearthing innovative and significant information. Recent alcoholism research supplies a high-quality illustration. More specifically, for roughly the last ten years, complicated brain-imaging scanning devices have confirmed that repetitive and long lasting hazardous drinking modifies the constitution of the brain to a substantial extent, as a consequence resulting in brain disease that can last months, years, or perchance as long as the person exists.
More accurately, medical research has shown that people who have been drinking in an irresponsible manner for an extensive length of time increase their risk for developing long lasting and serious modifications in the brain.
This type of damage may be indirectly associated with the drinker’s poor overall health or directly related to severe liver disease or to the alcohol’s effects on the brain.
Mental Disorders, Malnutrition, and Excessive Drinking
As a final illustration of assorted medical conditions that are substantially related to alcoholism, take into consideration the fact that according to medical examination, the hazardous and repeated abuse of alcohol can lead to erosive gastritis, a medical condition that limits the absorption of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.
This type of organ failure is correlated with malnutrition and to an assortment of severe mental and neurological syndromes including sleep disturbances, memory loss, and psychosis such as Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome. This latter health problem is an enduring debilitating health problem that is epitomized by continual learning and memory problems.
Irresponsible and Hazardous Drinking Also Leads to in Friendship and Relationship Difficulties
In addition to serious health problems, irresponsible and excessive drinking also results in friendship and relationship problems. As an illustration, people who engage in excessive drinking typically suffer from marital problems, divorce, affairs, and sexuality problems.
Conclusion: The Importance of Education
It is clear that repetitive, excessive drinking is directly or indirectly correlated with a number of severe medical conditions that can and do lead to dangerous illness and premature death. Such information needs to be underlined and presented to everyone in our society, especially to all students, so that a large number of individuals will be able to abstain from excessive drinking while others who have a drinking problem will get the quality rehabilitation they need.
Let us look at this pragmatically. Yes, alcohol rehab is important, but alcohol rehab is something that is often done AFTER the fact. Education, from a different vantage point, is something that is done BEFORE the problem becomes obvious. Stated differently, whereas alcohol counseling is “reactive,” education is “proactive.” It is declared that both approaches are necessary when discussing alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency.
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