Overcoming Alcohol Abuse

An alcoholic is an individual who is suffering from alcoholism or chronic addiction to alcohol consumption. Alcoholics are often found to be helpless in the matters of alcohol consumption, and find difficulty in setting a limit or adhering to the set limit for consumption of alcohol. They depend on alcohol in order to relax, relieve stress or to simply feel good about their own self, and separating them from their rising obsession with alcohol becomes quite a challenging task.

It is often assumed wrongly that alcoholism is the same as alcohol disorder, whereas the denotation for each differs ever so slightly. There is a significant difference between the two – the sufferers of alcoholism cannot control their consumption, whereas the alcohol abuse victims face a problem with the consumption with alcohol, but have not lost complete control over the situation.

Though both the conditions are associated with alcohol disorder, the basic difference lies in the fact that alcohol abuse can be treated more easily as compared to alcoholism. Alcoholism is more complicated and chronic, and hence professional assistance is mandatory for recovery, whereas alcohol abuse can be reversed with sheer will power of the victim and support from loved ones.

Alcoholism can be caused by several factors. Lifestyle choices, habits and personal preferences can transform an individual into alcoholic. Binge drinking, excessive social drinking and indulging in heavy dosages of liquor can render a person alcoholic. Family history of drinking issues, more cases of alcohol disorders in the surrounding environment, and presence of stressors like co-dependency, peer pressure etc can lead an individual towards alcoholism as well.

An alcoholic is characterized as an individual who has a severe alcohol addiction and disorder, and cannot set limits or control his or her dependence on alcohol, even as he or she faces family problems, loss of relationships, legal and social troubles and issues with employers. An alcoholic often has very low self esteem, difficulty in facing reality, low confidence, poor psychological and emotional health, and almost non-existent morale.

Alcoholism can cause severe health problems as well, most of which become irreversible and untreatable with the advancement of the condition. Liver problems like cirrhosis or scarring of the liver tissue, liver cancer, tumors, hepatitis B and colon cancer. These problems can give rise to chronic secondary health issues as well. Alcoholics are a great burden to the society and well-being of others – there are about 2000 cases of deaths due to drunken driving or car crashes every year in the United Kingdom alone.

Help is available, and recovery is possible, though slow. Therapy, group and solo counseling sessions, support from family members and fellow alcoholics, residential or outpatient treatment sessions at rehabilitation centers, and relapse prevention programs can help the individual recover from this devastating problem. It is essential that the loved ones of the alcoholic provide constant support and motivation – it takes tremendous strength on part of an alcoholic to admit to an underlying alcohol disorder, and patient hard work is what decides the further course of recovery from there on.

If you are trying to overcome alcohol abuse and need some professional support and advice, feel free to call us at anytime.