Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism: An Introduction
Alcoholic drinks have been prepared and drunk for thousands of years, and the problems that go with excess alcohol drinking have undoubtedly been around just as long. High levels of alcohol consumption can lead to physical illness and psychological and social distress. Alcohol has then always had an ambivalent position in society.
The increasing use of alcohol, along with other drugs of abuse, is a serious public health problem across all age ranges, but especially so in the young.
Alcoholism is also known as "alcohol dependence." It is a disease that includes alcohol desire and continued drinking in spite of repeated alcohol-related problems, such as losing a job or getting into trouble with the law. It includes four symptoms:
- Craving
- Impaired control
- Physical dependence
- Tolerance
Alcoholism is now accepted as a disease. It is a persistent and often progressive disease. Like many diseases, it has a generally predictable course and is influenced by both genetic (inherited) and environmental factors.
Alcoholism, or alcohol dependence is a medical term with a deliberately more precise meaning than the problems that can occur, sometimes as one-offs, through an uncharacteristic binge. In alcohol dependence a number of features come together in the behavior of the person affected.
- Drinking begins to take priority over other activities. It becomes a compulsion.
- Tolerance develops, so it takes more alcohol to produce drunkenness.
- Withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety and tremor develop after a short period without a drink, and are reduced by taking more alcohol.
Often alcohol dependence remains undetected for years. Both the availability of alcohol and the way it is used (the social patterns) appear to be major factors in influencing the likelihood of a person becoming alcohol dependent.................
