Cause and Effect of Alcohol and Drinking Too Much
Uploaded by mumsa1 on Dec 15, 2011
Regularly drinking too much alcohol can lead to an increased risk of developing medical conditions, such as liver damage, heart problems and even cancer.
In this article:
What is problem drinking?
Causes of problem drinking
Treatment for problem drinking
Symptoms of problem drinking
Effect of problem drinking on your life
Advice & Support
What is problem drinking?
Most of us enjoy a social drink from time to time. Alcohol makes us feel relaxed and helps us to lose our inhibitions. The pressure of work or simply keeping on top of things at home can seem easier if we know we can enjoy a couple of pints of beer or a glass of wine at the end of the day.
However, if you drink to excess this can become a problem which can impact upon all areas of your life, and also that of your partner, family, friends, work colleagues, and even people you do not know (through injuring them after losing control of your car, or when operating machinery, due to the alcohol in your bloodstream affecting your concentration, for example).
Symptoms of problem drinking
Symptoms of problem drinking can include:
A strong desire for alcohol that becomes harder to satisfy the more you drink – leaving you seemingly trapped in a vicious circle
Being unable to get through each day without having an alcoholic drink (this can be a small amount, and does not necessarily mean that you would become drunk or out of control)
The neglect of your family, friends, work and also social activities (that do not involve drinking) that you would normally enjoy
Withdrawal symptoms (trembling, breaking into a sweat, nausea and convulsions), that only taking an alcohol drink can prevent or control
Causes of problem drinking
Each individual’s capacity for alcohol is different. But when enough alcohol has been imbibed that your physical coordination is affected, and the judgment part of your brain has been slowed down – this is where drinking becomes, well, a problem.
Of course, there could be a whole multitude of reasons and factors behind why you drink to excess. For example:
Enjoyment of the actual taste of alcoholic drinks (this can lead to addiction)
Peer pressure
To reduce inner tension and lessen stress and anxiety
To boost confidence in social situations
To stave off loneliness
To find the courage to face difficult situations
To forget problems at home or at work for while (drinking to escape)
Also, you may have a genetic predisposition to developing a problem with alcohol – a history of...