How Does Alcohol Affect the Body?

Alcohol addiction is a debilitating and menacing habit. It’s like a disease that has far-reaching negative impacts on the human body, mind, and society in general. Our blog post today will explore the causes and symptoms of alcoholism and its effects on the human body.

Symptoms of Alcoholism

The general public does not consider alcohol as a drug, but it is one. Why do we say so? Because it is highly addictive. People tend to consume it despite being fully aware of the issues that alcohol causes. Some of the symptoms of alcoholism are:

• Loss of Control: The person has no control over his drinking.
• Craving: There are cravings for consuming alcohol which is beyond the control of the individual.
• Alcohol Tolerance: Over time the quantity of alcohol consumed increases as the body develops tolerance to it.
• Withdrawal: If a person makes an attempt in leaving alcohol then his body shows strong withdrawal symptoms.

It doesn’t really matter whether you are having a beer or something hard, as long there is alcohol in the drink you can fall prey to its addiction.

Why is Alcohol so Addictive?

It’s all about the reward system of the human body and dopamine. When a person consumes alcohol there is a release of dopamine and the body’s reward system kicks into action. A person feels really confident and happy. Joy floats around but every ounce of this joy is just a mirage. It’s just the rush of dopamine doing its magic. Now over time, the body develops tolerance to alcohol and the body needs more and more of it, this is the tipping point and a person gets addicted to it. Now you know why alcohol is so addictive. People who start drinking early in their lives are more likely to become alcoholics than those who start at a later stage in life.

Effect of Alcoholism on Health and Body

Consuming alcohol is bad for health. There are no doubts about it. The effect of alcoholism on the body is serious and at times fatal. The most common health condition associated with alcoholism is cirrhosis of the liver. It’s a disease where the liver due to alcohol abuse gets scarred and the damage caused is irreversible. It’s a slow death for sure. Liver cirrhosis kills a person slowly and over the years. The only treatment available is to go for a liver transplant.

Heart Disease is also a very real risk for people addicted to alcohol and the most probable cause for a weak heart amongst alcoholics is undue stress on the heart and lack of nutrition. That’s why often you would see people undergoing alcohol rehab being admitted to the hospital as they would require constant health monitoring in order to survive the entire process. Problems with the pancreas are also very common in this group of people. Mental health issues are always present. Excess consumption of alcohol causes confusion and a lack of making rational decisions.

Hope you liked our blog post. We are a rehab concern and we feel that every person deserves a second chance. Should you need any kind of guidance for alcohol rehab then feel free to drop us a message. We will be more than glad to help you.