Alcoholism is a disease that most Poles struggle with of all addictions. It is an addiction that ruins the life of not only the sick person but also the whole family. The symptoms of alcoholism are difficult to recognize in the first phase of the disease. How to recognize them? How to fight alcoholism?
Alcoholism what is this disease?
Alcohol is all around us. As a rule, people drink. Most drink moderately and without problems, and this is an unconscious process for them. This fact contributes to the creation of a climate conducive to the emergence of alcoholism. Since alcoholism was recognized as a disease, various attempts have been made to define it. Alcoholism-its symptoms are often subjective, which makes it difficult for outsiders to recognize them in the first phase of addiction. Alcoholics mask symptoms and the disease is difficult to recognize. Alcoholism begins inconspicuously with a few drinks, in meetings, after work for relaxation, for company. It affects everyone, both men and women, regardless of age. It is often difficult to distinguish between alcoholism, that is, the need to reach for alcohol, and the liking to drink. Alcoholism is therefore any form of drinking that exceeds the traditional and customary use of alcohol, and goes beyond the social norms of drinking in a given community, regardless of the etiological factors leading to this type of behavior, regardless of the extent to which these etiological factors are related to drinking. heredity, constitution or acquired pathophysiological and metabolic influences. Alcoholism is therefore both a mental and physical addiction to alcohol. An addict does not control his condition and does not know when to stop drinking. Alcoholism is a stigma, but the sooner it is recognized, the greater the chances of a person returning to normal life.
The phases of alcoholism
Alcoholism goes through successive phases. In the beginning there is an introductory phase in which alcohol is considered a good way to relax and help with stress. The second phase is a warning as you drink more and more alcohol, until memory gaps emerge, you start drinking in secret. The next phase – critical, in which alcohol is the goal of life and the drinker cannot cope with it on his own. There are brief periods of abstinence, during which there are physical symptoms of craving alcohol. The final phase is the chronic phase, when the alcoholic drinks uninhibited all the time and can end up dying from exhaustion.
Alcoholism- symptoms
Alcoholism is recognized by specialists, psychiatrists. There are both mental and physical symptoms of alcoholism. At the beginning there are anxiety states, mood swings, explosiveness, apathy and lack of energy, concentration disorders, memory disorders, irritability, disturbed sense of responsibility, inability to feel pleasure, irrational perception of reality. There is an alcohol craving -. The alcoholic feels a strong thirst, the compulsion to drink, because when he stops, he feels very bad, he lacks something. If an alcoholic stops drinking, the next symptom is abstinence syndrome, when physical symptoms of alcoholism occur, such as: blood pressure spikes, heart rhythm disturbances, tremors, not only of the hands but also of the whole body, nausea, vomiting, coagulation of sweats, a feeling of tension, hypersensitivity to sounds, anxiety. A symptom of alcoholism is also the difficulty in avoiding starting and stopping drinking, and limiting the amount of alcohol consumed. Alcoholics also have an increased alcohol tolerance, which means they must consume more and more alcohol to feel the effect. Another symptom of alcoholism is focusing all one’s life on drinking. The alcoholic is all about drinking a drink all the time. I don’t want relationships with family, friends. The alcoholic is aware of the health and social consequences of his addiction, but he does not change his behavior. Another symptom of alcoholism is the occurrence of depressive states. Drinking alcohol causes a depressed mood and can also lead to suicide attempts. There is also an advanced stage of alcohol dementia, with severe intellectual impairment. There is also a symptom of alcoholism in the form of – Korsakoff’s syndrome – that is, a chronic disease. The person suffering from it is completely confused – does not know what day, time, where it is.