Alcohol and addiction

- Withdrawal crisis: the individual is unable to put an end to the consumption of alcohol, and a need arises (not being able to drink causes tremors, anxiety, sweating, epilepsy)

- Difficulty in controlling the amount of alcohol consumed

- Alcohol becomes one of the main concerns of the individual, who makes sure to always have it available.

- The individual expresses a desire to stop or decrease the consumption of alcohol, but fails.

- The consumption of alcohol has negative consequences on the social life of the individual.

- The individual continues to consume alcohol despite having health problems.

The maximum consumption threshold is:

- in humans: 3 glasses per day (which correspond to 36 grams of pure alcohol)

- in women: 2 glasses per day (corresponding to 24 grams of pure alcohol)

- in the pregnant woman or child: they must not consume alcohol

What are the causes of alcoholism?

- Physical causes:

Alcohol, like all drugs, triggers a "reward mechanism" in the brain: a person who consumes a drug feels better and is therefore inclined to start over but, if this substance is taken regularly, to obtain the same effect the body will ask for more and more. This phenomenon, called tolerance, is the sign of addiction.

- Psychological causes:

Depressions or more serious problems (mental disorders, sexual abuse, assaults ...)

- Genetic causes:

Within the same family, alcoholism can be transmitted between generations.

Some ongoing studies are trying to identify the genes responsible for alcohol addiction. It should be borne in mind, however, that although the risk of having alcohol-related problems triples in the children of alcoholics, only a small percentage of them become truly addicted (15% of males and 5% of females) and, at the likewise, a person can become addicted even if he or she has no family history.

- Social causes:

Social causes are often invoked to justify excessive alcohol consumption: cultural heritage, family tradition, meetings with friends ... in society, alcohol consumption is considered a virile practice, for example in the evenings with friends.

Alcoholism often affects people who have direct access to alcohol in their workplace (producers and distributors).

Alcoholism can also be caused by family or professional tensions; in this case, alcohol becomes a means of escaping reality.

However, we must not forget that although 90% of adults consume alcohol, only 10% can be considered addicted.

What are the consequences of alcoholism?

The secondary effects of alcoholism are numerous:

- Consequences on oneself:

Alcohol abuse can have psychological consequences on the individual (stress, psychological problems or mental disorders) but also physical ones. Every year 23,000 people die from diseases related to alcohol abuse: cancers (of the lips, mouth, pharynx, larynx), cardiovascular disease, cirrhosis ...

- Consequences on others:

Alcoholism can be the cause of aggressive behaviors, road accidents (on average, 4,000 people a year die in accidents caused by a drunk driver), and increases the risk of having unprotected sex.

How to heal?

- Drugs

Two types of drugs are used in treating alcohol addiction. First, during the period of abstinence, sedatives are administered to avoid or reduce the symptoms caused by the interruption of alcohol consumption (tremors, palpitations, sweating, epilepsy ...). The second type of drugs fights the desire to drink.

These two types of drugs, associated with a suitable therapy, avoid relapses.

- Psychotherapy:

Sometimes the doctor may propose psychotherapy, which aims to solve the problems directly or indirectly related to excessive alcohol consumption.

- Group therapies

The listening groups are numerous, but the most famous are Alcoholics Anonymous. The advantage of following group therapy is that you meet other people in the same situation. Help no longer comes from direct contact with a psychotherapist, but from exchanges with other dependent people.

- Detoxification treatments:

Detoxification treatments allow the individual to immerse themselves in a period of total abstinence, usually away from their environment. To eliminate alcohol from the body, the patient undergoes medical treatment associated with psychotherapy that should prevent him from relapsing into alcoholism once the detoxification is over.

The key ingredient, however, is willpower ...

For more information: www.alcoholics-anonymous.it

See also our practice sheet: Addiction