The Alcohol Report - An Eye Opening Debate

If you suffer from alcoholism, you may delude yourself into thinking that you are consuming alcohol. The fact of the matter is that it is alcoholism that is consuming you, your hard earned money, energy, time and above all your health.

Alcoholism means addiction to consuming alcoholic beverages despite the knowledge of their detrimental physical and social consequences. Medics define alcoholism as a disease which disables a person from controlling the urge to take alcohol. Alcoholism, therefore, implies a tendency for compulsive consumption of alcohol and an inability to acknowledge its negative effects.

Some people consume alcohol, have problems with it but suppress its characteristics and symptoms. This is termed as 'alcohol abuse'. It also implies that the subject indulges in excessive drinking of alcohol but does not completely lose his control over its use. He may not have become fully dependent upon it like an alcohol addict.

According to the estimates of the National Council of Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, around 18 million Americans abuse alcohol. More than 100,000 Americans die of alcohol generated health problems. Half of road accident deaths are caused due to driving under the influence of alcohol.

Even the hardened alcohol drinkers quite often refuse to admit they are addicts. They, therefore, try to drink stealthily. They keep their quota of drinks hidden at unlikely places in home, workplace or cars. Once they start drinking, they find it difficult to control their urge to drink more. They start gulping the liquor greedily ordering 'doubles'.

They tend to forget their social commitments and conversations. This obliviousness is termed as 'blacking out'. They lose their interest in healthy entertainments, activities and hobbies that bring them pleasure. They reveal Palvlovian symptoms as their drinking time nears. Their urge for drink becomes irresistible as the minutes pass by. They become irritable if they are denied their daily doze of alcohol. The alcoholics, by and large, enter into legal disputes with their relatives, employers and financiers. They build a kind of tolerance towards alcohol. The more they drink it, the more they want it to feel its effects.

Alcoholism or physical dependence on alcohol takes place gradually. The increase in ingestion of alcohol alters the balance in brain chemicals such as gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which impedes its impulsiveness while glutamate excites the nervous system. Alcohol also elevates the dopamine level in the brain which is associated with the excitable aspects of drinking alcohol. Excessive and continued intake of alcohol affects the status of the chemicals by either multiplying or depleting them. This process causes the body to either crave for alcohol to restore the pleasurable feelings or to avoid negative feelings.

Discover how to Stop Drinking Alcohol written by Ed Philips and Get Free Advice to help you Quit Alcohol Today.