Therapy can help people who suffered as a child to address those challenges and develop healthier coping skills. An informed minority opinion, especially among sociologists, believes that the medicalization of alcoholism is an error. Unlike most disease symptoms, the loss of control over drinking does not hold true at all times or in all situations. The alcoholic is not always under internal pressure to drink and can sometimes resist the impulse to drink or can drink in a controlled way.
Clinicians call such a behavioral disorder a disease because it persists for years, is strongly hereditary, and is a major cause of death and disability. In addition, alcohol permanently alters the brain’s plasticity with regard to free choice over beginning or stopping drinking episodes. As with other medical diseases but unlike most bad habits, prospective studies demonstrate that willpower per se is of little predictive significance.
Alcohol & Your Health
Treatment for alcoholism often involves a combination of therapy, medication, and support. If you think you might have an alcohol use disorder or if you are worried that your alcohol consumption has become problematic, it is important to talk to your doctor to discuss your treatment options. Three medications are currently approved in the United States to help people stop or reduce their drinking and prevent relapse. They are prescribed by a primary care physician or other health professional and may be used alone or in combination with counseling. Clinicians should encourage patients to attend AA meetings and consider involving their family members in recovery.
- One recent analysis found a sobering relationship between alcohol and health.
- In a modern industrial community, this makes alcoholism similar to a disease.
- Professionals in the alcohol treatment field offer advice on what to consider when choosing a treatment program.
- During pregnancy, the fetal liver metabolizes alcohol slower due to incomplete expression of enzymes CYP2E1 and ADH.
- Consider talking with someone who has had a problem with drinking but has stopped.
- These factors include the home environment, peer interactions, genetic predisposition, cognitive functioning, and the presence of certain personality disorders.
Addiction not only involves the individual suffering, but their partner, their family, and their friends as well. Loved ones can provide immeasurable support, but they almost take care of themselves throughout an often difficult journey. As anyone who has had even a glass of wine can attest, alcohol can have a noticeable influence on mood. Drinking releases endorphins which can lead people to feel happy, energized, and excited. But alcohol is also classified as a depressant and can cause fatigue, restlessness, and depression.
What’s Technically Considered Alcoholism?
Therapy is useful to help teach someone how to manage the stress of recovery and the skills needed to prevent a relapse. Also, a healthy diet can help undo damage alcohol may have done to the person’s health, like weight gain or loss. Many people addicted to alcohol also turn to 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). There are also other support groups that don’t follow the 12-step model, such as SMART Recovery and Sober Recovery. In the DSM-5, alcohol use disorder is further classified into categories of mild, moderate, and severe.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is another path, available in person or online. Non-abstinence-based recovery models—such as Moderation Management—advocate for reducing one’s alcohol consumption rather than abstaining completely. Heavy drinking can fuel changes in the brain—about half of people who meet the criteria for alcoholism show problems with thinking or memory, research suggests. The ability to plan ahead, learn and hold information (like a phone number or shopping list), withhold responses as needed, and work with spatial information (such as using a map) can be affected. Brain structures can shift as well, particularly in the frontal lobes, which are key for planning, making decisions, and regulating emotions.
Warning signs
Based on clinical experience, many health providers believe that support from friends and family members is important in overcoming alcohol problems. But friends https://ecosoberhouse.com/ and family may feel unsure about how best to provide the support needed. The groups for family and friends listed below may be a good starting point.