When Irresponsible and Heavy Drinking Results in Serious Health Problems and Mental Health Issues
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009For a number of years alcoholism research has demonstrated the fact that there is strong association between alcohol addiction and life-threatening health conditions and mental health issues such as depression.
As an illustration, in 2005, scientific investigation and alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics demonstrated the fact that that alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency cost the United States an estimated $220 billion annually. It can be stressed that this considerable alcohol-related expense was substantially more than the cost linked with cancer ($196 billion) or with obesity ($133 billion). While it is important to accentuate these facts, it is also important to highlight the fact that an interrelationship exists between all three of these health problems.
More precisely, chronic alcohol abuse and alcoholism are also highly interrelated with obesity and with cancer.
Undeniably, substance abuse exploration has revealed that alcohol dependency can boost the risk for various kinds of cancer, particularly cancer of the liver, voice box (larynx), kidneys, colon, esophagus, rectum, and the throat. Hazardous and recurring drinking can also result in immune system problems and deformity to the fetus during pregnancy.
Hazardous and Excessive Drinking Destabilizes the Person’s Organs and Systems
What is more, if alcoholism continues over a period of years, the individual’s body organs will more likely than not be affected in an unsafe manner. For instance, repeated, hazardous drinking is especially dangerous to the liver due to the fact that the liver does most of the work of processing the alcohol that has been ingested. Unwarranted amounts of alcohol kills liver cells and eradicates the ability of liver cells to reproduce. This condition leads to a progressive inflammatory malfunction of the liver that can in the long run lead to cirrhosis of the liver, a precarious and possibly lethal medical problem.Heavy, long-term drinking not only can lead to serious liver damage, but it can also lead to damage to the heart and to the brain. Physical damage this serious may be unalterable and may, in turn, lead to serious illness or premature death.
The Significance of Alcohol Counseling
It is critical, then, to know how to identify the various alcoholism symptoms and the “alcohol signs” so that the alcohol addicted individual can be given the opportunity to get the quality alcohol rehabilitation he or she needs.
Alcoholism and Technologically Advanced Brain Exploration
Fortuitously, medical exploration is persistently uncovering unique and important information. Recent alcoholism exploration offers a first-rate example. More specifically, for approximately the last ten years, sophisticated brain-imaging scanning instruments have confirmed that repetitive and long lasting irresponsible drinking modifies the structure of the brain to a significant extent, thereby resulting in brain disease that can last months, years, or conceivably as long as the person lives.
More explicitly, medical examination has shown that individuals who have been drinking excessively for a considerable length of time increase their risk for developing long-term and serious changes in the brain.
This type of damage may be directly related to severe liver disease, to the alcohol’s effects on the brain, or might be indirectly associated with the drinker’s poor overall health.
Excessive Drinking, Malnutrition, and Mental Disorders
As a final example of different medical problems that are substantially associated with alcohol dependency, take into consideration the fact that in accordance with scientific investigation, the abusive and repeated abuse of alcohol can lead to erosive gastritis, a medical condition that reduces the absorption of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
This kind of organ malfunctioning is associated with malnutrition and to a variety of critical neurological and mental disorders including sleep disturbances, memory loss, and psychosis such as Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome. This latter medical condition is a long lasting debilitating health problem that is characterized by incessant memory and learning problems.
Summary
It is evident that continued, hazardous drinking is directly or indirectly correlated with a variety of serious medical conditions that can and do result in serious ailments and premature death. Such information needs to be emphasized and presented to everyone in our society so that a large number of people will be able to abstain from irresponsible drinking while others who have a drinking problem will get the professional rehabilitation they need.