Complications, Treating and Coping With Alcoholism

Alcohol is a drug and depresses the central nervous system. A person who suffers from alcoholism may initially have a reaction that is of a stimulating nature but as drinking continues the alcohol will have more of a sedative nature. Alcohol also lowers your inhibitions and can also affect your thinking processes which means that judgment can be faulty and individuals under the influence of alcohol may behave in ways they would not otherwise behave which often gets those who drink into trouble. Alcohol also affects your emotions making you feel depressed. If you drink a lethal amount of alcohol it can depress the vital centers of your brain and you can go into a life-threatening coma.

Excessive alcohol use over a long time can cause fatigue and short-term memory loss, can weaken or cause paralysis of your eye muscles and cause other severe health effects such as liver disorders, yellowing of the skin (jaundice), confusion, hepatitis which may lead to cirrhosis and also gastrointestinal problems, cardiovascular problems, complicates the disease diabetes if you have the disease and also drink to excess, it can create sexual dysfunction and have negative impact on menstruation, can cause birth defects if a woman drinks when pregnant, can cause bone loss, neurological complications and can also increase your risk for certain cancers too. As you can tell, there are many complications that are possible when a person has alcoholism. Treating the disease and learning how to cope with alcoholism is possible. Those are just the medical complications of alcoholism. There are also many non-medical complications that can occur when a person suffers from alcoholism.

The non-medical complications of alcoholism include the person having a greater susceptibility to causing accidental injury to him or herself and to others especially while under the influence of alcohol and driving a vehicle or operating machinery. There is an increased risk for domestic abuse (physical or emotional) and relationship problems that often end in divorce. The individual will also most likely have poor performance at school and at work and be unable to handle responsibilities like raising kids or managing a household. There is a higher incidence of both suicide and homicide for those who are alcoholics.

Fortunately despite what many people believe alcoholism is treatable. Typically those who enter alcohol treatment programs do so reluctantly or under strong persuasion from others even from the law. Health problems and legal problems often precipitate the individual getting treatment. Intervention from those who love the individual can also help to get the person into treatment.

There are various treatments that are possible and the best treatment plan will be formulated that will fit the situation and the individual. Treatment usually involves a combination of evaluation, medication, professional counseling, a residential or hospital stay and outpatient treatment programs.

The individual’s medical condition and the level of dependence will determine the severity of the treatment needed and where the treatment will take place. As stated earlier alcoholism can have severe health related consequences and if there are any serious health issues that are alcohol related they will also have to be attended to during the treatment phase as well as addressing the dependence on alcohol which will carry with it often severe withdrawal symptoms.

There are residential treatment programs that specialize in detoxification and help with withdrawal symptoms, can assess medical needs, and give psychological support as well as any needed psychiatric treatment. The treatment will include acceptance of the disease and abstinence from alcohol.

It takes many people to help the individual cope with alcoholism including family, friends, co-workers, and organizations in the community such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon and Alateen.