Alcoholism effect men and women at different levels and over different amounts of time but one thing that everyone who is an alcoholic has in common is that their bodies will be negatively affected and damaged from the regular intake of alcohol. Alcoholism affects all of the body systems including the brain. There are short-term effects that last during the drinking phase but once the person is in recovery, those effects go away. There are also long-term effects that are caused by the alcoholism and are permanent damage to the drinker.
Alcoholism is not a symptom of a problem or an indication of emotional trouble. It is a chronic, progressive disease. Alcoholism can lead to death. It is able to create such a grip on the body, because of the chemical makeup of alcohol. It permeates nearly every type of cell contained in the human body; especially those of the nervous system. The nervous system contains two distinct parts: the central (spinal cord and brain) and the peripheral (our nerves and the electrical impulse system). Alcohol is an addictive drug that induces the brain to crave it. These cravings can be very damaging to the body as well as to the relationships of the person suffering from Alcoholism.
“The first usual test for a force-producing food,” says Dr. Hunt, “and that to which other foods of that class respond, is the production of heat in the combination of oxygen therewith. This heat means vital force, and is, in no small degree, a measure of the comparative value of the so-called respiratory foods. If we examine the fats, the starches and the sugars, we can trace and estimate the processes by which they evolve heat and are changed into vital force, and can weigh the capacities of different foods. We find that the consumption of carbon by union with oxygen is the law, that heat is the product, and that the legitimate result is force, while the result of the union of the hydrogen of the foods with oxygen is water. If alcohol comes at all under this class of foods, we rightly expect to find some of the evidences which attach to the hydrocarbons.”
If you have lived with an alcoholic for years and feel despair, you may need a change. No one should live without love and happiness. Sometimes it is not possible to stay with the alcoholic because you feel alone and helpless. You need something more in your life and the person is not able to give you what you need. Everyone needs to feel love and sometimes the person that you thought was the love of your life turns out to be your worst nightmare, literally. Sometimes life with an alcoholic is not possible and you may have to leave.
Alcoholism is a very unique type of disease. There are millions of people affected by it throughout the world directly, having problems controlling their drinking and keeping their urges at bay. However, statistics do not often mention the problems that alcoholism can have to those who are close to the alcoholic. In this article, we’ll go over some of the dangers that alcoholism causes in order to help to more clearly illustrate what types of problems it can cause.
Living with an alcoholic can be trying and unnerving, but you can join a group for support. Al-non is a great help to family members of the alcoholic. There are people in the group that are in the same situations as you are and they are there for support. Everyone supports each other. In some cases, you find out that some of the members have the exact same problems as you do. You learn how they are handling their loved one. They can offer guidance and advice that everyone can use if they live with an alcoholic. This is important to survive.
Alcoholism is a widespread problem that affects people of all races, socioeconomic classes, genders, ages and so forth. There are an estimated 14 million individuals presently living in the U.S. who either abuse alcohol on a regular basis or are alcoholics. This works out to be every one in three adults. The highest rates of alcohol dependency appear to be in young adults ranging from the age of 18 to 29 years of age while the lowest rates are for those adults who are 65 years of age and older. There are several million other adults in the United States who may not be alcoholics per se but they still engage in risky types of drinking patterns on a more or less regular basis that could put them in the high-risk category for alcohol dependency.
The distinction between heavy drinking and alcoholism is typically based not on the quantity that is being drunk but on the way, the drinking is affecting the life of the drinker. There are seven key signs of alcohol dependence:
1. The person develops a tolerance for alcohol. This means that it takes more and more alcohol to feel the same level of intoxication.
2. The person has withdrawal symptoms. This means that they feel sick when there is no alcohol in their body. These symptoms include nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety.
The physical disasters that follow the continued use of intoxicating beverages are sad enough, and terrible enough; but the surely attendant mental, moral and spiritual disasters are sadder and more terrible still. If you disturb the healthy condition of the brain, which is the physical organ through which the mind acts, you disturb the mind. It will not have the same clearness of perception as before; nor have the same rational control over the impulses and passions.
Heavenly order in the body.
If you are co-dependent on an alcoholic, you may need to join a co-dependency group for help. Living with an alcoholic can be hard, but when you feel that you need to stay for one reason or another, it makes things even harder than they already are for you. There are groups for co-dependent friends or family members. These groups can help you understand why you need this person and what you might be able to do about it. If you think you are co-dependent, you will want to find a group that can help you so that you understand why you need this person.
