For several years alcohol addiction research has demonstrated the fact that there is strong relationship between alcoholism and serious health conditions.
As an illustration, in 2005, scientific investigation and alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics showed that alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency cost the United States an estimated $220 billion on an annual basis. Interestingly, this very large alcohol-related expenditure was significantly more than the cost linked with cancer ($196 billion) or with obesity ($133 billion). While it is pertinent to underline these facts, it is also noteworthy to emphasize the point that an interrelationship exists between all three of these health conditions.
To be more precise, chronic alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction are also highly interrelated with obesity and with cancer.
Without a doubt, substance abuse examination has revealed that alcohol addiction can boost the risk for different types of cancer, especially cancer of the esophagus, kidneys, throat, rectum, liver, voice box (larynx), and the colon. Heavy and repetitive drinking can also lead to immune system issues and damage to the fetus during pregnancy.
Heavy and Excessive Drinking Deteriorates the Drinker’s Systems and Organs
What is more, if alcohol dependency continues over a period of years, the individual’s body organs will probably be affected in a negative manner. For example, repeated, abusive drinking is especially harmful to the liver since 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 redevelop. This condition leads to a progressive inflammatory malfunction of the liver that can in the end lead to cirrhosis of the liver, a precarious and potentially incurable disease.Heavy, long-term drinking not only can result in serious liver damage, but it can also result in damage to the heart and to the brain. Physical damage this severe may be unalterable and may, in turn, lead to serious illness or an untimely death.
The Critical Nature of Alcohol Therapy
It is important, therefore, to know how to recognize the various alcoholism symptoms and the “alcohol signs” so that the alcohol dependent person can be given the opportunity to seek the professional alcohol therapy he or she requires.
Alcoholism and Technologically Advanced Brain Research
Fortuitously, medical exploration is constantly generating original and important information. Recent alcoholism exploration provides a high-quality illustration. More precisely, for roughly the last ten years, complicated brain-imaging scanning devices have confirmed that continuous and long lasting irresponsible drinking changes the structure of the brain to a great extent, thusly resulting in brain disease that can last months, years, or possibly as long as the person exists.
More accurately, medical exploration has shown that individuals who have been drinking in an irresponsible manner for a considerable length of time increase their risk for developing lasting and significant modifications 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.
Mental Disorders, Malnutrition, and Excessive Drinking
As a final example of various medical problems that are considerably correlated to alcoholism, consider that according to medical examination, the abusive and repeated abuse of alcohol can result in erosive gastritis, a health problem that decreases the absorption of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
This form of organ breakdown is linked to malnutrition and to an array of serious mental and neurological maladies including memory loss, sleep disturbances, and psychosis such as Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome. This latter medical condition is an enduring debilitating health problem that is typified by recurring learning and memory problems.
The Relevance of Education and the Hope for Self Esteem, Recovery, and Personal Success That Result From Alcohol Therapy
It is obvious that continued, excessive drinking is directly or indirectly associated with a variety of critical medical problems 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 multitude of people will be able to refrain from irresponsible drinking while others who have a drinking problem develop a positive attitude and get motivated to seek the quality rehab they require. For without professional rehab, most people who drink in an irresponsible and hazardous manner will not start the healing process and experience self esteem, recovery, and personal success that frequently comes from sobriety.