Many people have a challenging time quitting alcohol and require treatment through alcohol addiction treatment programs to regain their health. In America, most people drink alcohol for social reasons or to relax. Many people don’t consider alcohol an addiction because it doesn’t make them less stressed. However, this is usually because they have numbed out their feelings and aren’t aware of their current problems or difficult past.
Alcohol abuse is a serious condition that can have devastating effects on those who suffer from it. According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD), 17.6 million Americans struggle with alcohol addiction or chronic alcohol abuse. Every day, millions of Americans are affected by the disease of alcoholism. This is an illness that develops over time, with symptoms often appearing in a person’s teens and early twenties. Heavy drinking can lead to alcoholism and other health issues, such as liver disease, heart problems, and brain damage. It can also cause death. In fact, there are three reasons why alcohol is so addictive: physical craving, psychological dependence, and withdrawal symptoms.
The Addictive Nature of Alcohol
The first reason alcohol is addictive is physical. Many people enjoy drinking alcohol on special occasions, such as holidays and celebrations, because it stimulates pleasurable hormones, such as dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins. Many people who abuse alcohol become dependent on it to achieve any sense of pleasure. Drinking for social reasons can gradually turn into alcoholism. Most people become aware of the addictive nature of alcohol only after they suffer from physical and mental health problems.
In addition to the release of natural painkillers, many people become physically addicted to alcohol due to a genetic predisposition to enjoy the intoxicating effects of alcohol to an unusual degree. Researchers have found that people with a certain variation in their liver enzymes may become more intoxicated when they drink because of how efficiently their bodies break down alcohol. These people have a higher level of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). a family of enzymes. By converting alcohol into acetaldehyde, these enzymes break the body’s processes of converting alcohol into safer chemicals. To help the body absorb most of the alcohol, liver cells produce ADH.
Psychological Dependence
The second reason alcohol is addictive is psychological. A person’s thoughts and beliefs can influence their addiction to alcohol, which is often viewed as a learned behavior. There are many factors that can influence a change in personality. Developmental maturity is one of these factors. Those with low levels of developmental maturity for their age do not accept responsibility for their erratic behavior when intoxicated and have no desire to change for the better.
Alcohol is one of the most effective and popular substances for numbing the senses and reducing any angst, or emotional pain. Because it is readily accessible, it is often used as a major stress reliever. Drinking alcohol numbs feelings for a while, but it doesn’t help you integrate past traumas or escape from personal demons permanently. Basically, alcohol serves as a coping mechanism for difficult life situations. Even when alcohol causes a variety of personal, financial, relational, and social problems, drinking to forget emotional pain makes quitting harder.
Withdrawal Symptoms
The third reason alcohol is addictive is quitting physically and psychologically overwhelming. People who stop drinking experience severe withdrawal symptoms, which include nausea, insomnia, headaches, tremors, dry mouth, anxiety, depression, and seizures.
Many people struggle with withdrawal symptoms during their first few days without alcohol. They drink again to feel “normal” because their symptoms are so unpleasant. Although they understand that alcohol is harming their health, overstimulating their brain, damaging their organs, and causing a variety of interpersonal problems, they continue to drink. Since their brains and bodies crave alcohol, it’s nearly impossible for them to stop. Will-power is often not enough to quit alcohol.
Knowing how to help someone with alcohol use disorder can be tough. Because people drink for varied reasons, there is no single solution; treatment that works for one patient may not work for another. When overcoming addiction, both physical and psychological factors are involved. For that reason, if you or a loved one is struggling with alcohol addiction, our addiction treatment counselors are here to listen and provide educational resources about how to break free from the three causes of addiction: physical craving, psychological dependence, and withdrawal symptoms. Our addiction treatment clinics have been serving the nation for more than X years. Contact our team of drug and alcohol addiction treatment experts at 844-903-2111.