Alcohol-containing drinks pose a hidden threat to the health of everyone who prefers to drink them at the holiday table or in the evening as a means to relieve stress. All this can lead to the development of alcoholism, which can hardly be called a person’s weakness or bad habit. After all, such a condition is considered quite a serious disease that is chronic.
According to statistical studies, almost 90% of people have tried alcohol at least once in their life. But only 10% of them developed dependence on the background of the use of these drinks. So why does the disease affect only certain people, and how can the degrees of alcoholism be determined?
Emergence of addiction
Alcoholism is a disease that is simply impossible to catch. A man himself takes this path if he often begins to take alcohol on significant dates, holidays and other life events. And each glass of alcohol-containing drink drunk is a direct road to torment and suffering not only of it, but also of loved ones.
According to narcologists, not all people can become alcoholics. As a rule, the disease affects one who is weak in moral and plan, as well as those who have weak willpower. For such people, alcohol-containing drinks are a real salvation. After all, drinking vodka or wine, a drunkard takes real pleasure, feeling a surge of energy and strength. So maybe such people should constantly take a strong product? No!
Such use often develops into an addiction, which, like many other diseases, is very dangerous for health. What are the main reasons for its appearance? According to scientists, alcoholism threatens primarily those who:
- It has a genetic predisposition to it. These are people whose families have a history of alcohol or drug use. In this case, the likelihood of dependence increases by 6 times.
- Had early contact with alcohol. Very often alcoholics are those people who began to drink alcohol in their teens.
- Smokes. This factor increases the likelihood of alcoholism by five times.
- Subjected to frequent stress. In unpleasant situations, a person's mood decreases, anxiety occurs and performance decreases. Many try to get rid of such unpleasant sensations with the help of a glass of vodka or a glass of wine.
- Drinks for the company. If a person’s friends regularly drink alcohol or are already prone to alcoholism, then he himself begins to more often reach for a glass.
- Suffering from depression. To eliminate the symptoms of a depressed state, people often resort to self-medication, using alcohol as a medicine.
- Exposed to advertising. Very often in the media, alcohol is portrayed as an attribute of a “beautiful” life. According to experts, such an advertisement, mentioning alcohol in a positive way, creates a certain audience with confidence in the acceptability of its excessive use.
Alcoholism develops gradually, passing through certain degrees and manifesting specific symptoms. Observing the existing signs of the disease, the specialist is able to accurately determine the stage of the pathology. This will allow him to offer the patient the most effective treatment regimen.
Signs of alcoholism
In order to understand that a person who drinks alcohol has become dependent on him, it is necessary to notice the specific symptoms of the disease. And for this it is important to know the degree of alcoholism and their symptoms. The latter include the following conditions:
- A person begins to drink alone. For this, he does not need a company. In addition, the alcoholic is able to "take" any amount of alcohol alone with himself.
- The emergence of a clearly felt desire to drink. Alcohol intake ceases to depend on situations, i.e. holidays or company presence. There is only a need for strong drinks.
- Drinking alcohol secretly from relatives and friends. Such a person more and more often begins to go “to the cottage” or “to picnics,” and in his pockets there are lollipops, chewing gums, and also means that help fight off the smell of strong drinks.
- The alcoholic begins to do "nest egg". He hides already drunk bottles of alcohol in secret places, sometimes pouring it into unusual containers - into jugs, decanters or plastic bottles.
- Lack of control over the amount drunk. A person takes alcohol in such volumes that he can do it. He loses the ability to protect himself from raising the next glass, and any sense of proportion is lost.
- Memory lapses that occur while drinking. Already sobering up, a person sometimes cannot even remember some of the events that occurred during the drinking of alcohol.
- The emergence of a drinking ritual. You can talk about alcoholism if a person drinks alcohol, for example, before or after work, “for appetite” or while watching TV shows and is annoyed if he does not succeed or any of those present allow themselves to comment on such actions.
- Loss of interest in your favorite business. A person abandons his many years of hobby, does not communicate with family, does not care for pets, refuses trips and travels.
- The appearance of aggression. Drinking alcohol is a direct route to family quarrels and scandals. At the same time, a person suffering from addiction to alcohol shows aggression towards friends and relatives.
Health status
Depending on the degree of alcoholism in a person, the following can be observed:
- diseases of internal organs that have close contact with alcohol entering the body;
- The sharp development of psychosis;
- depression;
- violations in the processes of exchange;
- malfunctioning of the central nervous system.
The above signs and symptoms characterize the development of pathology. That is why, if they are found, it is urgent to consult a doctor. Only timely treatment will allow for a short time and without complications to cure the disease, restoring the body.
Addiction mechanism
With regular use of alcohol in the brain, metabolic processes of gamma-aminobutyric acid, which controls the impulsivity of glutamate, which stimulates the nervous system and the hormone of pleasure, dopamine, are disrupted. What follows this? Over time, changes relate to dopamine metabolism occurring in centers of "pleasure". Without these substances, a person ceases to be satisfied with life. This provokes the human brain to consume alcohol, when taken which you can get rid of discomfort and begin to feel good.
What do those who suffer from addiction hide?
How many degrees of alcoholism do specialists give out? The disease has 4 phases. At its initial stages, it is very difficult to judge the presence of one degree or another of alcoholism. Drinking alcohol is often mistaken for household drinking. It is difficult to determine this even by the test.
This is due to the fact that the drunkard denies or understates his addiction to alcohol. But it is worth noting that such behavior is one of the symptoms of alcoholism. They call it dissimulation. This symptom is characterized as anonymous alcoholism. Man does not just tell lies. He hides the fact of his illness.
The first stage of pathology
It is possible to determine that a person has reached the first degree of alcoholism by the most important symptom of this phase of the disease, which is the loss of the gag reflex. And this, in turn, leads a man or woman to exceed the dose of alcohol, leading to severe intoxication.
How to determine the degree of alcoholism in the initial phase of the disease? The second, scientifically proven symptom of this period are memory lapses. Moreover, it becomes impossible to restore a person’s previous condition even after contacting psychiatry specialists.
The first degree of alcoholism is characterized by a certain regularity and duration of drinking. This frequency is 2 to 3 times during the week. Moreover, in this phase, the aversion to drinking, which previously appeared on the second day, disappears. In the presence of the first degree of alcoholism in men and women, the feast can last more than one day.
The next sign of the first phase of the pathology is an increase in the number of strong drinks that are required for intoxication.
Mental addiction in the first stage
This phase of alcoholism is characterized by:
- the patient has pleasant memories of the state of intoxication, which provokes thoughts of alcohol;
- a person’s search for any reason to start drinking, as evidenced by the mention of this topic in conversation with people;
- justification not only of their behavior, but also of the actions of other drunkards;
- mood increase with the approaching feast;
- mental satisfaction from drunk;
- the occurrence of conflicts in the family and in the work collective due to alcohol abuse.
Mental dependence on alcohol leads to poor health. A person becomes irritable. His performance is deteriorating. All this clearly indicates the presence of the first degree of alcoholism.
The second stage of pathology
Grade 2 alcoholism is characterized by all the symptoms described above. However, they are further exacerbated and, in addition, more and more new signs appear. They are able to indicate the development of the second degree of alcoholism.
A person at the mental level is able to partially realize what is dependent on alcohol. However, he is no longer able to refuse him.
Upon reaching the second degree of alcoholism, a person becomes maximally functional only after he has taken a small amount of a strong drink. In addition, the dose of alcohol that he needs for intoxication becomes 6-10 times greater than the volume that a healthy person would drink.
In psychology, the second degree of alcoholism is called the pseudo-birthing period. After all, the patient can go into binge for several days, after which take a short break. Very often it is difficult for such a person to fall asleep without a glass of a strong drink.
In the second stage of alcoholism, memory lapses become even deeper. A person, as a rule, forgets exactly what is connected with his bad behavior. In addition to the mental, physical dependence on alcohol develops. When drinking a large number of strong drinks, a person begins to feel:
- trembling in the limbs;
- increase in heart rate;
- severe pain in the temples;
- weakness in the body;
- an increase in blood pressure.
At the initial stage of development of phase 2 of the pathology, alcoholics suffer from seizures that are similar in nature and course to seizures of epilepsy. The most difficult for a person is the first 2-4 hours after he has taken an impressive dose of alcohol. This is the period when he does not think well, cannot adequately think and speak clearly.
The third stage of pathology
What symptoms are characteristic for the third degree of alcoholism? At this stage, withdrawal symptoms begin to develop. It manifests itself in persistent mental and physical dependence and drug delirium. Alcohol blocks the production of various hormones, which does not allow a person to independently abandon the addiction.
Symptoms of alcoholism of the 3rd degree are expressed in the fact that even when taking an unsafe dose of alcohol, a person completely lacks a gag reflex. To eliminate a hangover, he takes a new dose of strong drinks, which leads to long binges. With alcoholism of the 3rd degree, the liver is affected. Pathological malfunctions in the nervous system begin to appear. With the forced cessation of binges, the state of an alcoholic is similar to breaking up drug addicts. This is the period when the drinker becomes aggressive, violent and unpredictable. That is why this degree of alcoholism is very dangerous for human health, which requires its immediate treatment.
The fourth stage of pathology
This degree of development of the disease is characterized by a loss of tolerance to alcohol. This is due to the occurrence of dysfunction of many organs of vital importance. In order to get drunk, such a patient already requires a small amount of strong drinks.
In the fourth phase of the development of alcoholism, the gastrointestinal tract and liver are damaged. They begin the development of malignant tumors. Pathological changes affect the blood vessels.
At this last stage of alcoholism, a person completely loses all interest in his life. All his thoughts and actions are aimed at finding the next dose. Reaching this state, women no longer worry about their natural destiny. They do not care about pregnancy. Of particular danger is teenage female alcoholism, which has reached the fourth stage of its development. Medicine before such a condition is practically powerless.
Very often, this stage of pathology is characterized by indifference to the type of alcoholic drink consumed. Such people relate equally to alcohol, cologne and wiper. Physical dependence becomes very strong. If such patients are sharply and forcibly forced to abandon strong drinks, then they can simply die.
In addition to the symptoms of the fourth phase of alcoholism described above, its signs are manifested in a violation of coordination of movements and incoherent speech. In addition, muscle drying out occurs. That is why alcoholics are distinguished by pronounced thinness.