Alcoholism is an addiction. When a person’s life is interrupted by alcohol consumption and the resulting compulsive behavior and mental disorders that accompany it require alcoholism treatment to break the dependency and start the road to recovery. Alcoholism treatment begins when the alcoholic is able to overcome denial and have the desire to stop drinking. At this critical point, it is important for someone he or she trusts to direct the alcoholic to a professional alcoholism treatment facility.
History of Alcohol
We don’t know if the availability of fermented beverages led to abuse and alcoholism in those ancient times, but we do know and understand the physical and mental problems it contributes to today and how important alcoholism treatment is. No information is available to tell us when alcohol was first used or how it was discovered, but we do know humans have been drinking it in various forms for thousands of years. Stone Age beer mugs let us know that fermented beverages were being used as far back as 10,000 BC and ancient Egyptian pictographs show us wine was in use at that time.
Abuse and Addiction
There are many people abusing alcohol that are not yet to the point of alcoholism. Abuse can take the form of heavy weekend drinking, binge drinking, drinking to relax, and drinking to the point that it causes problems in your life. The abuser still retains the ability to limit his or her drinking in spite of the fact the abuse of alcohol causes problems in their life. The abuser has reached the point of not caring if his or her drinking places other lives in danger and often drives drunk. When a person is addicted to alcohol it rules his or her life. They can’t stop drinking even though he or she knows it is destroying their life.
Signs of Alcoholism
Tolerance is a significant warning sign that a person is an alcoholic. When anyone needs to increase the amount of alcohol they drink in order to achieve the same “buzz” or to relax, that is an increase in his or her alcohol tolerance. When a person can drink his or her friends “under the table” it is a sign of increased tolerance and an early sign of alcoholism. Withdrawal is the second significant warning sign. The person who wakes up with the shakes and needs a little drink to start the day is already in trouble. If someone you love needs a drink to calm shakiness, suffers from depression, is frequently irritable, can’t sleep, and isn’t eating regular meals needs alcoholism treatment as soon as possible.
Symptoms of Alcoholism
- Trembling
- Shakiness upon waking
- Deep depression
- Constant fatigue
- Inability to sleep
- Frequent headaches
- Vomiting
- Anxiety
- Frequent irritability
Alcoholics should not attempt withdrawal without medical supervision as serious problems, such as hallucinations, agitation, seizures, and confusion can occur. Each of these symptoms can be dangerous, and if a person were to suffer from all of them it would be extremely dangerous. Detox should be conducted in an alcoholism treatment facility to prevent serious complications.
