What are the Warning Signs of Alcoholism?

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Alcoholism is an affliction affecting millions of people across the world today. Warning signs for victims of alcoholism are apparent least of all to the addicted person and more obvious to those around them. The affliction of alcoholism causes a level of extreme denial to the user that allows the disease to continue to flourish. Alcoholism is believed to be inherited genetically, and the proof of that is rather prolific, as children and grandchildren of alcoholics tend to become alcoholics themselves, whereas families with no alcoholics present tend to stay that way.

Alcoholism has lasting and devastating negative effects on the body and a person’s well-being, such as cirrhosis of the liver, multiple sclerosis, nerve damage, “wet brain” (which is the condition wherein the brain is permanently saturated with alcohol), and domestic and legal fallout of the alcoholic’s life.

Other addictions tend to pair themselves with alcohol addiction, usually in the realm of other substances like opiates, cocaine, marijuana, and so on. The “addict” part of an alcoholic knows no bounds and the disease flourishes across all realms in order to attempt to “fill the bottomless pit.”

Once the alcoholic decides to quit drinking, depending on the severity and the level of the addiction prior to abstinence, alcohol withdrawals, as opposed to withdrawals from any other substance, can actually be lethal, causing things like seizures and delirium tremens.

At first, the rise of alcoholism can be hard to see. It can happen at any age under any circumstances, and in American society (as well as most others across the globe), heavy drinking is not that uncommon. But eventually, the alcoholic will eventually begin to stand out against the rest of the “normal” drinking population.

First and foremost, the main warning sign that someone may, in fact, be an alcoholic is their consistent drinking at any time of the day, especially in the evening. It is most common for people to drink during the evening, but usually on weekends. An alcoholic will drink on weekends like everyone else, then slowly more and more during the week, and the drinking schedule will start to become earlier and earlier until they start their drinking first thing in the morning.

The alcoholic will become reckless with their drinking and drink at times, such as before driving or important events that require them to be sober. They will stay drunk for long periods of time, as well as start to isolate and drink alone.

Once the alcoholic takes the first drink, an allergic reaction takes place within the body, and an obsession to continue drinking takes over their mind. The alcoholic’s willpower is beyond helping in these situations- the ailment is physical, like diabetes or a mental illness. They cannot control the impulse on sheer volition alone. They “must” keep drinking and everything else takes the back seat to that.

There are treatment programs that tend to take more of a holistic approach, using means such as natural remedies, yoga, meditation, and massage to help the afflicted person achieve sobriety and recovery.

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