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by: EdPhilips
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Should you be suffering from alcoholism, you may just trick yourself into thinking that you are just consuming alcohol. If the truth is to be known it is alcoholism that is consuming you as well as your income, your energy, your precious time and most of important of all, your health.

Alcoholism means addiction to consuming alcoholic beverages despite the knowledge of their detrimental physical and social consequences. Medics define alcoholism as a disease which disables a person from controlling the urge to take alcohol. Alcoholism, therefore, implies a tendency for compulsive consumption of alcohol and an inability to acknowledge its negative effects.

Some people consume alcohol, have problems with it but suppress its characteristics and symptoms. This is termed as 'alcohol abuse'. It also implies that the subject indulges in excessive drinking of alcohol but does not completely lose his control over its use. He may not have become fully dependent upon it like an alcohol addict.

Just to highlight the seriousness of the disease in the US, statistics from the National Council of Alcoholism and Drug Dependence show that over 18 million Americans abuse alcohol. The more serious consequences include more than 100,000 American alcohol related deaths and on the road, 50% of deaths are alcohol related.

Unfortunately even the hardest of alcohol drinkers will try and refuse that they are addicted to the stuff. They will have a certain drinking pattern which will allow them to drink in different places throughout the day and this becomes like a daily routine. It will be difficult to maintain though, as their urge will make them drink more and faster.

Their memory begins to fail them as they begin to forget their social commitments and this is medically termed as 'blacking out'. Interest is lost in any pleasurable entertainment or activity as their mind begins to only focus on the next drinking occasion. Irritation is caused if they are unable to get their next dose and they will eventually fall out with the most important people in their lives. Their tolerance to high alcohol levels grows and they end up just drinking more and more in order to feel its effects.

Alcoholism or otherwise the physical dependence on alcohol is a disease that gradually takes over our body. The balance in brain chemicals like gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), is altered with the increase of alcohol intake which will help to the control the impulsiveness while glutamate will excite our nervous system. The dopamine level in the brain increases through the presence of alcohol which can lead to excitable behaviour. Continued drinking will either multiply or deplete these chemical levels causing the body to crave for more alcohol, whichever the case may be.

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Discover how to Stop Drinking Alcohol In 21 Days - Guaranteed. by expert Ed Philips

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