If you or a loved one is suffering from alcohol abuse or alcoholism, then it’s important to get professional addiction help immediately.
Here at WeDoRecover, we specialise in helping people struggling with drinking problems. Feel free to contact us at anytime and we can provide you or your loved one with immediate access into the best private alcohol treatment centres in South Africa.
What is an Alcoholic?
In a nutshell, an alcoholic is someone who experiences cravings and urges to drink alcohol.
Depending on how severe or powerful these cravings are, some alcoholics may go to extreme lengths to drink, which may even cause them to engage in violent and criminal activities.
This type of behaviour may seem totally different to how the individual usually acts but the cravings they experience cause the alcoholic to simply lose control.
An alcoholic simply won’t be able to control the amount of alcohol they drink. In some cases, they may try to quit or cut down on their drinking habits but they will find it to tough to cope without drinking.
For example, an alcoholic may plan to only consume 2-3 drinks prior to a party but once they start, they will simply find that they are unable to stop.
How Does Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Start?
Someone who abuses alcohol will drink with one purpose in mind – to become drunk. An alcoholic however, is someone who needs to drink in order to relieve the cravings they are experiencing.
When alcohol is abused over a long period of time, the abuser’s body will eventually become dependent on the narcotic substance.
When the individual cannot drink or alcohol isn’t available, they may experience withdrawal symptoms, which are unpleasant side effects that include nausea, body sweats and changes in their body temperature.
In some cases, these withdrawal symptoms can be life threatening, that’s why we urge you to seek professional medical help rather than trying to quit alone.
Alcoholics will also find that over time, they will need to drink more and more in order to feel effects that were once achieved by drinking smaller amounts of alcohol.
This is known as building up a tolerance for alcohol, which is much to the detriment of the alcoholic’s body that may not be able to handle the amounts of the substance being consumed.
The Results of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Alcohol abuse and alcoholism doesn’t only affect the person with the drinking problem but also those closest to them as well, hence the reason that is often labelled as a ‘family disease’.
However, alcohol has the ability to destroy an alcoholic’s life.
It can create financial issues, job loss, breakdowns in relationships with family and friends, divorce and various health issues which include cirrhosis of the liver, brain damage and may even cause the individual to get into legal trouble.
It also has the ability to cause the individual to hurt others and themselves, in some cases even taking their own life.
Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Help
If you are addicted to alcohol or you know of someone who is, we urge you to seek professional medical help as soon as possible, as the longer the addiction is left untreated, the worst it will become.
In some cases, you might find that your loved one is reluctant to get into alcohol treatment but this is absolutely normal. It’s common for alcoholics to deny that they have a drinking problem but just because they don’t want to get help, it doesn’t mean that rehab won’t work.
There are ways to force your alcoholic loved one into alcohol treatment and this will have no effect on whether treatment will be successful or not. For more information about this, please download our free intervention guide below.