Alcohol abuse is so normalized in Spain and neighboring countries that alcoholism has become a true public health problem for our societies.
Currently, alcoholism is one of the most common addictive disorders; It is a pathology that is harmful both for the person who suffers from it and for their family and social environment. In addition to that, it is an addictive disorder that increasingly affects adolescents and young people.
Those who develop this disease experience a dynamic of self-deception that leads them to wonder if it is really “so bad” to depend on the frequent consumption of alcoholic beverages, and even people who come to the conclusion that they should go to therapy usually constantly postpone the moment of treatment. move from desires to actions. To counteract this trend, here we will review The reasons why it is important to go to therapy if you suffer from alcoholism and we will also summarize the warning signs that help detect this addiction.
Reasons why you should go to therapy as soon as possible if you suffer from alcoholism
Alcoholism is a very harmful addictive disorder that causes the death of millions of people annually. That is why every case of incipient alcoholism should be treated by a qualified psychology and mental health professional
It is a chemical addiction that mainly affects men and as the time of addictive consumption progresses, the greater the effects that alcohol has on the person’s body and mental health. The main effects of alcoholism on people’s bodies are gaps, digestive problems and gastrointestinal diseases, and effects on the executive functions of the brain.
As alcoholism progresses in a person and the time of alcohol dependence increases, the person’s room for maneuver to try to overcome their case narrows, since the body is increasingly dependent on alcohol, as we will see below.
Like all other addictions, people addicted to alcohol They end up developing a tolerance to that substance which means that to obtain the same effects and sensations they need a greater amount of alcohol.
This makes it possible for the person to drink more and more and their addiction to become greater, something that can result in serious health problems for the person and even death. This is the main reason why, when faced with alcoholism, it is important to seek professional help as soon as possible, since The more the addiction becomes established, the less freedom the person has to try to combat the dependence and to not destroy your most important personal relationships.
Warning signs that help detect alcoholism
There are some signs or tips that we can take into account to detect a possible case of alcoholism both in ourselves and in other people.
In order to protect the health of people with this problem, it is important to identify alcoholism and bring the case to the attention of a mental health professional specialized in addictions as soon as possible.
1. Find reasons to consume alcohol
People with alcoholism often take advantage of any festive event with friends and family to drink large amounts of alcohol, even at times when it is not usual or normal to do so.
Drinking before time or doing it hours before the hours at which the rest of the attendees at the party or celebration in question do so is another of the signs that we must take into account to identify a person with alcoholism.
2. Deceive yourself
There are many mechanisms that people with alcoholism put into practice to deceive both themselves and the people around them something very common in any type of addiction, whether physical or behavioral.
Something common is the fact of “subtracting” ingested bottles or units of alcohol of all kinds so that the person’s addiction seems like a minor problem and with the aim of alarming as many people as possible.
3. Check drink reservations
Ensuring that there are reserves of alcoholic beverages at home or in the house where one is is another of the characteristics that can be used as signs to detect a case of alcoholism.
This review is constant and is done to ensure that there are enough reservations to spend a certain holiday, celebration or get-together, which also includes obsessively checking the minibar when we are in a hotel.
4. Always have a glass in your hand
The constant need to drink at any time of the day makes people with alcoholism always have a glass in their hand, even at times when no one is drinking.
The person with alcoholism takes advantage of any moment in the middle of a celebration to renew the contents of their glasses, always in an obsessive and compulsive way.
5. Consider certain drinks non-alcoholic
As a mechanism of self-deception and relativization, alcoholic people also end up considering certain lower alcohol drinks such as beer, cider or softer cocktails as non-alcoholic.
This is still a way to divert attention from the problem and deceive those around us, making them believe that such an addiction does not exist.
6. Drink quickly
This is a very striking vision and it consists of people with addictions They have a tendency to drink much faster than the rest the contents of your cups or glasses.
This often manifests itself in the obsessive behavior that these people show with the contents of their glasses and in the urgent need to drink constantly.
7. Loss of control
Loss of control over alcohol is a behavior that is related to the need to be drinking at all times and reaches the point where the person may end up having family or social conflicts with those around them.
When the person reaches high states of drunkenness, all types of family and social conflicts can occur, related to violence, or the use of other drugs.
8. Tendency to always think about alcoholic beverages
Obsession with alcohol is a characteristic of alcoholism and of any addiction in general, since the person tries to drink alcohol at all times. For example, addicted people They usually face stressful situations by imagining that they are tasting a glass of wine, beer, etc In turn, these types of behavior patterns predispose the person to feel the need to consume as soon as possible.
This obsession reaches the level of talking about alcohol all day and doing everything possible to consume alcohol at all hours. In addition to that, obsession with alcohol seriously affects a person’s mental health.