When someone you love is an alcoholic

Living with an alcoholic can be a living hell. Sometimes an alcoholic can be exciting and romantic yet unpredictable and dangerous. Nobody has a clue when they will be blamed or accused. As the alcoholic becomes more irresponsible, they are unable to lean on their partner for comfort or support.

We worry; feel angry, afraid and alone. We hide our private lives from friends, co-workers and even family to cover up the problems created by alcoholic. Our shame is not warranted; nonetheless, we feel responsible for the actions of the alcoholic. Our self-esteem deteriorates from the alcoholic’s lies, verbal abuse, and blame. Our sense of safety and trust erodes as our isolation and despair grow. Alcohol is a drug. I refer to alcoholism, but many of the feelings that partners experience are the same, regardless of the type ofaddiction.

Addiction is considered a disease

Alcohol is a drug and alcoholism is a disease. It is just like other addiction that worsens with time. Alcoholics drink to ease their emotional pain and emptiness. Alcoholics often try to control their drinking but once dependency takes hold, most find it impossible to stop or drink like non – alcoholics. Alcoholics drink because they have a disease and an addiction too. Addicts deny this reality and blame their alcohol or anything else.

Alcohol use Disorder

The recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders refers excessive drinking as Alcohol Use Disorder. It refers to an alcoholic as a person with an Alcohol Use Disorder. It is a disorder that causes impairment or distress manifested by at least two of the following signs within a year when the person

1. Drinks alcohol in greater amounts for a longer period of time intentionally
2. Spends great time in activities to obtain alcohol or to recover from its effects
3. Has a strong desire to drink alcohol
4. Drinks when it’s physically hazardous to do so
5. Stops or reduces important activities due to drinking
6. Has made failed attempts to reduce or control drinking

The Family’s Disease

Addiction is a family disease and it is said that at least five other people experience the effects of a drinker’s alcoholism referred to as “Secondhand Drinking”. The persons who are close to an alcoholic try to control the situation, the drinking, and the addict. If you live with substance abuse, you’re affected most, and children severely suffer because of their vulnerability and lack of maturity, especially if their mother or both parents are addicts.

It’s painful to helplessly watch someone we love slowly destroy him or her, our hopes and dreams, and our family. We feel frustrated and resentful from repeatedly believing the addict’s broken promises and from trying to control an uncontrollable situation. Denial affects the family as well as the addict. In time, family members become as obsessed with the alcoholic as he or she is with alcohol.

Hope and Recovery

Family members easily become codependent with the alcoholic. Without help, that codependency follows the same downward trajectory of alcoholism. There is hope, however, and there is help for the addict and for family members. The first step is to learn as much as you can about alcoholism and codependency. Many of the things people do to help an addict or alcoholic are counterproductive and actually can make things worse. Listen to the experience, strength, and hope of others in recovery.

You will learn:

• Not to suffer because of the actions or reactions of other people
• Not to allow ourselves to be used or abused by others in the interest of another’s recovery
• Not to do for others what they can do for themselves
• Not to manipulate situations so others will eat, go to bed, get up, pay bills, not drink, or behave as we see fit
• Not to cover up for another’s mistakes or misdeeds
• Not to create a crisis
• Not to prevent a crisis if it is in the natural course of events

How Alcohol Addiction May Affect Mental Health

Alcohol happens to be the most preferred go-to thing, whether someone wants to de-stress after a long day at work or spending an evening with friends. Sadly, the booze is like a customary for most people. Despite being the leading cause of preventable deaths, alcohol is marketed openly and projected in the media as a positive substance.

Contrary to the popular belief, alcohol does more harm than good when consumed in large quantities over a prolonged period. It is known to cause numerous negative effects, ranging from memory loss and blackouts to a number of mental healthissues, such as depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder. Since alcohol is a depressant, it can hamper the normal functioning of brain, affecting one's thoughts, feelings and actions.

Evidently, alcohol addiction and poor mental health go hand in hand. For people who cannot live without alcohol every day, mental health issues are common occurrences. At the same time, an individual dealing with a mental health condition like depression or anxiety is more likely to develop alcohol addiction in comparison to those who are not afflicted by any mental disorder. Precisely, when an individual deals with both a substance abuse problem and a mental disorder, he or she is known to have a co-occurring condition or dual diagnosis.

Here are some most common co-existing conditions, which can cause serious repercussions:

Alcohol and anxiety

Alcohol often acts as a first resort to fight the symptoms of anxiety in a short run. But when the consumption of alcohol becomes a regular affair, it is likely that the symptoms of anxiety would worsen over time. Drinking heavily interferes with the healthy functioning of neurotransmitters present in the brain, which in turn has a negative impact on a person battling any mental health issue, such as anxiety, thus worsening the existing symptoms.

Alcohol and depression

Alcohol is a depressant and therefore its regular consumption can make a person feel sad, low and extremely tired or uncomfortable. Moreover, consumption of alcohol over a prolonged period can worsen the existing depressive symptoms. However, for some people, the presence of anxiety or depression can prompt them to experiment with alcohol to relieve the symptoms. Clearly, alcohol and depression form a vicious cycle, which can eventually lead to self-harm, psychosis or even suicide.

Alcohol and memory loss

Drinkingalcohol occasionally as well as over a long period of time can cause memory loss. Actually, alcohol slows down the brain processes, which causes significant impairments to the memory. Heavy drinking impairs a person's ability to remember or even recall things. It even puts the person at a risk of having poor health getting involved in anti-social activities.

Four ways to help prevent alcohol affecting your mood

1. Use exercise and relaxation to tackle stress instead of alcohol.
2. Learn breathing techniques to try when you feel anxious.
3. Talk to someone about your worries. Don’t try and mask them with alcohol.
4. Always be aware of why you’re drinking. Don’t assume it will make a bad feeling go away, it’s more likely to exaggerate it.

Seeking treatment for dual diagnosis

Unlike a single problem of say, an addiction ora mental condition, dual diagnosis needs comprehensive treatment. While an inpatient program may be comparatively more helpful for dual diagnosis, the availability of the latest tools and medications also increases the chances of overcoming the problem. However, it is important to seek medical help in case of addiction to any substance or occurrence of any mental disorder, or both.

How alcohol damages the liver functionality

Not many people know that small amount of alcohol is actually good for the body. In moderation, alcohol can help prevent heart diseases and strokes. But excess alcohol consumption can take a huge toll on the liver. To prevent this from happening, an individual should know where to draw the line. 

Alcoholic drinks contain ethanol. Ethanol is a by-product of the alcohol fermentation or distillation procedure. Ethanol acts as a psychoactive drug in the human body and as a depressant. Short-term effects aside, ethanol is more lethal when the body starts needing regular dosages. It causes various illnesses to different parts of the human body, right from the brain to the liver. The adverse effects of alcohol on the human body vary, based on quantity consumed. The broad array of alcohol-based illnesses includes dementia, cancer, strokes, and various liver disorders.

The relationship between alcohol and the liver

The liver is the largest solid organ in the human body. In relation to alcohol, there are three different conditions that affect the liver - fatty liver, hepatitis, and liver cirrhosis. An individual can first get affected by fatty liver, then advance towards hepatitis, and finally suffer from liver cirrhosis. 

Fatty Liver 

Fatty liver is a condition wherein the fats accumulate in the cells. It has a lot to do with diabetes and obesity. Simply put, if you give the liver too much fat to process, eventually, it won't be able to take the strain and will stop functioning in a proper manner. If the alcohol is consumed in small proportions or better still, abstained from, fatty liver can be cured. But if the consumption of alcohol is constant, this disease can prove to be fatal. 

Hepatitis 

Alcohol hepatitis is a more generic condition which affects the efficiency of the liver. The first warnings occur during metabolism. While your body is trying to break down the alcohol code, more toxic compounds such as acetaldehyde arise, that damages the liver cells and hinders their functioning. To stop the spread of this toxic substance, the body wages a war on them, causing inflammation. To cure the damage, the body releases cytokines beyond reasonable limits. Cytokines are single-handedly responsible for alcohol hepatitis and tissue scarring. 

Cirrhosis 

The whole orbit of liver-based maladies caused by alcohol can be clubbed into one term - liver cirrhosis permanently damaged cells of the liver leads to cirrhosis. Liver cirrhosis can be very serious and fatal. Once the liver cells die, the damage is irreparable. A scar tissue forms when the cells die. As this scar tissue starts to build up, it becomes difficult for the blood to flow through the liver. One of the main functions of the liver is to filter and clean blood. But due to this scar tissue build-up, this function cannot be performed by the liver in a proper manner. The blood hence remains unfiltered. This gives rise to poisonous blood and waste in the body. Women hold a higher risk of liver cirrhosis than men do. Liver cirrhosis may show no signs or symptoms until it reaches an advanced stage. 

Save yourself from alcohol before it gets too late

The way out of these maladies is simple to say, but difficult to implement. The fact that an individual has contracted any of these diseases is sufficient proof that his/her life's quota for alcohol consumption is over. If he continues to ignore the magnanimity of a malfunctioning liver, he'll be hit by a worse condition. Liver cirrhosis is a permanent disability. It affects more than just digestion. Such a liver is no longer able to make new healthy tissues, and instead makes scar tissues, as the liver begins to harden. The scar tissues are nowhere as efficient as normal tissues, and can barely filter blood. This causes cycle degeneration and the individual needs to be really lucky to survive cirrhosis. 

However one may justify the need to drink, drinking has no valid reason nor is it a solution to any problem. Alcohol is a depressant hence, it will sink a person deeper into depression, rather than getting him out of it. If an individual has too many problems, alcohol won't take them away, in fact, it will add a few more health problems to the existing ones. The range is from near-fatal to fatal. Effects of alcohol, circle around a person's system for a while, asking him to mend his habits, before exercising their vice-like grip of death. As said before, it's a degeneration cycle that goes from bad to worse. The only way out is moderation. Regulate the consumption of alcohol. If an individual has already contracted one of the above conditions, it is better to stop consuming alcohol altogether.

The liver helps in purifying the blood and throwing the poisonous waste, drugs, and alcohol out of our system. It also helps with blood clot issues, transportation of oxygen, and in the functioning of the immune system. It helps the body store glucose (sugar) in the form of glycogen. It helps in the digestion of food, as it produces bile. It also helps in breaking down fat and cholesterol. The liver stores nutrients and returns them to the bloodstream. If one's liver gets damaged, the body will not be able to function well.

Watch that peg! It might kill you

Do you drool over alcohol while enjoying the weekend party? Just think of this when you ponder over next time; alcohol is responsible for six deaths per minute across the globe! Shocked? Wondering what it can do to you? Alcohol kills because people get addicted and ring bells for other diseases such as cancer, violent behaviour, liver problems, injuries and more. The latest WHO report found that people consuming alcohol frequently are vulnerable to disorders like tuberculosis and pneumonia.

The quantity of alcohol consumption

Approximately, individuals (aged 15 or above) drink 6.2 litres of pure alcohol each year but since only 38.3% of the population actually drinks, those who are regular drinkers drink 17 litres per year. The study also revealed that men are likelier to die of alcohol addiction but women are more susceptible. Lower income group is most affected by the health hazards of alcohol consumption.

Where India Stands

Conventionally, India follows a non-drinking culture. However, in the last decade, the consumption has gone up with 32% men and 10% women above 15 drinking alcohol. The situation is worrisome in Delhi. As per a new survey, 64.6% girls and 83.8% boys in Delhi start drinking before age 18. Additionally, 11.1% boys and 2.1% girls spend around Rs.8000 on alcohol per month.

The survey was conducted among the youngsters of Delhi stated that 34.5% males and 28% females consume alcohol at least 2-4 times a week and 77% boys and 46% girls drink more than five glasses at one go.

India reports the highest number of road casualties (138,000) in the world and underage drinking attenuates the situation. The results showed 75% males and 12.3% females have indulged in drunken driving and none of them was ever asked about the age proof. It is high time the management takes stringent action.

How alcohol affects you?

Being high on calories, alcohol promotes weight gain and interferes with your fitness programme. There are some long term effects as well. Excessive alcohol impacts liver functionality and in worse case, damages it.

However, there’s light in the dark. If you want to rid yourself of excess alcohol consumption, always consult an experienced psychiatrist.