From kindergarten to adulthood, be it from our parents or an overfriendly neighbor, all of us have heard that alcohol abuse is a destructive condition that must be avoided at all costs. This advice is backed up by many more health professionals and individuals who have beaten their old habits. But what exactly are the harms of alcohol abuse and should it really be avoided at all costs?
The answer is yes, and here are ten reasons why it is so:
- Liver Related Diseases
Our liver is the heaviest internal organ in our bodies and its primary objective is detoxification of harmful substances such as ammonia, heavy metals, drugs and alcohol. Excessive drinking can cause a fatty liver, which decreases liver functions and leaves your body susceptible to infections, bleeding and drug poisoning. Further alcohol abuse can cause cirrhosis and alcoholic hepatitis, both of which are potentially fatal illnesses.
Luckily, liver can repair itself unlike any other internal organ in our bodies, so it is never too late to stop and let our bodies regenerate.
- Heart Related Diseases
You might have heard or read that small amounts of alcohol help fight against heart diseases, but alcoholism sure doesn’t. Clinical experiences and studies show that people with alcoholism or alcohol abuse habits are many more times likely to have heart failures, strokes, hypertension and cardiomyopathies, which account for more than one-third of deaths worldwide.
Unlike liver, the heart is incapable of functionally repairing any damage done to itself, and unlike our kidneys, we are given only one heart so we must take very good care of it.
- Central Nervous System Damage
While most of us may think the drowsiness alcohol causes goes away after a day, the long-term effects are permanent and troubling. Alcohol abusers are under constant risk of brain atrophy (shrinkage), impaired development in teenagers and children, Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome and dementia.
- Psychiatric Disorders
Alcohol abuse presents us dozens of psychological problems such as hallucinations, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, psychosis, antisociality, cravings, panic attacks and irritability. These symptoms altogether are associated with increased suicide rates, divorces and decrease of overall life quality. Applying to an alcohol rehabilitation center plays an essential role in reversing these problems.
- Anemia
While anemia can relate to multiple factors, alcoholism can cause a healthy person to develop anemia. The drawbacks of this disease is fatigue, loss of appetite, decrease in productivity and an increased risk of heart disease.
- Cancer
Alcohol is also a known contributor to the plague of the modern ages, cancer. Increased exposure to alcohol and tendency to develop reflux eventually increases risk of malign mutations in the mouth, trachea and esophagus.
- Stomach Diseases
Regular alcohol drinkers are very likely to develop gastro-esophageal reflux and chronic gastritis that corrode your esophagus and stomach respectively, causing discomfort and dysfunction over time.
- Diabetes
Another fearful chronic and potentially incurable disease caused by alcohol abuse is type-2 diabetes, which is presented by your bodies’ inability to respond to insulin. Advanced diabetic patients require constant monitoring and multiple insulin injections every day, and they are under constant risk of losing limbs, kidney failure or going comatose.
- Pancreatitis
Considering more than four out of every five pancreatitis cases worldwide are caused by either gallstones or alcohol, this dreadful condition that can present cancer-like symptoms and ultimately cause death in unfortunate instances.
- Decrease in Sexual Performance
While it may sound surprising, it’s proven that alcohol can decrease sexual performance and urges in short term, its long-term effects take its toll and dwindle one of a man’s most valuable treasures, his sexual health.
Substance Abuse Treatment Programs offered by substance abuse treatment centers are a good way to help cope with alcohol abuse and addiction.
No matter what our problems are, alcohol isn’t the answer. Here at Good Future Rehab Center, we do our best to help you and people you care about with our alcoholism treatment programs and help you avoid all those unwanted conditions.
