The Classic Alcohol Problems

"Whether I or anyone else accepted the concept of alcoholism as a disease didn't matter; what mattered was that when treated as a disease, those who suffered from it were most likely to recover."-Craig Ferguson You have probably witnessed the problems caused by alcohol and how some of these problems have ruined lives. You also know of someone who can't control his drinking addiction even though he has tried countless times. It is not all that easy to get rid of addiction; it requires help from people and the willingness to overcome it. However, there are many alcoholics who have managed to give up their drinking habit by controlling their urges. Let's look at classic alcoholic behavior. First of all, the drinking passes the social drinking stage. It is no longer done to have fun or for social reasons. Instead, the person drinks to escape stress from work, to overcome inhibitions, overcome relationship problems or just to escape from general challenges of life. The alcoholic grows to depend upon the feeling he gets from drinking alcohol. He develops a tolerance for alcohol and gradually requires large quantities of alcohol to reach the same feeling he has become dependent upon. One of the classic alcohol behaviors is that the person does not realize he has a problem thus he is in a denial. He drinks frequently, drinks in excessive because of dependence on alcohol, boasts about his ability to handle drinking and undergoes behavioral changes like irritability when he cannot get a drink. An alcoholic usually continues to deny that he has problem even after physical alcoholism problems have developed such as uncontrollable hand tremors, hangovers, suffers from blackouts and vomiting. At this point, he is likely to experience all kinds of problems such as trouble with his marriage, problems at work, financial difficulties and health issues. Things he used to care about are now neglected. He becomes a vegetable and a burden to his family members. He may go on to develop violent tendencies. He will also start avoiding his family members, friends and other people. He has trouble sleeping and poor personal hygiene. His financial status, physical and mental health crumble while he continues with his compulsive violent behavior. The classic alcohol behavior of late stage is when the drinking takes over the entire day. The alcoholic has a hangover upon awakening in the morning and will start drinking throughout the day. It is at this stage that the person's general life worsens. An alcoholic is at risk of losing his job, family and everything else that was once important to him. He may also have hallucinations or delirium tremens (the DTs). This condition can actually be fatal if an alcoholic doesn't get medical treatment of some sort to recover from alcoholism. This downward spiral continues until the alcoholic hits rock bottom. Many alcoholics have to hit the bottom before they're willing to seek medical treatment to recover from alcoholism. With a strong desire to stop alcoholism and knowing it is a disease, recovery from alcoholism is possible.