Alcohol addiction can be difficult to identify. Because alcohol is legal and most adults drink at least socially, it can be easy to hide an alcohol addiction-even from yourself. Alcohol use is considered an addiction when you can no longer function properly when you try to quit; this is when your dependence has become so intense that you cannot stop drinking once you start, or you cannot go a day without a drink. It is also defined as when your dependence on alcohol costs you in job performance, relationships or social obligations. Alcohol use is also considered a problem if you abuse your legal right to drink responsibly and do something like drive while intoxicated or go to work while impaired by alcohol consumption.
Alcohol is a depressant, so it actually slows down some of the messages being sent to and from your brain. This impairment can cause blurry vision, inability to walk, slow responses to stimuli and confusion. Alcohol tends to exaggerate the mood you are currently experiencing, so it can make a happy person feel less inhibited and happier, but it can also make an angry person feel angrier or a depressed person feel hopeless. Alcohol dulls your sense of judgment, making it difficult to make rational decisions when under the influence.
Some alcohol is fine for people who are not addicts. A glass or two of wine may relax you and help you enjoy a social situation more or make things seems funnier. Problems come when people drink too much at one time or drink too often.
It's difficult for people to determine how much alcohol is too much because tolerance levels vary from person to person. In general, men can hold their liquor better than women because of fat and water percentages in body make up. This means most men and women of similar weights and sizes do not handle alcohol alike; men can drink more without showing the effects than women.
In general, the guideline on suggested alcohol consumption is that healthy women drinkers do not consume more than 7 alcoholic drinks in a week and men do not consume more than 14 alcoholic drinks in a week. Women who consume more than 5 alcoholic drinks in one sitting are considered at risk of binge drinking; men who consume more than 6 alcoholic drinks in one sitting are likewise considered at risk. Ten ounces of beer, 4 ounces of wine or 1 1/4 ounces of 80 proof liquor is considered a serving of alcohol.
The older you get, the more sensitive to alcohol your body gets. So elderly people should limit consumption to much less than the limits suggested above. Seniors should also be aware the alcohol interacts negatively with over 150 different prescriptions drugs.
Alcohol addiction treatment comes in many various forms. Support groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, can provide you with information on treatment programs and treatment centers.
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