I feel that alcoholism needs to be brought to people’s attention to create more awareness on the topic and the effects it has on an individual.Through this understanding it is in hope that more people suffering will seek recovery.

Symptom of Alcoholism:

The major symptom of the disease of alcoholism is denial. The individual’s mind is so warped by the illness that he or she is unable to accept that a problem even exists. His defence mechanism (the denial) refuses to accept that the root cause of the problem lies within himself, not in his family, work, financial or work problems, or any other reason he may find to drown himself in a bottle.

Alcoholism is a sickness of the spirit , a way of an aesthetising or dealing with emotional pain,felt long before alcoholism becomes a problem. The sickness could manifest itself in many kinds of dysfunctional or addictive behaviour. This is why chemical dependency is accepted as a family illness.

Alcoholics, addicts and their codependent family members can and do recover and go on to live happy and fulfilling lives. From an early stage problem drinker to the street level addict, it is important that you know that recovery is possible once the barriers of denial are broken down.

There can be marked individual differences. Death can occur in inexperienced drinkers where the same dose of alcohol would not cause unconsciousness in a habitual drinker.Regular drinkers become more tolerant, to a degree,to the brain effects of alcohol, which in part accounts for individual variations in which intoxication and death occur.There are consistent changes in mood and behaviour at blood levels of 50mgs%, with people becoming more carefree and a lowering of inhibitions and anxieties. However,alcohol is a depressant, not a stimulant.

Alcohol is a drug. It has a range of effects on individuals such as

• Senses, movement and coordination
• Sexual experience
• Complex intellectual functions impairing fluency and memory for words
• Physical harm including cancers, cirrhosis and causing accidents
• Psycholgical problems including depression, anxiety and suicide
• Social harm including domestic violence, child neglect,burglaries, road traffic accidents, driving offences, football hooliganism,theft, divorce and homelessness.

Some statistics for events that are linked to excessive consumption of alcohol are:

25% of emergency medical admissions

66% of suicide attempts and deaths

62% of serious head injuries

33% of accidents at home

17,000 admissions to psychiatric hospitals

20% of child abuse cases

40,000 deaths in the UK

1,400 fatal road accidents

14 million days off work

33% of drivers killed are over the limit

45% of road traffic accidents in young people

45% assaults/wounding

50% murders

So you can see the impact that alcohol consumption has in variation of areas and the consequences shown here should be considered as a catalyst for change