Info About Alcoholism

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What are some of the characteristic behaviors of alcoholics? What is the alcohol content in one "typical" drink? What is alcohol withdrawal and what are alcohol withdrawal symptoms?

Please continue reading to find answers to these questions and also to learn some alcoholic info and relevant info about alcoholism.

The Pleasant Experience of Drinking Alcohol

For most individuals who drink, alcohol is a pleasant experience, especially when they are engaged in social activities and when they drink in moderation.

image: young woman in bed with alcoholic headache When most people drink in moderation, moreover, alcohol is not harmful and does not result in destructive, unhealthy outcomes.

A relatively large number of individuals, however, cannot drink alcoholic beverages because of the problems and difficulties they experience.

Many of these people clearly have a "drinking problem" and some of them are alcohol dependent.

Once people become addicted to alcohol, they are defined as "alcoholics." Alcoholics, not surprisingly, exhibit a number of recognizable and predictable physical behaviors. The following represents some of the key physical and emotional characteristics of alcoholics:

They drink more during each episode AND they drink more frequently
Their drinking interferes with their work, school, friends, or family
They experience increased tolerance over time
They suffer from alcohol withdrawal symptoms when they quit drinking
They experience unsuccessful efforts to reduce their drinking
They continue drinking in spite of negative consequences such as employment, legal, relationship, or financial problems.

Alcohol Content

image: male college student showing off his bottle of beer How much alcohol is in one drink? Stated differently, what is the alcohol content in one drink? One drink is defined as containing one-half of an ounce of pure ethyl alcohol. In short, the alcohol content in one drink is equal to a half of an ounce of ethyl alcohol. Based on this information, each of the following is considered to be one drink:

10 ounces to 12 ounces of beer at 4% to 5% alcohol content
4 ounces to 5 ounces of table wine at 9% to 12% alcohol content
2.5 ounces of fortified wine at 20% alcohol content
8 ounces to 12 ounces of wine cooler at 4% to 5% alcohol content
1 ounce of 100 proof distilled spirits at 50% alcohol content
1.25 ounces of 80 proof distilled spirits at 40% alcohol content

Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms

image: doctor in lab reviewing test results for an alcoholic With the regular consumption of alcohol, the brain, gradually and over time, adjusts to the alcohol in order to function in a “normal” manner.

This helps explain why more and more alcohol is typically needed in order for the individual to feel the same "buzz" or "high" with regular use.

When an individual who has exhibited a pattern of chronic, continuous, and excessive consumption abruptly stops drinking, he or she typically experiences alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can take days or weeks before his or her body returns to "normal” functioning without alcohol.

To a significant degree, then, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the brain and by the body to the depletion of alcohol to which they had become adapted.

At this juncture, one point needs to be stressed. Alcohol withdrawal symptoms are a function of alcohol addiction and not of alcohol abuse. In other words, a person who engages in abusive drinking but who is not alcohol dependent almost always will not experience alcohol withdrawals when he or she stops drinking.

According to basic alcoholic info, however, the individual who is addicted to alcohol will experience alcohol withdrawals when he or she suddenly quits drinking.

Depending upon the level of alcoholism that the person has reached, moreover, alcohol withdrawal symptoms can range from mild to moderate to severe and can include both physical and psychological components.

The most important thing to be taken from this discussion about alcohol withdrawal symptoms is this: when suffering from alcohol withdrawal symptoms, always see your healthcare provider or doctor right away so that he or she can evaluate the severity of your situation and recommend the best treatment option for your particular circumstance.

According to alcoholic info and the research literature, people, who are having a drinking problem, at least on some level, know it, and they try to cut down. They may change from beer to wine or from hard liquor to beer. They may decide to only drink after five o'clock, only on weekends. They may even move or change jobs. But the result is more of the same, more abusive and irresponsible drinking.

Alcoholism Videos

image: woman suffering from terrible hangover We have included some alcoholism videos so that you can see and hear directly from various people about their struggles with this disease.

If you, a family member, or one of your friends has a "drinking problem," seeing what others have gone through, how they learned more relevant alcoholic info, and how they attained successful recovery is much more "real" than any information you can read about.

Furthermore, watching these videos may help you understand what others with a drinking problem are experiencing. So make sure you look at these excellent videos!

Given the widespread alcohol abuse and alcoholism in this country, and given the fact that many experts suggest that problem drinkers talk to their doctors about their drinking situation, perhaps more substantial drug, alcoholism, and alcohol abuse programs and courses need to be part of the medical school curriculum.

Info About Alcoholism: Conclusion

Here is one of the key bits of info about alcoholism that many drinkers apparently do not understand: many people who drink abusively will eventually make the transition from alcohol abuse to alcohol dependency. Once people suffer from alcoholism, they become known as alcoholics.

Through the years, alcoholism researchers have identified basic alcoholic info and a number of recognizable and predictable physical behaviors exhibited by alcoholics.

It appears that many people are unaware that different alcoholic drinks contain different levels of alcohol content. Perhaps the best way to say this it to point out that no matter if a person is drinking beer, wine, wine coolers, or whisky, by definition, one drink is equal to a half of an ounce of ethyl alcohol.

This means that one shot of hard liquor, for example, may contain two, three, or more times the alcohol content that is contained in one beer, one wine cooler, or in one glass of wine.

Some Basic Alcoholic Info. When a person who is alcohol dependent abruptly stops drinking alcohol, he or she will typically experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Alcohol withdrawal symptoms, essentially, are responses by the body and by the brain to the depletion of alcohol to which they had become adapted.

When an alcohol dependent person is experiencing alcohol withdrawal symptoms or is expecting to experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the near future (because he or she is planning on quitting drinking) it is important for him or her to immediately contact his or her doctor or healthcare professional so that the alcohol withdrawal symptoms can be treated in the safest, most effective way based on the person's particular drinking situation.

According to basic alcoholic info and alcoholism research, after detoxification, most alcoholics need some form of long-term support or counseling to remain sober. Recovery programs focus on teaching a person with alcoholism about the disease, and helping him or her to learn new coping strategies to deal with the stresses of everyday life without turning to alcohol. Many patients benefit from self-help groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA).

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Alcoholism research and alcoholic info shows that people who have been drinking large amounts of alcohol for long periods of time run the risk of developing serious and persistent changes in the brain. Damage may be a result of the direct effects of alcohol on the brain or may result indirectly, from a poor general health status or from severe liver disease.

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