Alcohol Addiction and its Effects on the Brain
Shuffling, difficulty walking, slurry speech, delayed reaction time and impairment of memory are just a few of the many different ways alcohol affects the human brain. Some of the things that happen with alcohol can occur after only a small amount is consumed and quickly resolves when the person stops drinking; however, with prolonged use the problems alcohol can cause are devastating and permanent.
Heavy drinking and alcohol addiction has extreme and far-reaching consequences for more than just the alcoholic. The brain is lightly affected at first, but with prolonged use alcohol causes extensive damage to different areas of the brain which will never heal. The extent of damage on the brain from alcohol will depend upon how much the person drinks, how often the person drinks, how long the drinking has been going on, age and overall health and whether or not there was any prenatal alcohol exposure.
Alcohol causes many different detectable impairments of the memory, and as the person drinks more alcohol the degree of impairment increases tenfold. Large amounts of alcohol consumed on an empty stomach can lead a person to experience a blackout or memory loss for a substantial period of time. Blackouts are a common occurrence and can be the side effect of acute alcohol intoxication regardless of whether or not the person is a full-blown alcoholic or not.
There are some experts who believe women are more prone to medical complications than men who consume alcohol heavily. Women are at a higher risk of developing cirrhosis of the liver, certain types of cancer, heart muscle damage, nerve damage and other complications relating to alcohol than men. Studies conducted on the brains of men and women who drink large amounts of alcohol over long periods of time were inconclusive and further research is needed to determine the outcome of damage.
People with a long-term alcohol addiction run the risk of developing debilitating and serious brain change. Damage can result because of alcohol use on the brain directly or indirectly because of poor nutrition or because of severe liver damage and other health complications. The long term damages from alcoholism are devastating and cause a person to experience many problems which cannot be reversed.
To recover and heal from alcoholism, professional treatment is often the only answer. A person who enters into a professional alcohol treatment program will be given counseling, therapy, 12-step meetings, life skills courses, alcohol education and be provided with other healing modalities designed to enhance the treatment experience and instill the person with the tools and skills needed in order to maintain long-term sobriety.
Besides the physical damage to health and other negative consequences, chronic alcohol abuse can result in costing thousands of innocent lives each year. With the right treatment and adequate care it is possible for anyone to recover from the problems caused by alcohol. When a person seeks to become sober, the best thing to do is encourage and support the decision to seek alcohol treatment to best allow total recovery and healing to occur.
Christian Alcohol Treatment | | 
October 2, 2009 10:24 pm
