Excessive alcohol consumption has detrimental effects on your overall body wellness. It affects the central nervous system, hindering your ability to perform optimally. An estimated 5.8% of Americans have an alcohol disorder.
Alcohol dependence can ruin your life significantly. It leads to strained relationships, poor judgment, and even death.
Read on to understand the adverse effects of alcohol!
How Does Alcohol Affect Mental Health?
Alcohol can affect the way you think or make decisions. It attacks the central nervous system, altering the normal functioning of your brain. Alcohol use affects your brain in the following ways:
• Reducing the quality of sleep
• Excessive mental exhaustion
• Impaired judgments
• Depression and anxiety
In addition to reducing the quality of sleep (a factor related to depression), alcohol also increases the individual's risk of developing mental illnesses.
How Does Alcohol Affect Physical Health?
Excessive alcohol use brings about a series of chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer. It is one of the main risk factors associated with liver cancer. Too much alcohol damages tissue and can lead to cirrhosis. Liver cancer has often been associated with complications of cirrhosis.
Alcohol travels to the liver through the blood. The liver metabolizes some level of alcohol, while the rest is distributed throughout the body. The blood-alcohol level increases to a higher level than the body cannot metabolize. This increase may interrupt oxygen supply to the brain, leading to coma or even death.
How Alcohol Impacts Emotional Health
People affected by alcoholism have difficulty in recognizing their own emotions and those of others. Other emotional impacts include:
• Altered mood
• Difficulty to relax
• Irritability and impatience
• Constantly agitated mind
• Weight gain or loss very quickly
• Sweating and tremors in the hands and legs
All these emotional effects tend to worsen as alcohol intake increases. Generally, people find it difficult to concentrate and fulfill commitments.
Alcohol and Relationships
Alcohol poses a significant challenge in modern-day families. According to recent research, over 10% of US kids live with parents with alcohol problems. Kids raised by alcoholic parents struggle with emotional and behavioral problems. The majority of parents who struggle with alcoholism neglect their kids’ emotional and physical needs, leading to developmental issues.
Also, alcohol increases the risk of domestic violence. Because alcohol use lowers physical and cognitive functioning, the majority of drunk people end up acting violently. According to the WHO, 55% of physical assault cases in the US and UK result from alcohol use.
Alcohol use affects intimate relationships. The majority of alcoholic men have erectile dysfunction or a lack of sexual desire. It inhibits the proper functioning of the central nervous system, which directly controls sexual stimulation.
In females, alcohol use may affect sexual desire, arousal, and responsiveness. Research by the NCBI suggests that consuming too much alcohol leads to a decreased genital response. It leads to reduced sensation and reduced vaginal lubrication.
The Bottom Line
While alcohol addiction can be detrimental, you can quickly recover with the right therapy. All that you need is the right solution.
At STACS, we provide exceptional care and therapy that help you identify if alcohol is impacting your life. We have a wide range of experienced therapists to help you. Get in touch with us today to see how we can help.