1. http://www.slideshare.net/abhishekbhowmik11/alcoholism-is-bad
effects of alcoholism
The first effects of alcoholism are physical. These are the most important because these can cause
your death. For example, alcoholism causes cancer in the stomach, kidneys, and liver. Besides,
alcohol alters the digestion of nutrients that the body needs to stay healthy. Alcoholism also
causes severe damage in the neurons, so it causes alterations in the body movements, loss of
appetite, and depression. There are other effects in the body like gastritis and cirrhosis of the
liver. All these physical consequences could cause your death if you drink alcohol in mass
quantities.
The second effects caused by alcoholism are psychological. At the beginning, alcohol makes you
feel relaxed, but if you drink it in excess, it increases anxiety and causes depression. It also causes
family and legal problems, violence, changes of behavior, suicide, among others. Alcohol is very
powerful and alters all your normal behaviors.
The third effects of alcoholism are economic. According to the National Institute and Drug
Abuse, drug abuse and dependence cost an estimated $98 billion. Alcohol is not cheap. If you
drink two or three times in a week, it could cost you about $1000 pesos or more a week! People
do not think about the money and spend almost everything when they are drunk.
On individuals
Alcoholism can affect the individual in many ways, ranging from relatively minor consequences
to incapacitation and even death at the other end of the extreme. The disease potentially affects
everything in a person’s life, as the consequences of drinking snowball into bigger and bigger
problems. There is a definite sense of progression with the effects that alcoholism has on an
individual. Over the long run, things always get worse….never better.Health problems. Financial
problems. Nights in jail. Drunk driving. Broken marriages. Abusive relationships. This stuff is
really a no-brainer. Alcohol ruins people in a devastating way.But even the more subtle, sneaky,
closet drinker is slowly tearing their life apart with their secret addiction. Just because some
people are better at hiding it does not mean that the disease is not still ravaging their life.
Negative effect of alcohol
Diseases
One of the negative effects that alcohol tends to have is the increased risk for multiple serious diseases.
Increased consumption of alcohol can lead to serious medical problems such as cirrhosis of the liver,
which often results in death. Infections, sleeping disorders and sexual dysfunctions can also be caused by
consumption of alcohol. Recent studies have also shown that consumption of alcohol can actually raise
the risk of certain cancers, including breast cancer, throat cancer and intestinal cancer.
Pregnancy Problems
Not only can alcohol have negative effects on the person using it, but it can also damage the innocent,
such as unborn children. If a women is pregnant and continues to consume alcohol, it can cause serious
damage to the unborn baby. Both physical and mental birth defects can be a result of a mother drinking
while pregnant. Many babies that are born to mothers who drank alcohol during pregnancy end up with
either Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or with Fetal Alcohol Effects.

2. Legal Problems
Legal problems can be other negative effects that are caused by consuming alcohol. Many times, alcohol
will increase the amount of aggression in consumers and they end up committing crimes, ending up in
jail. Many crimes, including domestic violence, have been linked to the consumption of alcohol and being
in jail or going to court for charges such as these can be quite expensive. There are also many traffic
incidents that occur when people have been drinking that lead to legal problems as well.
Work Problems
Many people that consume alcohol on a regular basis find the negative effects of alcohol coming to play
in their professional lives as well. Often, alcohol consumption leads to missed days of work because of
hangovers and to shoddy work. As a result of these negative effects, some people may even find
themselves losing their jobs as a result of their alcoholism.
Consuming alcohol can be very serious and there are many grave negative effects that are caused by
alcohol. Avoiding alcohol can help you avoid these adverse effects and perhaps even save your life.
Health Effects of Alcohol Consumption
Arthritis Increases risk of gouty arthritis
Increases the risk of cancer in the liver, pancreas, rectum, breast, mouth, pharynx,
Cancer
larynx and esophagus
Fetal Alcohol
Causes physical and behavioral abnormalities in the fetus
Syndrome
Raises blood pressure, blood lipids and the risk of stroke and heart disease in
Heart Disease
heavy drinkers. Heart disease is generally lower in light to moderate drinkers.
Hyperglycermia Raises blood glucose
Hypoglycemia Lowers blood glucose, especially for people with diabetes
Enlarges the kidneys, alters hormone functions, and increases the risk of kidney
Kidney Disease
failure
Liver Disease Causes fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis
Increases the risk of protein-energy malnutrition,; low intakes of protein, calcium,
Malnutrition iron, vitamin A, vitamin C, thiamine, vitamin B6 and riboflavin, and impaired
absorption of calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D and zinc.
Nervous Disorders Causes neuropathy and dementia; impairs balance and memory
Obesity Increases energy intake, but not a primary cause of obesity
Psychological
Causes depression, anxiety and insomnia
disturbances

3. Effect on family
Alcoholism devastates families. The emotional trauma linked to this addiction affects spouses, parents,
siblings and children. Anxiety, depression and other mental health issues associated with alcoholism can
remain long after an alcoholic quits drinking or children leave home as adults. However, effective
treatments exist that can help families work toward recovery, both as a unit and as individuals.
Alcoholism
Health care professionals at the University of Maryland Medical Center describe alcoholics as individuals
who drink alcohol to the extent that it disrupts job responsibilities, affects physical and mental health, and
impairs social and family relationships. Symptoms of alcoholism might include making excuses for your
drinking, inability to stop or decrease your alcohol intake and reacting with hostility when confronted
about your drinking.
Children of Alcoholics
Children and adolescents often experience extreme levels of tension, stress, anxiety, embarrassment,
confusion, depression and anger when one or both parents are alcoholics, according to the American
Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. They may feel guilty or responsible for a parent's behavior,
believing they misbehaved or somehow created the need for alcohol. Even when at school or attending
social functions, children of alcoholics often worry about happenings at home. They fear the alcoholic
parent will injure himself, try to drive or become violent. Because of this, their grades, social activities
and relationships often suffer.
Adult Children of Alcoholics
Writing for All Psych Journal, Tetyana Parsons says that adult children of alcoholics might have
increased problems with depression, anxiety and obsessive or impulsive behavior. They often find it
difficult to trust others or establish healthy intimate relationships. Even as adults others would describe as
successful, they might have a low self-image and often feel worthless. They sometimes find it difficult to
take responsibility for their actions or manage stress in a healthy way. Adult children of alcoholics,
especially women, tend to have higher rates of eating disorders such as bulimia.
Other Family Members
Spouses, siblings and parents of alcoholics often develop anxiety, depression or other mental illness.
Social isolation and feelings of hatred or self-pity can cause an alcoholic's spouse to neglect parenting
responsibilities. Financial concerns caused by alcohol abuse can greatly increase tension and stress that
eventually lead to physical ailments such as hypertension or heart disease. Tetyana Parsons notes that
family members often devote much of their life to denying the problem and protecting the image of the
alcoholic.
Treatment for Alcohol addiction
Many treatments are available to help people with alcohol problems. Depending upon the individual condition and the extent of
addiction, the interventions involve an outpatient program, counseling or an inpatient stay. They can include:
Detoxification and withdrawal
The treatment for alcoholics may begin with detoxification, which takes four to seven days.
To avoid withdrawal symptoms like confusion, shaking or hallucination sedatives may be prescribed by the doctor.
Detoxification is usually done in a hospital.
Learning skills and establishing a treatment plan
This includes the involvement of alcohol-abuse specialists.
Certain goals are set, counseling, behavior modification techniques and follow up care at a hospital or inpatient treatment

4. Psychotherapy
Counseling the individuals and group to support recovery from the psychological aspects.
Family therapy can be of great help in the process of recovery.
Oral Medications
Alcohol sensitizing drug may help you to prevent drinking.
There are drugs that help you combat alcohol cravings and the doctor may put you on these drugs.
Continue support
Support groups and aftercare programs help you from alcohol abuse to stop drinking.
Alcohol Anonymous is a group that supports and attends the medical and psychological needs of the patient.
Alternative Therapy
There are a number of alternative techniques to help you recover from alcoholism. These include:
Yoga: Controlled breathing exercises can help you manage stress and relax.
Acupuncture: In this procedure, thin needles are inserted under the skin as this may relieve alcohol craving, reduce
anxiety, depression and withdrawal symptoms.
Spiritual Practice: When people are involved in regular spiritual practice, they find it easy to maintain recovery from alcohol
addiction.
Meditation: While meditation, you gain your attention and remove the thoughts that are crowded in your mind and are
causing stress.
Natural Remedies
Firm Determination: The alcoholics should have a strong determination to stop alcohol habits. Hence only a firm decision
can break this habit.
Grapes: Exclusive grape diet for a month is the most effective treatment at home as grapes have the purest form of alcohol.
Intake of grapes reduces the intake of alcohol.
Celery: The juice made out of its extracts can be consumed twice daily. The juice can be extracted from the leaves and then
mixed with two glasses of water and taken.
Bitter Gourd: Bitter gourd juice has excellent properties to cure the intoxicated effects of alcohol. This helps in repairing the
damaged cells of the liver.
Dates: Date syrup can be prepared by mixing 2 or 3 dates in a cup of water and this mixture can be taken 3 times a day.