What causes someone to become an alcoholic?

Known Specific Risk Factors Binge drinking (consuming more than 5 or more drinks in a 2-hour period for men or 4 or more drinks in a 2-hour period for women). Having a biological family member with alcoholism or drug addiction. Having a mental health condition such as bipolar disorder, depression, or anxiety.

What are the two types or categories of addiction?

Today, most experts recognize two types of addiction:

• Chemical addiction. This refers to addiction that involves the use of substances.
• Behavioral addiction. This refers to addiction that involves compulsive behaviors. These are persistent, repeated behaviors that you carry out even if they don’t offer any real benefit.

What is the first stage in the development of alcoholism?

The first stage of alcoholism is a general experimentation with alcohol. These drinkers may be new to different forms of alcohol and likely to test their limits. This experimental stage is commonly seen in young adults. These experimental drinkers also frequently engage in binge drinking.

Is there an alcoholic gene?

Abundant evidence indicates that alcoholism is a complex genetic disease, with variations in a large number of genes affecting risk. Some of these genes have been identified, including two genes of alcohol metabolism, ADH1B and ALDH2, that have the strongest known affects on risk for alcoholism.

What diseases are related to alcohol?

Over time, excessive alcohol use can lead to the development of chronic diseases and other serious problems including:

• High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, and digestive problems.
• Cancer of the breast, mouth, throat, esophagus, voice box, liver, colon, and rectum.

What are the symptoms of a person suffering from alcoholism?

What are the signs or symptoms of alcoholism?

• A lack of interest in previously normal activities.
• Appearing intoxicated more regularly.
• Needing to drink more in order to achieve the same effects.
• Appearing tired, unwell or irritable.
• An inability to say no to alcohol.
• Anxiety, depression or other mental health problems.

Why does alcohol change people’s personality?

People who excessively consume alcohol will find a change in their personality because of the impairment and shrinking of the brain. Alcohol-induced behavioural changes are reciprocal with psychopathological and social abnormalities.

What is the difference between drug addiction and alcohol addiction?

Alcohol addiction is simply a form of the larger category of drug addiction, so they each are intertwined together. While not all addiction causes the same feelings or withdrawal symptoms, all substance abuse stems from similar sources, such as the desire to numb physical or emotional pain.

Why are more Americans addicted to alcohol than any other drug?

It is our cultural attitude toward alcohol, as well as its legal availability, that has likely contributed to the fact that more Americans are addicted to alcohol than any other drug – over 18 million of us are addicted to alcohol, with 4.2 million of us being addicted to our next most popular drug – marijuana.

Is drug addiction a disease or a choice?

Drug addiction causes all sorts of medical problem but the disease theory holds that the addict has a biological vulnerability to addiction before they ever began to use the drug. This perspective underlies the strategy of Alcoholics Anonymous that unquestionably saves many lives and it also seems helpful to family members and to therapists.

What are the stereotypes of drug and alcohol addicts?

There are many different stereotypes that are brought to mind when thinking about drug or alcohol addicts. The majority of these stereotypes make negative assumptions about lifestyles that include drugs and alcohol. People who abuse substances are typically deviants and don’t engage in society like the rest of the population.