Alcoholism is a treatable disease, with many treatment programs and approaches available to support alcoholics who have decided to get help. Getting help before your problem drinking progresses to severe alcohol use disorder can save your life. Today, we know that the symptoms of alcoholism can vary from one person to the next. Because the condition is progressive, these symptoms may increase over time in terms of the number of symptoms, their severity, and their impact. Alcoholism is a term that is sometimes used to describe what is known as an alcohol use disorder (AUD). Compounding the problem already experienced by those facing alcoholism is the progressive nature of the disease.
What Is Alcoholism and How to Get Treatment
In particular, pathways containing dopamine are where many drugs exert their effects. Dopamine is a small chemical in the brain important for carrying signals from one brain cell to the next, similar to how a train carries cargo between stations. Pathways where dopamine is present are involved in many different functions, one of which is reward-motivated behavior.
- This explains why individuals who chronically abuse drugs or alcohol begin to appear lethargic, unmotivated and depressed, and report a lack of pleasure in things that were once pleasurable.
- By addressing the thoughts and emotions that lead to alcohol abuse, individuals can develop healthier coping mechanisms.
- If your pattern of drinking results in repeated significant distress and problems functioning in your daily life, you likely have alcohol use disorder.
- Cirrhosis is further categorized as compensated and decompensated.
- Because the condition is progressive, these symptoms may increase over time in terms of the number of symptoms, their severity, and their impact.
How Does Addiction Develop in the Brain?
Alcoholic liver disease is caused by excessive consumption of alcohol. There are three stages—alcoholic fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis, and alcoholic cirrhosis. Fatty liver disease can also develop after binge drinking, which is defined as drinking Why Alcoholism is Considered a Chronic Disease four to five drinks in two hours or less.
What should I do if I think that I might have an alcohol use disorder (AUD)?
Having said that, there is no bad time to seek treatment for alcoholism. Even if you have been drinking heavily for years, this doesn’t mean that it’s too late to get help. But for people who have chronic, progressive diseases such as alcoholism, the focus is reducing distress and increasing resilience to prevent continued harm.
The problem is the alcoholic’s mental obsession with alcohol is much more subtle than a song playing in one’s mind. All they know is there is a sudden urge for a drink, a physical compulsion. Eating a healthy diet, getting regular exercise, and avoiding liver-damaging foods such as fried foods, can also help the liver heal during treatment. In some cases, supplementation with vitamins may be recommended.
