People who are physically dependent on alcohol will need the support of a healthcare professional to stop drinking. People with untreated depression, anxiety, or PTSD have a higher risk for alcoholism because they may self-medicate with the drug. Self-medicating with alcohol can make a person want to drink more and more, leading to alcohol addiction. If you’ve had two or three of those symptoms in the past year, that’s a mild alcohol use disorder. Perhaps the most effective drug so far is Antabuse, the first drug approved by the USDFA to treat alcohol addiction.

Clinicians should encourage patients to attend AA meetings and consider involving their family members in recovery. If AA attendance alone proves insufficient, clinicians may need to explore pharmacological therapies as an additional intervention to assist patients with AUDs. To ensure comprehensive care, adopting an interprofessional team approach involving various healthcare professionals to support individuals with AUDs is necessary.

Health Risks Associated with Alcohol Addiction

In the DSM-5, alcohol use disorder is further classified into categories of mild, moderate, and severe. Many people around the world drink a glass of wine regularly with their dinner and enjoy it responsibly. They do not get drunk, drive under the influence or become dependent on alcohol. Not everyone who binges drinks has an AUD but is at a higher risk of developing one.

Why some people abuse alcohol and others don’t is not fully understood, but a family history of addiction to alcohol places a person at higher risk. Children of parents who have trouble with alcohol have a fourfold increased risk of the disorder. Alcohol use disorder is a pattern of alcohol use that involves problems controlling your drinking, being preoccupied with alcohol or continuing to use alcohol even when it causes problems. This disorder also involves having to drink more to get the same effect or having withdrawal symptoms when you rapidly decrease or stop drinking. Alcohol use disorder includes a level of drinking that’s sometimes called alcoholism. An increase in tolerance marks the second stage—people drink larger doses of alcohol to experience the same effects.

Availability of and Proximity to Alcohol

Professor Gutlerner, lecturer in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at the Harvard Medical School, explains. Alcohol addiction is 50% heritable, meaning genetics can play a role in the development of alcohol addiction.8 However, other factors, like social environment, mental health, and family history, also contribute to alcohol addiction. Relapse represents a major challenge to treatment efforts for people suffering from alcohol dependence. To date, no therapeutic interventions can fully prevent relapse, sustain abstinence, or temper the amount of drinking when a “slip” occurs. For some people, loss of control over alcohol consumption can lead to alcohol dependence, rendering them more susceptible to relapse as well as more vulnerable to engaging in drinking behavior that often spirals out of control.

Heavy drinking can seriously damage the liver, stomach, heart, brain, and nervous system. It also increases the risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, larynx (voice box), and esophagus. Women who drink heavily are at higher risk of developing breast cancer and osteoporosis.

Psychological Factors

There is a definite link between genetics and alcoholism and children of alcoholics are at higher risk of developing alcohol addiction. Research also indicates that the effects of alcohol can reduce your inhibitions and inhibit your decision-making ability and impulse control, producing a state of mind where why is alcohol addictive you feel more confident and are more likely to indulge in risk-taking behaviour. People prone to alcoholism may have a genetic predisposition, mental health issues, or be in an environment that encourages drinking. There is a strong link between alcohol dependence or addiction and mental health disorders.

But as you continue to drink, you become drowsy and have less control over your actions. Because denial is common, you may feel like you don’t have a problem with drinking. You might not recognize how much you drink or how many problems in your life are related to alcohol use. Listen to relatives, friends or co-workers when they ask you to examine your drinking habits or to seek help. Consider talking with someone who has had a problem with drinking but has stopped. Alcohol use disorder can include periods of being drunk (alcohol intoxication) and symptoms of withdrawal.