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Alcoholism is characterized by a wide range of symptoms including compulsive alcohol seeking and consumption, tolerance (resistance to the effects of alcohol after repeated consumption), and withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, profuse sweating, and uncontrollable shaking upon rapid cessation of drinking. [4]
Alcohol-related brain damage can have drastic effects on the individuals affected and their loved ones. The options for treatment are very limited compared to other disorders. Although limited, most patients with alcohol-related cognitive deficits experienced slight improvement of their symptoms over the first two to three months of treatment. [8]
Surveys on Indigenous people in British Columbia show that around 75% of residents on reserve feel alcohol use is a problem in their community and 25% report they have a problem with alcohol use themselves. However, only 66% of First Nations adults living on reserve drink alcohol compared to 76% of the general population. [84]
The term "alcoholism" was split into "alcohol abuse" and "alcohol dependence" in 1980's DSM-III, and in 1987's DSM-III-R behavioral symptoms were moved from "abuse" to "dependence". [116] Some scholars suggested that DSM-5 merges alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence into a single new entry, [ 117 ] named "alcohol-use disorder".
Alcohol dependence refers to an entity in which only alcohol is the involved addictive agent. Alcoholism refers to an entity in which alcohol or any cross-tolerant addictive agent is involved. In alcohol dependence, reduction of alcohol, as defined within DSM-IV, can be attained by learning to control the use of alcohol.
Even in individuals with a relatively low genetic risk, exposure to sufficiently high doses of an addictive drug for a long period of time (e.g., weeks–months) can result in an addiction. [2] In other words, anyone can become an individual with a substance use disorder under particular circumstances.
A heroin addict entering a rehab facility presents as severe a case as a would-be suicide entering a psych ward. The addiction involves genetic predisposition, corrupted brain chemistry, entrenched environmental factors and any number of potential mental-health disorders — it requires urgent medical intervention.
Alcohol abuse during adolescence, especially early adolescence (i.e. before age 15), may lead to long-term changes in the brain which leaves them at increased risk of alcoholism in later years; genetic factors also influence age of onset of alcohol abuse and risk of alcoholism. [86]