Alcohol abuse and women has many damaging results physically, mentally and socially. In truth, alcoholism and alcohol abuse and women is a sickness. Alcohol abuse and women is a very dangerous condition in that it can cause many problems in a person’s life and affect many aspects of their lifestyle. Alcoholism and/or alcohol abuse somehow have an effect on every persons life; through a friend, mother or father, brother or sister or even personal experience. Alcohol abuse and women, as a medical diagnosis, refers to a pattern of manners and actions exemplified by unnecessary alcohol use. Consumption like this could occur regularly, only on weekends or being intoxicated for at least two successive days, called binges. Characteristics of alcohol abuse and women can be troubles stopping or decreasing the quantity of alcohol and troubles in social and work-related role performance.

Alcohol and substance use disorders are complicated illnesses that present unique threats to women’s health. Medical research is showing that women who abuse alcohol, tobacco and other drugs may develop addictions and substance-related health problems faster than men. Alcohol abuse and women is most common between the ages of 26 and 34. Women are more vulnerable to alcohol-related organ damage, trauma and interpersonal difficulties such as liver and brain damage, heart disease, breast cancer, violence and traffic crashes. With liver damage, women who abuse alcohol develop alcohol-induced liver disease in a shorter time period than men even if they consume less alcohol. Women are more likely to develop alcohol hepatitis and die from cirrhosis.

One of the common misconceptions is that alcoholics are people who drink often or drink daily. In actuality, a woman is an alcoholic when they can no longer control their drinking. There are also different types of alcoholism. Alcohol abuse and women may look like a woman drinking everyday as they think it makes them feel better and/or they use it to deal with everyday problems. In contrast, alcohol abuse and women may be alcoholics that drink periodically can be sober for long periods of time and are then enticed by alcohol and drinking which turns into an obsession. Once this temptation sets in, the alcoholic does not know how to personally control their drinking or stop themselves from drinking.

There are many communities that do not consider alcohol a drug, although it many, many was, it is. Like may other drug addicts, alcoholics can build a tolerance to their drug, alcohol, which makes them need more and more of their substance in order to get “high”. Alcohol abuse and women alcoholics build a tolerance to their drug, meaning that it takes increasingly greater amounts of alcohol to create the same feeling of euphoria. Alcohol abuse and women alcoholics can become physically and psychologically dependent. As it is stated, “Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic” and is a terminal disease. This disease of alcoholism is not something that a persona suffering from can easily wish away or just get rid of. An alcoholic who is in recovery can successfully sober up, but may always be tempted by alcohol. To refrain from alcohol is the first step to maintaining sobriety and is not easily done.

Many people who suffer from alcoholism and alcohol abuse and women may have family members who are also suffering from the disease of alcoholism. If a woman has parents that are alcoholics, the unfortunate truth is that woman is predisposed to becoming an alcoholic than a person who does not have alcoholism in their immediate family. For that reason, alcoholism is often described as a recessive trait and scientists are currently examining whether or not there is some type of an alcoholic gene that can cause some people to become alcoholics and others not.

In the early stages of drinking and alcohol abuse and women there are often signs of liver damage as chronic alcohol abuse can lead to alcoholism thus exacerbating the toll on the body. Young female alcoholics put their unborn children at risk for fetal alcohol syndrome and drinking alcohol before or during a person’s puberty can greatly upset the hormonal balance that is needed to develop bones, muscles and organs.

Alcohol is the most abused substance in The United States, whether the user is at the legal age or not. Alcohol is the third leading cause of death nationwide and would be first if alcohol-induced motor-vehicle deaths were included. One in every 13 adults abuse alcohol which computes into roughly 14 million Americans who combat some type of alcohol abuse (7% of these are labeled alcoholics). Alcohol abuse and women and an alcoholic is someone whose physical and/or emotional dependence on alcohol prevents them from leading a normal life. There are four phases of alcoholism. In the pre-alcoholic phase a person may seek out alcohol in social situations and feel the need to relax before anxiety provoking events. That person may soon display the signs of alcoholism in women. The person may drink alone, experience memory lapses or blackouts, gulp drinks and generally feel guilty about their drinking. The third phase is where a person looses control of their drinking. Friends, work, school and family come second to alcohol. The person is physically dependent on alcohol and need alcohol to function normally. It is at this phase that a person could be diagnosed an alcoholic. The fourth stage is a chronic phase is which drinking starts early in the day, and the person is usually seen in a drunken state. A certain tolerance to alcohol may become noticeable.

Fortunately there are things being done for those suffering from alcoholism and alcohol abuse. Alcoholics Anonymous, or AA, is a philosophically based organization with a strong emphasis on the idea that alcoholism is genetically based and that total alcohol abstinence is required for recovering alcoholics. Although AA is a program based on life-long commitment only 12% of participants remain in the program longer than three years. As well as AA, many hospitals now offer addiction medicine specialists who are available for teaching as well as consultations. Safe Harbor Treatment Center for Women, located in Southern California, is an established place of treatment for women suffering from alcoholism, drug addiction and eating disorders.

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