You might not be aware that alcoholism is considered to be a brain disease. In its most severe form, called alcohol use disorder (AUD), individuals cannot stop drinking. They require outside intervention because they’re not able to stop drinking alcohol on their own. The inability to quit doesn’t come from a lack of willpower. Rather, alcohol addiction is a brain disease because alcohol modifies one’s brain chemistry over time. Although treatment can help improve and even reverse some of the brain modifications, alcohol addiction is a lifetime situation. But what does this mean? Why is alcoholism a chronic disease, and does this mean it can’t be cured?
Why Is Alcoholism Considered a Chronic Disease?
In reality, alcoholism is indeed a chronic disease, not an acute disease. What’s the difference? Acute diseases can be healed and resolved. The individual doesn’t continue to have that disease for the rest of their life. On the other hand, chronic conditions last one’s lifetime. They can be managed and treated, but the person will always have that disease in some form. It can be difficult to picture alcoholism as a chronic disease because, yes, it can be successfully treated. So, let’s unpack what chronic alcoholism means.
Alcohol addiction, or alcohol use disorder (AUD), doesn’t happen overnight. Rather, individuals develop alcohol addiction over a period of years when they consistently follow unhealthy drinking patterns. These include drinking large quantities in a short span and doing so often. In the same way, once someone has developed AUD, they always have that condition. The process of recovery often involves going between periods of sobriety and periods of relapse. Thus, their disease never goes away, and they’re still at risk of falling back into alcoholism if they relapse. Avoiding alcohol doesn’t mean a person doesn’t struggle with AUD, but rather that they’re in remission. Unfortunately, many people spend their whole lives caught in the cycle of addiction, falling in and out of alcohol use.
What Does Alcohol Do to Your Health?
Alcohol abuse causes a lot of short-term and long-term health damage because it alters your system. The risks can be both physical and psychological and only worsen the longer you abuse alcohol. Some of the potential health dangers include:
Short-Term Health Risks of Alcohol Abuse
- Headaches
- Double vision
- Fatigue
- Recklessness or impulsivity
- Aggressiveness
- Mood swings
- Poor concentration
- Memory loss
Long-Term Health Risks of Alcohol Abuse
- Liver damage
- Cardiovascular disease
- High blood pressure
- Insomnia
- Paranoia
- Brain damage
- Diabetes
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Vitamin deficiencies
- Infertility
- Cancer
- Coma
- Death
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Why Is Quitting Alcohol So Difficult?
Alcohol addiction is a brain disorder because of alcohol’s effect on the brain. Just like drugs, alcohol triggers your reward system to produce feelings of pleasure and euphoria. Over time, the triggering of positive neurotransmitters becomes a learned behavior, so you start to crave more alcohol. At the same time, you begin to develop tolerance, so you have to drink more and more often to achieve the same results. Over time, your neurochemistry is altered by alcohol abuse. Therefore, quitting alcohol is difficult or even impossible on your own because your brain has adapted to need alcohol to function. You physically and psychologically cannot quit by yourself.
Finding Help for Alcohol Abuse
It can be disheartening to learn alcohol addiction is a chronic disease. However, this doesn’t mean it can’t be treated and managed, and its hold on your life is overcome. We treat alcohol addiction at our professional rehab center. Through continuing levels of care, including detox, residential inpatient, and outpatient rehab, we help our patients find whole-body healing. We would love to hear from you about how we can help. Recovery is within reach!
