Effects of Alcohol

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The effects of alcohol are widespread and consist of relatively mild effects at one extreme and unhealthy and destructive effects at the other.

Stated more precisely, alcohol is a central nervous system depressant. In small quantities, alcohol results in a mild euphoria and usually removes inhibitions.  In excessive quantities, however, alcohol can lead to alcohol poisoning, drunkenness (also known as intoxication), alcoholism, coma, and death.

Some Basic Effects of Alcohol on the Human Body

Alcohol has a biphasic effect on the body, meaning that its effects change over time. Initially, alcohol typically produces feelings of relaxation and cheerfulness.

Increased consumption, however, can lead to dehydration, coordination problems, blurred vision, and a great number of health, medical, and social problems caused by alcoholism.

This, however brief, is an overview of the effects of alcohol.  What remains to be discussed, however, is what Paul Harvey calls "the rest of the story."  Essentially, "the rest of the story" is a more detailed analysis of how excessive alcohol effects an individual's life and the lives of those around him or her when the person becomes an alcoholic and suffers from alcoholism.

Perhaps the most logical way to discuss this complex topic is to focus first on the classic alcoholic behaviors and effects of alcohol in the four states of alcoholism; then examine some of the "social effects" of alcohol and alcoholism and finally, discuss the medical conditions, health problems, and diseases that are caused directly or indirectly by alcoholism.

Effects of Alcohol During the First Stage of Alcoholism

In the first stage of alcoholism, drinking is no longer social but becomes a means of psychological escape from stress, inhibitions, anxiety, and problems.

That is, early in the disease the individual starts to depend on the "mood altering" aspects of alcohol.  Another aspect of the first stage of alcoholism is that a gradual increase in tolerance develops, meaning that increasing amounts of alcohol are needed in order to feel a "high" or a "buzz."

The following symbolizes some of the classic alcoholic behaviors and effects of alcohol in the first stage of alcoholism:

• The use of alcohol as a way to forget problems or to "mellow out"
• A conscious effort to seek out more drinking opportunities
• Boasting and a "big shot" complex
• Drinking is not social but a psychological escape from stress and problems
• Lack of recognition by the person that he or she is in the early stages of a progressive illness
• Increasing tolerance
• Gross Drinking Behavior - more frequent drinking of greater amounts
• An ability to drink great amounts of alcohol without any apparent impairment

Effects of Alcohol During the Second Stage of Alcoholism

In the second stage of alcoholism, the need to drink becomes more intense.  In this stage, the individual typically starts to drink earlier in the day.  As tolerance increases, moreover, the person drinks because of his or her dependence on alcohol, rather than because of psychological stress or tension relief.  Also during this stage, the "loss of control" does not yet manifest itself on a regular basis; it is, nevertheless, gradually noticed by others such as work associates, friends, relatives, and family members.

The following list describes some of the classic alcoholic behaviors and effects of alcohol in the second stage of alcoholism:

• Drinking because of dependence rather than for stress relief
• Blaming problems on others and on things external to themselves
• Feelings of guilt and shame
• Increasing tolerance
• Increasing physical problems
• Denial
• Chronic hangovers
• Sneaking extra drinks before social events
• Sporadic loss of control
• Unsuccessful attempts to stop drinking
• More frequent blackouts

Effects of Alcohol During the Third Stage of Alcoholism

In the third stage of alcoholism, the loss of control becomes more obvious, meaning that the individual is unable to drink according to his or her intentions.  For instance, once the individual has had the first drink, he or she can no longer control what will happen, even though the intention might have been to have only one or two drinks.  During this stage of the disease, the person typically starts to experience serious work-related, financial, relationship, and perhaps legal problems.

Additionally, the drinker starts to avoid family and friends and experiences a loss of interest in activities that used to be fun or important.  "Eye-openers" are also typical during this stage. Eye-openers are drinks that are taken whenever the person awakens to help quiet the feelings of remorse the drinker suffers after a period of time without a drink, to calm the nerves, or lessen a hangover.

The following characterizes some of the classic alcoholic behaviors and effects of alcohol in the third stage of alcoholism:

• Half-hearted attempts at seeking medical help
• Loss of willpower
• Neglect of necessities such as food
• The development of an alibi system - an elaborate system of excuses for their drinking
• Serious financial, relationship, and work-related problems
• Avoidance of family and friends
• A decrease in alcohol tolerance
• Loss of control has become a pattern
• Changes in friendships, such as associating only with friends who drink
• Loss of interest in activities that used to be important
• An increase in failed promises and resolutions to one's self and to others
• Frequent violent or destructive behavior
• Increasing tremors
• Eye-openers
• Aggressive and grandiose behavior
• A decrease in alcohol tolerance
• The start of physical deterioration
• Unreasonable resentments
• Problems with the law (such as DUIs)

Effects of Alcohol During the Fourth Stage of Alcoholism

The fourth and final stage of alcoholism is distinguished by a chronic loss of control.  In the earlier stages of the disease, the individual may have been able to maintain a job.  Now, however, drinking starts earlier in the day and usually continues all day long.  Without a doubt, few, if any, full-time jobs can be sustained once a person reaches this state of difficulty.

In the earlier stages of the disease, moreover, the alcoholic had a choice whether he or she would take the first drink.  After taking the first drink, the alcoholic typically lost all control and would then continue drinking.  In the last stage of alcoholism, conversely, alcoholics no longer have a choice:  they must drink in order to function.

The following list represents some of the classic alcoholic behaviors and effects of alcohol in the fourth stage of alcoholism:

• Persistent remorse
• Moral deterioration
• Devaluation of personal relationships
• The realization of being out of control
• Benders, or lengthy intoxications
• The possibility of alcoholic psychosis
• Impaired thinking
• Loss of tolerance for alcohol
• "The shakes"
• Auditory and visual hallucinations
• Nameless fears and anxieties such as feelings of impending doom or destruction
• Continual loss of control
• The collapse of the alibi system
• The "DTs"
• Unreasonable resentments and hostility toward others
• An obsession with drinking
• Indefinable fears
• Vague spiritual desires

Effects of Alcohol and Social Relationships

Alcoholism not only effects the alcoholic, but it also affects those who are closest to the alcoholic, that is, his family, friends, relatives, work associates, and perhaps his neighbors.  The following list is a representation of the "social effects" of alcohol addiction:

• Broken, dysfunctional homes
• Traffic fatalities or injuries on the highways
• Birth defects such as fetal alcohol syndrome
• Wife battering
• Destroyed relationships
• Work-related injuries and accidents
• Child abuse
• Destroyed lives
• Codependent behavior in others

Effects of Alcohol: Diseases and Medical Conditions

Alcoholism causes a number of medical conditions, diseases, and health problems.  We will focus first on the different types of cancer caused by alcoholism and then on the non-cancerous illness and ailments that are the results of this disease.

 Effects of Alcohol: Cancer

The following is a list of different types of cancer that are caused directly or indirectly by alcoholism:

• Stomach
• Rectum
• Colon
• Throat
• Liver
• Larynx
• Kidneys
• Esophagus

Effects of Alcohol: Non-Cancerous Medical Conditions

The following is a list non-cancerous medical conditions, health problems, and diseases caused directly or indirectly by alcoholism:

• Harm to the fetus while the mother is pregnant
• Cardiovascular problems such as high blood pressure, cardiomyopathy (damage to the heart muscle), heart failure, and strokes
• Sever thiamine deficiency
• Problems with the immune system
• Impaired learning ability
• Pancreatitis
• Wernicke's disease (a memory disorder)
• Vitamin A deficiency (which can cause night blindness)
• Pneumonia
• Memory loss
• Dehydration
• Kidney failure
• Vitamin D deficiency (which can result in bone fractures)
• Coma
• Organ and system malfunction
• Inflammation of the digestive system
• Ulcers from the perforation of the stomach and the intestines
• Vitamin deficiencies (such as folate, selenium, riboflavin, thiamin, and vitamin B6)
• Infections
• Mental confusion
• Kidney and urinary tract infections
• Death (from alcohol poisoning, excessive intoxication, and organ malfunction)
• Loss of intellectual abilities
• Korsakoff's syndrome (a memory disorder)
• Diabetes
• Alcohol withdrawal symptoms when the alcoholic stops drinking
• Destruction of brain cells
• Alcohol Poisoning
• Gastritis (inflammation of the stomach)
• Sexual problems such as erectile dysfunction and impotence in men
• Numbness of the feet and hands
• Nervous system damage
• Cirrhosis of the liver
• Brain damage

Effects of Alcohol:  Conclusion

The effects of alcohol in the form of alcoholism are wide-spread as well as extremely damaging.  Stated differently, chronic alcoholism is truly a destructive, devastating, and debilitating disease that negatively affects the alcoholic; the alcoholic's social network, namely his family members, other relatives, work associates, neighbors, and friends; and the ill-fated "strangers" who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when the alcoholic causes a traffic fatality or accident because the alcoholic was driving "under the influence" of alcohol.

This, however, is not the full extent of the effects of the disease.  Indeed, the effects of alcoholism reveal themselves in an incredible number of diseases, health problems, and medical conditions that are suffered by the alcoholic.  It is almost overwhelming when first looking at the number, variety, and the seriousness of the illnesses and ailments that are caused by alcoholism.  After the topic is examined more closely, however, the health-related and medical consequences of the disease become less awe-inspiring and more logical.

More explicitly, over time, alcoholism progressively breaks down the proper functioning of the body's main organs and systems.  In addition, the alcoholic cannot replenish the vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients his body requires because of poor eating habits and perhaps more significantly because the body's malfunctioning organs and systems prevent the proper absorption, digestion, utilization, and metabolism of the nutrients necessary for growth, repair, and general maintenance.  Thus, over time, the alcoholic gradually kills himself or herself by his or her alcoholic behavior.

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