For more than a few years alcoholism research has revealed the fact that there is strong association between alcohol dependency and serious health conditions and mental health issues such as depression.

As an illustration, in 2005, medical research and alcohol abuse and alcoholism statistics revealed that alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency cost the United States an estimated $220 billion per year. It can be stressed that this gigantic alcohol-related expense was significantly more than the cost associated with cancer ($196 billion) or with obesity ($133 billion). While it is important to stress these facts, it is also noteworthy to highlight the fact that an interrelationship exists between all three of these health problems.

To be exact, chronic alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction are also highly interrelated with obesity and with cancer.

Undeniably, substance abuse research has revealed that alcohol addiction can boost the risk for different forms of cancer, especially cancer of the liver, voice box (larynx), kidneys, colon, esophagus, rectum, and the throat. Excessive and repetitive drinking can also lead to immune system difficulties and injury to the fetus during pregnancy.

Abusive and Hazardous Drinking Destabilizes the Individual’s Organs and Systems

Furthermore, if alcohol dependency continues over a period of years, the person’s body organs will more likely than not be affected in an unhealthy manner. For instance, repeated, excessive drinking is particularly harmful to the liver since the liver does most of the work of processing the alcohol that has been ingested. Excessive amounts of alcohol kills liver cells and obliterates the ability of liver cells to regenerate. This condition results in a progressive inflammatory injury to the liver that can ultimately lead to cirrhosis of the liver, a precarious and potentially deadly medical problem. Excessive, long-term drinking not only can lead to critical liver damage, but it can also lead to damage to the heart and to the brain. Physical damage this critical may be unalterable and may, in turn, result in severe ill health or an early death.

The Significance of Alcohol Therapy

It is imperative, then, to know how to identify the various alcoholism symptoms and the “alcohol signs” so that the alcohol dependent person can be given the opportunity to seek the professional alcohol counseling he or she needs.

Alcoholism and Technologically Advanced Brain Exploration

Fortunately, scientific exploration is constantly generating new and significant information. Recent alcoholism research supplies a high-quality illustration. More specifically, for roughly the past ten years, complicated brain-imaging scanning instruments have verified that continuous and chronic hazardous drinking changes the makeup of the brain to a great extent, therefore resulting in brain disease that can last months, years, or perchance as long as the individual exists.

More specifically, medical examination has shown that people who have been drinking in an irresponsible manner for a sizeable length of time increase their risk for developing long-term and substantial modifications in the brain.

This type of damage may be indirectly associated with the drinker’s poor overall health or directly related to severe liver disease or to the alcohol’s effects on the brain.

Mental Disorders, Malnutrition, and Hazardous Drinking

As a final illustration of various medical conditions that are to a large extent associated with alcoholism, take into account the fact that according to medical exploration, the abusive and repeated abuse of alcohol can lead to erosive gastritis, a health problem that limits the absorption of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.

This type of organ failure is related to malnutrition and to an array of severe mental and neurological maladies including memory loss, sleep disturbances, and psychosis such as Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome. This latter health problem is a lasting debilitating medical condition that is characterized by persistent learning and memory complications.

Excessive and Irresponsible Drinking Also Results in Relationship and Friendship Problems

In addition to acute medical conditions, irresponsible and excessive drinking also leads to friendship and relationship issues. For instance, people who engage in heavy drinking many times suffer from divorce, sexuality problems, marital problems, and affairs.

Summary: The Significance of Education

It is evident that repetitive, excessive drinking is directly or indirectly related to a number of dangerous medical problems that can and do lead to dangerous illness and premature death. Such information needs to be underlined and presented to everyone in our society, especially to all students, so that a multitude of individuals will be able to refrain from hazardous drinking while others who have a drinking problem will get the quality rehabilitation they require.

Let us look at this realistically. Yes, alcohol therapy is significant, but alcohol treatment is something that is commonly done AFTER the fact. Education, conversely, is something that is done BEFORE the problem emerges. Stated another way, whereas alcohol counseling is “reactive,” education is “proactive.” It is declared that both approaches are needed when discussing alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency.