Lose the booze: Understanding alcohol, addiction and treatment

Dr Shraddha Vakil

Alcohol, specially misunderstood for lowering the anxiety and induce good sleep, is in fact known to cause a wide range of side effects from head to toe. Not all who drink alcohol are alcoholics but after a specific amount of consumption, the urge to take more or loss of willpower over not taking alcohol can lead to alcoholism or alcohol use disorder.

Alcohol is a psychoactive drug which has become the most common form of offerings in the social gatherings. The intoxicating ingredient is ethyl alcohol that gives the feeling of getting drunk. Different forms of alcohol take different amount of time for the body to process and give the end results. 20% alcohol is absorbed through stomach and rest by small intestine. Through bloodstream, it gets distributed and disturbs the whole normal functioning of the body. Majority of alcohol is metabolised by liver and long-term consumption puts other organs under strain. In brain, it starts playing with the important chemicals which are known to impact the human emotions and hence affects mood, awareness and perception.

After-effects of alcohol: Because alcohol is commonly misunderstood to be a booster for good performance, it’s a necessity to know that it is central nervous system depressant that slows down the brain and hence the activities and gradually attention, awareness and perception. Most common after-effects of alcohol are liver disease, high blood pressure, heart disease, stomach ulcers, pancreatitis, brain and nerve damage, anxiety, depression, digestive problems and dementia.

How to know the addiction: 1. Drinking more than intended. 2. Unsuccessful attempts to stop unhealthy drinking habits. 3. Needing more alcohol to feel the effects. 4. Experiencing withdrawal symptoms when not drinking. 5. Needing to drink at work. 6. Putting aside other activities and interests for drinking. 7. Spending more time drinking, and recovering from alcohol. 8. Continuing to drink despite health issues. 9. Cravings for alcohol.

What to do when identified with alcoholism:

Because it is a progressive disorder, impact will start getting worse with prolonged use. That is why early treatments are encouraged. First step is getting admitted in hospital, detoxing the body and manage the withdrawal symptoms under a psychiatrist. To manage worse withdrawal symptoms that can last for 48 hours, specific treatment is given to avoid any seizure attack, insomnia and vomiting. After the detoxification is done, the medications used for safe withdrawal can be slowly weaned off and patient will be managed on anti-cravings and other supportive management for different symptoms. This management style helps not only addictions but gets the doctor to cure the root cause of addictions. Patient is usually recommended and encouraged to get involved in therapies and support groups to lower the chances of relapse after rehab.

(The writer is psychiatrist, MGM Medical College and Hospital, Aurangabad).