How Alcohol Abuse Affects the Human Body

Alcohol affects the human body physically and mentally. When you drink alcohol, your brain builds up a tolerance level, which causes you to drink more and more to get the initial euphoric effects. Excessive drinking leads to a dependence on alcohol and puts you at high-risk for many serious health problems. Alcohol consumption can cause liver damage, kidney failure, lung infections, and even cancer.

Alcohol affects normal brain function. The brain controls how you move, talk, walk, and think. Alcohol interferes with the brain’s neurotransmitters, releases more dopamine and causes pleasurable feelings. The euphoric feelings are short-term and sometimes cause a person to drink more to reach the same level of pleasure. The brain builds up a tolerance to the amounts of alcohol consumed.

When your brain is impaired, your coordination and critical thinking are affected. Fatal accidents occur when a person who is under the influence, operates a motor vehicle or other heavy equipment. Judgment is impaired and reactive senses slow down. Speech becomes slurred and balance is impacted. Alcohol interferes with memory and results in blackouts. The blackouts are short-term forms of amnesia.

Excessive alcohol use can cause cancer in different areas of the body. Alcohol causes cirrhosis of the liver and if you do not stop drinking, it can lead to liver failure, which is fatal. Alcohol is toxic to your body and negatively alters the stomach, heart, intestines, nervous system, and bones. The detrimental effects of alcohol on your body far outweigh the short-term moments of pleasure received with the first drink.

Many people drink alcohol because of emotional stress. Since alcohol is a depressant, it can heighten depression, anxiety, and emotional distress. Drinking alcohol can disrupt normal sleep patterns, cause insomnia, and result in a restless sleep. Lack of restful sleep can influence poor performance or frequent absences at your job, and lead to termination.

The effects of alcohol on the human body are dangerous and deadly. Alcohol abuse impacts family relationships and causes couples to break up, divorce, or separate. Excessive alcohol use changes interactions with your loved ones and your financial stability. If you are addicted to alcohol, go to a detox facility and check out treatment programs that are available for recovery. There is hope to recover and live a healthy, substance-free life.   

Recovery begins with you. You have to make the decision, now, to call and ask for help, get to treatment, and start a transformational, life-changing journey. The power to heal is yours. Let Enlightened Recovery Solutions show you the path of holistic treatment, bringing together the best practices of evidence-based clinical care, proven alternative healing practices, and trusted 12-step philosophy. Call 833-801-5483 today for information on our partial care programs.