Just Believe Recovery
Long- and Short-Term Effects of Alcohol
Alcohol is a central nervous system (CNS) depressant, decreasing activity in the brain and body. Its use can impair coordination, vision, judgment, decision-making, multitasking abilities, response time, and sleep quality.
Because of the impaired reaction time from excessive alcohol consumption, many people cannot perform everyday tasks safely, such as operating a motor vehicle. A blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 percent or above can result in the following short-term effects:
Euphoria
Feelings of relaxation
Decreased tension
Fatigue
Sleepiness
Slurred speech
Slowed response time
Nausea and vomiting
Stumbling or falling
Injury
Very high blood alcohol levels can lead to even more dangerous complications, including the following:
Very slow respiration rate
Passing out
Acute alcohol poisoning
Unresponsiveness
Coma
Death
Even a relatively small amount of alcohol can impair a person’s brain function and concentration ability. A moderate amount can lead to slurred speech, poor vision, and an increased need to urinate or sleep. Excessive amounts can cause breathing difficulties, alcohol poisoning, coma, and death. Alcohol poisoning can result in the body shutting down entirely and is considered a life-threatening medical emergency.
Short-Term Effects of Alcohol
The short-term effects of alcohol use can emerge after just a few drinks. However, individuals with low tolerance levels may be affected after only one or two drinks. Some of these effects might seem relatively harmless but are signs that alcohol severely impacts the body.
Short-term effects of excessive alcohol use can also include the following:
Blackouts and lapses in memory: These side effects are common among heavy drinkers. Binge drinkers often have little or no memory of their behavior and are often surprised to discover the activities they were involved in the next day after a night of drinking.
Loss of inhibitions: Neural impairment caused by drinking can reduce inhibitions, distorted perception, and the inability to think clearly and rationally. This effect can lead to risky, impulsive, and even dangerous behavior, which may be entirely out of character for the person in question.
Mood swings: The initial effects of drinking alcohol include the release of the feel-good chemical dopamine in the brain, but this effect is only temporary, and dopamine levels will eventually decrease and crash. This crash can cause a rapid mood swing from happy and satisfied to depressed, anxious, or angry and, in extreme instances, can result in suicidal ideations or aggressive behavior.
Long-Term Effects of Alcohol
Consuming too much alcohol can lead to devastating effects on an individual’s health and well-being. Liver disease, hypertension, heart arrhythmia, pancreatitis, and several forms of cancer have been associated with long-term alcohol abuse.
Moreover, repeatedly drinking alcohol above the recommended daily allowance (1 or 2 drinks for women and men, respectively, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) can lead to the development of at least sixty different diseases and significantly affect one’s mental well-being.
Dependence
Abusing alcohol for an extended period oftens leads to a physical and emotional condition called dependence. Dependence occurs when the brain and body adapt to a substance’s presence, such as alcohol, and becomes unable to work properly without it. This condition results in unpleasant and, in extreme instances, life-threatening withdrawal symptoms when the individual attempts to quit drinking, often driving them to relapse to avoid these effects.
Tolerance
Tolerance also develops over time due to the brain’s propensity to diminish the effects of a psychoactive substance following repeated exposure. As tolerance occurs, the user is driven to consume ever-increasing amounts of alcohol to experience the desired results.
The development of tolerance is dangerous, and consuming alcohol in higher and higher amounts becomes correspondingly riskier regarding mental and physical health, emotional, legal, financial, and social effects. Along with altered behavior comes an increased risk of fatality due to acute alcohol poisoning.
We Believe Recovery Is Possible For Everyone.
If you or a loved one need help with substance abuse and/or treatment, please contact Just Believe Recovery at (888) 380-0667. Our specialists can assess your individual needs and help you get the treatment that provides the best chance for long-term recovery.
Liver Cirrhosis
The liver is widely considered the most essential organ needed for alcohol metabolism. Repeated excessive use of alcohol can cause the liver’s normal cells to become damaged and be replaced by scar tissue. Over time, the liver may gradually become less able to heal itself or perform normal but vital functions. Liver disease can result in life-threatening problems and, ultimately, end-stage liver disease.
Cancer
Drinking alcohol excessively is the second leading cause of cancer after smoking. Exceeding the recommended daily limit of alcohol on a routine basis, even by just a relatively small amount, puts a person at a higher risk of developing the following forms of cancer:
Mouth
Larynx
Pharynx
Oesophagus
Breast
Stomach
Colon
Liver
High Blood Pressure
Drinking an excessive amount of alcohol can increase blood pressure to harmful levels. Having more than three drinks per episode increases blood pressure temporarily, but repeated binge drinking can result in chronic and even permanent increases.
Injuries
Alcohol’s intoxicating effects can lead to injuries from falls or misadventure, such as bruises, broken bones, etc. According to WHO (World Health Organization), alcohol is related to as many as 30 percent of adult hospital admissions, especially those individuals admitted to emergency rooms.
Mental Effects
As noted, alcohol is a CNS depressant, and therefore using alcohol as a method of self-medicating often produces the opposite effect of what an individual initially intended. Alcoholism is closely associated with depression, anxiety, and exacerbating symptoms of pre-existing mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder.
What’s more, alcohol use interferes with medications such as antidepressants that are used to treat mood disorders. Alcohol is also hazardous when combined with other CNS depressants, such as benzodiazepines and barbiturates.
Brain Damage
Individuals who consume excessive amounts of alcohol for an extended period have an increased risk of incurring severe and persistent brain changes. For example, those who suffer from chronic alcoholism often develop a deficiency of thiamine (B1), a vital nutrient required by all bodily, including the brain.
Some of these individuals will develop a severe brain disorder known as Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS), a condition hallmarked by two different conditions. First, is a relatively short-lived but severe condition known as Wernicke’s encephalopathy, typically followed by a long-lasting and highly-debilitating disease referred to as Korsakoff’s psychosis.
The symptoms of Wernicke’s encephalopathy include confusion, paralysis of the ocular nerves, and impaired muscle coordination. Korsakoff syndrome results from irreversible damage to brain areas involved with memory, thereby leading to significant memory loss.
Social Effects
When alcohol becomes a persistent aspect of an individual’s life, it’s not just the person drinking that experiences the effects. Those close to them are impacted as well. Drinking habits and related behaviors tend to become a source of arguments and often lead to relationship conflict. These conflicts cause distress and therefore tend to contribute to one’s desire to escape and numb feelings by using drugs or alcohol.
Financial and legal consequences among alcoholics are common and also somewhat expected. And these, in turn, can lead to seemingly unconquerable debt, as well as unemployment, license suspension, and even arrests and incarceration. Alcoholism has also been closely associated with anger, aggressiveness, and violence, including physical and sexual assaults and emotional abuse.
Treatment for Alcoholism
Alcoholism is most effectively addressed using an integrated, research-based approach designed specifically for each individual. Such an approach should include therapeutic services such as psychotherapy, counseling, group therapy, health and wellness programs, art and music therapy, aftercare planning, and more.
Just Believe Recovery Center offers these services in inpatient, partial-hospitalization, and intensive outpatient formats. We employ highly-skilled addiction specialists who facilitate services and provide those we treat with the essential education, tools, resources, and support they need to recover and maintain long-term wellness and sobriety indefinitely.
We Believe Recovery Is Possible For Everyone.
If you or a loved one need help with substance abuse and/or treatment, please contact Just Believe Recovery at (888) 380-0667. Our specialists can assess your individual needs and help you get the treatment that provides the best chance for long-term recovery.
⟹ Read This Next : Recognizing the Types of Alcoholics
The post Long- and Short-Term Effects of Alcohol appeared first on Just Believe Recovery by Just Believe Recovery