Drinking alcohol regularly can affect people in various ways. For some people, wine is an integral part of their dinner. They can go on having little amounts of wine without any problems.
However, things get a little out of hand if alcohol is consumed too much regularly and when all the resistance against it fails. This is a sign of a much broader and complex problem. People going through this can, in the longer run, develop a strong dependency on alcohol leading to chronic alcoholism.
Alcoholism is also responsible for causing severe health conditions. It increases the probability of occurrences of certain disorders such as osteoporosis. It can also lead to a specific type of cancer. Alcohol abuse is also directly linked with some fatal heart diseases as well because it damages the circulatory system as well.
It is said that approximately more than 15 million people are struggling with alcohol abuse in the United States. And less than eight percent of this number receives treatment. These numbers are highly alarming, and it only suggests that we should raise awareness about this making people know that alcohol abuse can only divorce them from reality damaging every aspect of their life. And
So, let us look at some of the symptoms that can help you diagnose an alcoholic:
There are lots of ways to figure out if a person is addicted to alcohol or not. In a lot of developed countries today, a specific diagnostic process is followed. This process starts with an overall evaluation of the person’s health to narrow down the possibilities of severe symptoms.
After this, the doctor makes use of this available information to perform diagnosis. This diagnosis identifies the basic set of symptoms around which the entire treatment is planned. The sole aim of the treatment plan is to reduce the symptoms that might be troublesome over the longer course of time. The procedure is done to reduce the signs that will only improve the overall health of the person.
Below are the symptoms that are caused due to the high concentration of alcohol. These symptoms can help you diagnose chronic alcoholism:
1. Incoherent speech: People who consume a high amount of alcohol regularly for a long time develop a strong slurring in their speech. This is because such a high concentration of alcohol can develop intense nervous system-related and neurological disorders.
2. The slowdown of reflexes: As a high concentration of alcohol causes a neurological disturbance, it affects the way we function in ordinary circumstances as well. It slows down our reflexes considerably. This brings difficulties in routine tasks, which we would do easily in normal situations such as climbing downstairs rapidly, catching a ball, and in some cases, even balancing a bike can be a difficult task.
3. Poor control of bodily movements: Chronic alcoholism affects our body movements as well. This becomes highly evident in the way a person walk. In most of the cases, people find it difficult to have strong control over their hands and legs related movement. This makes it difficult for them to hold on to something for a longer time. It also makes it difficult to stand for a more extended period.
4. Lower concentration power: Alcohol affects crucial areas of the brain that control our focusing power. Hence, alcoholism makes it difficult for people to concentrate or read something for a more extended period.
5. Poor memory: One of the most common symptoms is chronic forgetfulness. At initial stages, the person might forget some minor things. It could be anything ordinary, such as forgetting keys. However, at intense stages, the forgetfulness can take over a crucial part of the person’s routine. There are cases observed where people walk into a room and forget why they did. Hence, a reduced capability to recall and remember, along with the ability to store and grasping new information, experiences a massive low.
6. Bad decision-making abilities: This again has to do with the crucial parts of the brain affected that weakens the memory and poor concentration. Poor decision making is the by-product of poor concentration and memory. Because of this, the person finds it extremely difficult to think laterally and bring a thought to its necessary conclusion. Hence, the person weakens the ability to analyze, deduce, and understand much better.
7. Erratic behavior: The culmination of all these symptoms causes a person to behave erratically. As they become more and more divorced from reality, chronic alcoholics find it extremely difficult to rationalize and maintain composure. This makes them much more impulsive instead of making them id-driven. Normally, they become incredibly short-tempered, affecting their relationships with people as well as with their work.
