THE PHYSICAL SIGNS OF ABUSE OR ADDICTION CAN VARY DEPENDING ON THE PERSON AND THE DRUG BEING ABUSED. FOR EXAMPLE SOMEONE WHO ABUSES MARIJUANA MAY HAVE A CHRONIC COUGH OR WORSENING OF ASTHAMATIC SYMPTOMS. EACH DRUG HAVE SHORT TERM OR LONG TERM PHYSICAL AFFECTS. STIMULANTS LIKE COCAINE INCREASES HEART RATE AND BLOOD PRESSURE WHEREAS OPIOIDS LIKE HEROINE MAY SLOW THE HEART RATE AND REDUCE RESPIRATION.
THERE IS REALLY NO OFFICIAL DIAGNOSIS CALLED “ALCOHOLISIM” WHAT THE ENTIRE WORLD AS ALCOHOLISM IS OFFICIALLY KNOWN AS A SEVERE ALCOHOL USE DISOR-DER. SO THIS IS WHAT WE ARE REFERING TO WHEN WE USE THE TERM ALCOHOLISM.
BECAUSE SOMEONE IS A “PROBLEM DRINKER” OR “HEAVY DRINKER” DOES NOT MEAN THAT HE OR SHE IS AUTOMATICALLY AN ALCOHOLIC. YOU CAN SAY THAT THESE PEOPLE ABUSE ALCOHOL BUT ALCOHOLISM IS AN ADDICTION WITH SEVERAL DEFINITION AND THERE IS SOME CONTROVERSY ABOUT HOW THE DIAGNOSIS SHOULD BE MADE .
WE SAY ALCOHOLISM IS AN ADDICTION PRIMARILY BECAUSE IT CONTAINS THESE CRUCIAL ELEMENTS : PREOCCUPATION WITH ACQUISITION , COMPULSIVE USE, NARROWING OF INTERESTS , DENIAL AND RELAPSE . THESES FACTORS ARE SEEN IN ADDICTION IN ALL OTHER DRUGS.
THERE IS NO SINGLE CORRECT SINGLE DEFINITION FOR “ALCOHOLISM” BECAUSE THE DIS-EASE IS SO SUBTLE IN ITS PROGRESSION. THE POINT WHERE HEAVY DRINKING BECOMES ALCOHOLISM IS OFTEN UNCLEAR, BUT APPLYING AN OVERALL DEFINITION OF AD-DICTION COMPULSIVE USE AND CONTINUED ABUSE IN SPITE OF ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES IS A GOOD PLACE TO BEGIN.
ANY PERSON WHOSE ALCOHOL USE HAS PROCEEDED TO THE POINT OF ADDICTION AS DE-FINED ABOVE , INCLUDING SERIOUS INTERFACE WITH FUNCTIONAL ABILITY IS AN ALCOHOLIC AND NEEDS IMMEDIATE PROFESSIONAL HELP.
ITS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE ONLY MODERATE DRINKERS EX-PERIENCE SOME OF THE EARLY SYMPTOMS OF ALCOHOLISM, SUCH AS HANGOVERS THAT CAUSE ABSENTEEISM FROM WORK, INTERPERSONAL DIFFICULTIES AND MEDICAL PROBLEMS.
ANYONE WHO DRINKS TOO MUCH LIQUOR IN TOO SHORT A TIME WITH TOO LITTLE IN THEIR IN THEIR STOMACH OR WITH TOO LITTLE BODY MASS GETS DRUNK. SOME PEOPLE CAN DRINK MORE THAN OTHERS BECAUSE OF GENETIC FACTORS OR BECAUSE THEY BUILT UP THEIR TOLERENCE JUST LIKE ANY OTHER DRUG USER , IRONICALLY “ HOLDING YOUR LIQUOR IS AC-TUALLY A SIGN THAT YOU MAY HAVE A DRINKING PROBLEM.
Behavioral treatments help engage people in substance use disorder treatment, modifying their attitudes and behaviors related to drug use and increasing their life skills to handle stressful circumstances and en-vironmental cues that may trigger intense craving for drugs and prompt another cycle of compulsive use. Behavioral therapies can also enhance the effectiveness of medications and help people remain in treatment longer.
Gaining the ability to stop abusing drugs is just one part of a long and complex recovery process. When people enter treatment for a sub-stance use disorder, addiction has often taken over their lives. The com-pulsion to get drugs, take drugs, and experience the effects of drugs has dominated their every waking moment, and abusing drugs has taken the place of all the things they used to enjoy doing. It has dis-rupted how they function in their family lives, at work, and in the com-munity, and has made them more likely to suffer from other serious ill-nesses. Because addiction can affect so many aspects of a person’s life, treatment must address the needs of the whole person to be successful. This is why the best programs incorporate a variety of rehabilitative services into their comprehensive treatment regimens. Treatment coun-selors may select from a menu of services for meeting the specific medical, psychological, social, vocational, and legal needs of their pa-tients to foster their recovery from addiction.