Alcohol Addiction

The prevalence and social acceptance of alcohol use in our society is a contributing factor as to why alcohol use disorders are a common health concern. Biologically, alcohol has many negative affects—and it all begins in the brain.

Alcohol effectively changes and alters the way the brain functions, flooding the brain with dopamine. Overtime, a physical dependence builds causing devastating consequences. As the brain’s reward center is impacted, these feelings of pleasure cause the person to crave alcohol, driving individuals to want to consume the substance even when their health, livelihoods and personal life are negatively affected.

Science has found that addiction can be traced to neural pathways in the brain predating a diagnosis. However, a genetic predisposition alone is not enough to predict addiction. Typically, psychological and social influences drive the individual to use addicting substances and the combination of genetic predisposition and these influences trigger the disease.

Characteristics of Alcohol Addiction

Characteristics of alcohol addiction include lack of control over drinking, constant preoccupation with alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking—most notably denial.

The most critical component in identifying alcohol addiction is to examine the changes in the person. Many alcohol users may work to maintain their personal, family, and professional standards, and may continue to function successfully for a long time in spite of their active addictions. Eventually, however, alcohol use disorder will cause a person to reach a point of personal deterioration that is impossible to ignore.