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Chronic Alcohol Abuse

Health Risks of Chronic Alcohol Abuse

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Chronic Alcohol Abuse refers to drinking in a way that is not controlled, being preoccupied with alcohol, or continuing to drink despite its negative effects. It is also associated with having to consume more alcohol to achieve the same effect and experiencing withdrawal symptoms when you reduce or stop drinking rapidly. Alcohol abuse can lead to alcoholism.

Alcohol use that risks your health or safety or causes other alcohol-related problems is considered unhealthy. The term also refers to binge drinking, when a male or female has five or more drinks within two hours. Binge drinking causes significant health risks. 

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Health Risks of Chronic Alcohol Abuse

Too much alcohol can harm you physically and mentally in lots of ways. Health risks may include:

Factors That May Affect Chronic Alcohol Abuse

Many factors influence how drinking alcohol affects your body and behavior, including genetics, psychology, social factors, and the environment. Certain people may be more susceptible to alcohol use disorders due to a different and stronger impact of drinking.

Too much alcohol may alter the normal function of the areas of your brain responsible for pleasure, judgment, and the ability to control your behavior over time. The result may be a craving for alcohol to try to restore good feelings or reduce negative ones.

Diagnosis for Hypersexuality

Diagnosis for Chronic Alcohol Abuse 

You are likely to start by seeing your primary health care provider. If your provider suspects that you have a problem with alcohol, you may be referred to a mental health provider. To evaluate your problem with alcohol, your provider will likely:

  • Ask you some questions related to your drinking habits
  • Perform a physical exam
  • Suggest lab tests and imaging tests
  • Complete a psychological evaluation

Treatment for Chronic Alcohol Abuse 

Treatment for chronic alcohol abuse can vary, depending on your needs. Treatment may involve a short-term intervention, individual or group counseling, an outpatient program, or a residential inpatient stay. Working to stop alcohol use to improve quality of life is the main treatment goal. Treatment for chronic alcohol abuse may include:

  • Detox and withdrawal – this generally takes 2 to 7 days. You may need to take sedating medications to prevent withdrawal symptoms.
  • Learning new skills and making a treatment plan – this may include goal setting, use of self-help manuals, behavior change techniques, counseling, and follow-up care at a treatment center. 
  • Psychological counseling – will help you better understand your problem with alcohol and support recovery from the psychological aspects of alcohol use. 
  • Treatment for psychological problems – chronic alcohol abuse commonly occurs along with other mental health disorders. If you have a certain mental health condition, you may need talk therapy, medications, or other treatment. 
  • Oral medications – certain medications may help you prevent drinking. 

Medications used for chronic alcohol abuse:

Alcoholism

Alcohol Misuse

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Alcoholism is a medical condition involving frequent or heavy alcohol use. People with this condition can’t stop drinking even when it causes problems, physical harm, or emotional distress to themselves or others. 

Alcohol use disorder is a disease of brain function and needs medical and psychological treatments to control it. This condition can be mild, moderate to severe. It can develop quickly or over a long period.

Causes

Scientists are still trying to understand what causes alcohol use disorder. It appears to be a combination of one or more of the following:

  • Genetics
  • Early childhood events
  • Attempts to relieve emotional pain

People are more likely to become an alcoholic if they:

  • Experienced trauma, such as physical or sexual abuse
  • Consume alcohol often, in large amounts, or start early in life
  • Have a family history of alcohol problems
  • Have mental health issues, eating disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder
  • Have had stomach bypass surgery for weight issues

Risk Factors 

The use of alcohol may begin in the teens, but alcohol misuse occurs more often in the 20s and 30s though it can start at any age. 

  • Depression
  • Having bariatric surgery
  • Steady drinking over time 

Symptoms 

Signs of alcohol use disorder include:

  • Wanting to cut back but not being able to
  • Obsessing over alcohol
  • Drinking more or longer than you planned
  • Frequent hangovers
  • Feeling irritable or cranky when you’re not drinking
  • Blacking out or not remembering things that happened
  • Continuing to drink even if it causes distress or harm to you or others
  • Having repeated problems with school, work, relationships, or the law because of drinking
  • Having cravings for alcohol
  • Getting into dangerous situations when you’re drinking 
  • Giving up activities so you can drink 
  • Need to drink more and more to get the same effect
  • Not being able to stop drinking once you’ve started
  • Spending a lot of time drinking or recovering from drinking

A person who is alcohol dependent also might experience symptoms of withdrawal when they cut back or stop drinking, such as:

Diagnosis 

Your doctor will suspect you if you have a problem with alcohol by:

  • Asking you several questions related to your drinking habits
  • Performing a physical exam
  • Completing a psychological evaluation 
  • Lab tests and imaging tests 

Treatment 

Treatment for alcohol misuse can vary depending on your needs. Treatment for the condition may include:

Medicine 

  • Disulfiram (Antabuse) – helps prevent you from drinking, though it won’t cure alcohol use disorder or remove the compulsion to drink. If you drink alcohol, the medicine produces a physical reaction that may include nausea, flushing, vomiting, and headache.
  • Naltrexone – this blocks the good feelings alcohol causes. This may prevent heavy drinking and lessen the urge to drink.
  • Acamprosate – helps you fight alcohol cravings once you stop drinking. 
Kleptomania Its Causes, Treatment, and Medications

Kleptomania: Its Causes, Treatment, and Medications

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Kleptomania is a mental illness that has the characteristic of an irresistible longing to steal stuff. This is psychological condition is not due to any flaw in the character of the person. 

Kleptomaniacs are not the same as shoplifters. Kleptomania involves the failure to resist impulses to act in a way that may be dangerous to self or other people. Kleptomaniac has a symptom of stealing something which they do as an act without any intention. The shoplifters steal things intentionally.   

What causes Kleptomania? 

The following factors may be responsible for the disorder: 

  • Obsessive-compulsive disorders 
  • Stress either at home or work 
  • The release of dopamine from the brain rewards the person with a feeling of pleasure initiates the recurrence of the impulse to steal. 
  • Change in the levels of serotonin that regulates emotions and moods 

Signs and Symptoms of Kleptomania 

  • Feeling increased tension or arousal leading up to the theft 
  • Feeling relief while stealing or terrible guilt, shame, or fear of arrest after the theft  
  • Inability to resist powerful urges to steal items that you don’t have  

Risk Factors Of Having Kleptomania 

  • Family history: Having a first-degree relative with kleptomania or obsessive-compulsive disorder may increase the risk of kleptomania.  
  • Having another mental disorder: People with kleptomania frequently have another mental disorder such as eating disorder, bipolar disorder, or anxiety disorder. 

Safety Precautions  

Some measures that can stop the progress of psychological illnesses include: 

  • Teaching the children and teenagers about relationships and human values 
  • Creating a happy and peaceful environment for the children 
  • Instructing people with behavioral problems to preventing those situations which trigger the disease  
  • Training the people on stress management techniques 

If left untreated, kleptomania may result in severe problems. Other complications associated with this disorder may include: 

  • Depression 
  • Eating disorder 
  • Personality disorder 
  • Alcohol and substance disorder 
  • Other impulse-control disorders such as compulsive shopping or gambling  

Treating Kleptomania 

Kleptomania treatment is significant as this illness is not a self-limiting type. If any patient is not treated on time, it may become a life-long psychological condition. Treatment includes both medical management and psychiatric therapy. 

Medical Management 

This type of treatment includes the use of medications to lessen the symptoms of the need to steal. These medications act on chemicals like opioids of the brain to stop the urge to steal. 

Psychiatric Treatment 

It includes behavioral change therapy. Some essential techniques of this therapy include: 

  • Instructions are given on the practice of relaxation techniques like deep breathing techniques when the patient’s brain triggers the urge to steal something. 
  • The patients are also shown to deviate their attentiveness when the symptom of the urge to steal begins.  

Family therapy also helps to relieve the symptoms. It involves, engaging the patient with family and peer group most of the time.  

Medications for Kleptomania 

Treatment for kleptomania usually focuses on behaviors. For some, medications may also be used as part of the treatment program.  

  • Anti-depressants like fluoxetine may be useful to relax and calm down the brain. Fluoxetine might be useful in helping curb very intense urges.  
  • Naltrexone has also shown some capacity in controlling impulse-based behavior. This medicine is now used to help alcoholics control the urge to drink.