ALCOHOL REHAB Center in Scottsdale

Alcoholism or alcohol addiction refers to patterns of drinking alcohol that lead to significant mental or physical health problems.

Over 5.9% of people die globally every year because of alcoholism. Alcohol addiction is the fourth leading cause of preventable death and the third leading cause of early death worldwide.

In 2019, 14.5 million people between the age of 12 and older had an alcohol use disorder (AUD). Alcohol has the power to rewire the consumer’s brain and creates a physical dependence due to which withdrawal symptoms emerge when alcohol use is stopped.

Alcoholism can manifest itself in a multitude of ways.

The severity of alcohol addiction depends on various factors, including the frequency of use, the amount of alcohol consumed, and the consumer’s medical history, among other factors.

The effects of alcohol abuse also vary from person to person.

At the same time, some people consume alcohol heavily all day, and some binge drink and stay sober for a while.

Excessive alcohol use or alcohol use disorder is a disease that affects people of all ages.

Experts have recognized some factors that may predispose a person to alcohol abuse, such as genetics, sex, race, and socioeconomic factors.

Alcoholism is not a condition but a disease that can cause neurochemical changes which render the consumer unable to control their actions.

The disease also affects the heart, liver, pancreas, and immune system. Alcoholism can be treated with an alcohol rehab program like ours at Cornerstone Healing Center.

The risk of alcohol addiction starts at low levels of drinking and gradually increases as the consumer increases consumption. 

Alcohol addiction is characterized by an increased tolerance to alcohol which makes the person consume more alcohol. 

The disease is also characterized by physical dependence on the substance which renders the person unable to control their consumption.

Physical dependence on alcohol can produce strong urges to drink alcohol in the affected individual. 

Alcoholism can adversely impact the individual’s mental health, causing psychiatric disorders and increasing the risk of suicide.

Short-term side effects of alcohol abuse are mostly physical. However, long-term abuse of alcohol causes both physical and psychiatric symptoms.

Usually, it’s these physical and mental symptoms that prompt the search for alcohol rehab. 

A blood alcohol concentration between 0.03% and 0.12% improves mood, relieves anxiety, produces euphoria, and increases self-confidence. 

When a person drinks alcohol enough to cause BAC between 0.03% and 0.12%, their face appears flushed and muscle coordination gets better.

A blood alcohol concentration (BAC) between 0.09% and 0.25% causes sedation, balance problems, blurry vision, and lethargy. 

A blood alcohol concentration (BAC) between 0.18% and 0.30% causes slurred speech, confusion, dizziness, vomiting, and staggering.

A blood alcohol concentration (BAC) between 0.25% and 0.40% leads to vomiting, anterograde amnesia, unconsciousness, and life-threatening symptoms, such as respiratory depression and inhalation of vomit during the state of unconsciousness. 

A blood alcohol concentration (BAC) between 0.35% and 0.80% can cause alcohol poisoning which is potentially life-threatening.

Men and women must limit their daily intake of alcohol to two drinks and one drink respectively. 

Regular consumption of more than one drink for women and two drinks for men increases the risk of alcohol-related harms, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation, and stroke.

People who binge drink face an even greater risk of these harms. Binge drinking can also lead to violence or accidents. 

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) can reduce a person’s life expectancy by around 10 years.

Long-term abuse of alcohol can cause a range of physical symptoms including epilepsy, alcohol dementia, nutritional deficiencies, peptic ulcers, pancreatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, and sexual dysfunction. It can also be fatal eventually.

People with alcohol use disorder (AUD) have an increased risk of developing malabsorption syndrome (a disorder characterized by the inability of the small intestine to absorb nutrients), alcoholic liver disease, cardiovascular disease, and several types of cancers.

Long-term use of alcohol can also cause irreversible damage to both the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS).

Furthermore, it is associated with a broad range of immunologic defects, generalized skeletal fragility, and a recognized tendency to accidental injury which results in a propensity to bone fractures.

Those who want to survive alcoholism must seek out an alcohol rehab that can help them heal from alcoholism. 

Severe psychiatric problems are common in individuals misusing alcohol for a long time. About 10% of all cases of dementia worldwide are related to long-term misuse of alcohol, making alcoholism the second leading cause of dementia.

Alcoholism increasingly affects brain function over time and causes psychological damage. 

People affected by alcoholism experience difficulty socializing as prolonged misuse of alcohol leads to neurotoxicity which impairs basic executive functions, such as focus, panning, attention, ability to remember instructions, and ability to multitask.

The neurotoxicity caused by alcoholism extends to the prefrontal cortex area of the brain which is responsible for cognitive control. 

Individuals also experience perception problems, dysprosody (a neurological speech disorder), and an inability to understand humor.

Psychiatric disorders are also common in such individuals with over 25% of people with alcohol use disorder suffering from severe psychiatric disturbances. 

This includes disruption in sleep among other things. The most common psychiatric disorders are anxiety and depression disorders.

It depends on the health insurance plan. Generally, most health insurance plans will cover at least some of the cost of alcohol rehab. However, it’s important to check with your specific plan to determine what is covered and what is not. Some plans may only cover the cost of certain treatments or services, while others may provide more comprehensive coverage.