Alcohol Addiction Counseling Specialist in Ann Arbor MI

Alcohol abuse disorder can be caused by different factors. Prolonged periods of alcohol consumption can cause the brain to rely on alcohol to produce certain chemicals. This can make it more difficult for people who are heavy drinkers to quit and also leave them with withdrawal symptoms. The most common causes of alcoholism are social factors, biological factors, environmental factors and psychological factors.

There are risk factors that need to be considered that can lead to a greater potential for alcoholism. Risk factors do not mean that you will become an alcoholic. What they indicate is that there may be a need for more awareness around how a person relates to alcohol. It can also indicate if preventative measures may be valuable.

Drinking alcohol as an adolescent is a risk factor. Experimenting while young has an impact on problems that can arise later in life. This is truer if the person starts drinking as an adolescent.

Family history plays a part. Growing up around family members who abuse alcohol increases the risk that you will as well1q2w. When you see the people around you drink excessively it may appear to be normal.

High levels of stress can lead to wanting to reduce that stress. Drinking may feel like it helps to reduce stress, but it can turn problematic.

Peer pressure is a problem. When someone close to you drinks excessively, you may be more willing to join them. Peer pressure can lead to problems in the future, as well as health complications.

Frequent use of alcohol over long periods of time significantly increases the likelihood of developing an alcohol problem. The more you drink, the more tolerance you develop, and the more alcohol you will want to consume to reach the feeling the effect that you are looking for.

Alcohol addiction can bring about a number of emotional and physical problems. Emotional problems are anxiety, depression, and often issues around relationships. It can create difficulty with job performance and attendance.

Health issues can also be significant. Long-term use of alcohol can cause very serious health concerns. Some of these are not reversible. High blood pressure is common with alcohol use and can lead to heart problems and strokes. Liver problems are serious issues with chronic and heavy alcohol consumption. Acute kidney failure or chronic kidney disease are issues related to alcoholism. Inflammation of the pancreas and depressed immune system leaving you open to many other diseases are also part of chronic alcoholism.

The symptoms of alcoholism can be mild, moderate, or severe. The determination is based on the number of symptoms present at one time.

Signs and symptoms can include:

– Inability to limit the volume of alcohol consumed
– Wanting to cut back on the amount you drink, but being unsuccessful
– Spending a lot of time and effort getting alcohol, drinking, or recovering from alcohol use
– Having a craving or urge to drink
– Having problems at work, school, or home due to alcohol use
– Continuing to drink when you know that it is causing emotional, physical, or social problems in your life.
– Making your alcohol use central and giving up social and work activities and hobbies
– Using alcohol where it isn’t safe, such as during driving or swimming
– Developing a tolerance to alcohol
– Having withdrawal symptoms, like nausea, shaking and sweating, when you don’t have anything to drink.
– This list is many of the more common symptoms of alcoholism. Other problems can arise depending on a number of factors.

It will depend on whom you talk to about how many stages there are of addiction. Some will list anywhere from four to seven. Here is a list of five stages that are considered to be useful.

1- Experimentation is stage one. If you don’t try it, you won’t become addicted to it. That doesn’t mean that trying it will lead you to addiction. If risk factors are present in you before you experiment, then precautions may be a good thing to consider.
2- Regular use can lead to addiction. Some people can incorporate regular drinking into their lives without it becoming an addiction. Others may not be so lucky. Regular use can make it difficult to see if the issue is becoming problematic as the problems may appear slowly and seem minimal, at first.
3- Risky use might be difficult to determine. This is dependent on what each person deems to be risky. Risky behaviors that you may want to watch for are drinking and driving, risky sexual encounters that they wouldn’t have engaged in in the past, and a change in other habits that could cause harm.
4- Dependence is when their body and mind are reliant on the substance. At this point, you will notice serious behavioral changes.
5- Addiction is the final stage. Continual abuse of alcohol will to an addiction that will most likely require professional treatment to change behaviors, or worse to correct serious health issues.

If you or a loved one are concerned that alcohol use is getting out of control, come see the caring and compassionate counselors at Best Fit Counseling in Ann Arbor MI. We serve patients anywhere in Michigan. Licensed in Ann Arbor MI, Pittsfield Charter TWP MI, Ypsilanti MI, Saline MI, Dexter MI, Scio TWP MI and surrounding areas.