The Alcoholism Facts Everyone Should Know

Some people think that when we refer to alcohol that we are referring to Spirits. But in actual fact alcohol relates to any beverage that contains any amount of alcohol including beer and wine as well as spirits. Unfortunately alcoholism is rife in the world today, and with the pressures that many of us are under in both our work and our social lives, plus the lifestyles we adopt, we are more likely to succumb to alcoholism today, than at any other previous time in the past.To help you to monitor your own lifestyle, here are a few alcoholism facts that you should know.

There are certain guidelines that have been published with regard to the amount of alcohol that a person can safely drink, but you should be aware that everyone is slightly different in terms of body mass, height, metabolism etc, and so there are no exact figures that relate to individuals.

These recommendations are issued on average body statistics only, but in terms of becoming an addiction, the alcoholism facts indicate that true alcoholics drink many, many more times the recommended limit.

There several different categorizations of alcohol intake that can lead up to becoming an alcoholic. Firstly there is the so called heavy drinker. For a man this would mean drinking more than 2 drinks per day, and for a woman, more than 1 drink per day. Under alcoholism facts, one drink (in the US) can mean 12 ounces of beer, or 8 ounces of malt liquor, or 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of an 80 degree proof spirit.

Alcoholism facts do not include binge drinking which is characterized by drinking sufficient alcohol to raise the alcohol content in the bloodstream to 0.08% or higher (typically 5 drinks for men, and 4 drinks for women), taken within a 2 hour period.

Alcohol abuse is the term used when the amount of alcohol consumed is enough to cause damage to your health, adversely affect relationships, and interfere with your ability to carry out routine functioning or normal work routines at home or at your place of work. Whilst this is a serious condition, under alcoholism facts, it does not warrant the use of the term of alcoholism.

Alcoholism facts classify an alcoholic as someone who is dependent on alcohol. This is typified by a strong craving for alcohol regardless of the harm and personal injury it may cause. It shows further in the reluctance or inability to limit the amount that you drink, and the amount of alcohol needed before the effects are noticeable to the alcoholic.

This last symptom being typical of a building up of tolerance before any “euphoria” is experienced. Finally, alcoholism is characterized by being physically ill when you stop drinking.

According to alcoholism facts, over 14 million people are alcoholic dependent or suffer from alcoholism at any one pointing time in the United States alone. This alarming statistic means that one out of every 13 adults in the US is a practicing alcoholic.

Just thought you may be interested in reading this guide: alcoholic anonymous

The Alcoholism Facts Everyone Should Know

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